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Would You Return A Lost 12 Carat, $200,000+ Diamond Ring?

Updated: 02/15/2020 by Financial Samurai 31 Comments

You might have heard recently that an unemployed architect by the name of Mark Epple found a whopping 12 carat, yellow diamond ring when he and his family was skiing in Vail.

The first thing that came to mind was who wears a 12 carat diamond ring?  That must be so gaudy!  My second thought was what is an unemployed guy doing spending thousands of dollars flying his family to Vail to go skiing?  Each lift ticket costs $100, not to mention lodging and food for the family.  Finally, I wondered whether I would return the 12 carat diamond ring if I was unemployed.

It’s easy to argue not to return the ring.  Anybody who can afford a 12 carat diamond ring probably isn’t hurting for money.  It turns out the original owners have a vacation home near Vail, so that sort of proves the point.  Based on the new rule of engagement ring buying, a husband can get away with spending up to the value of his car for his bride to be.  Cheap car, cheap ring!

And based on my 1/10th rule of car buying, one doesn’t spend no more than 1/10th their annual gross income on a car.  In other words, this couple is earning at least $2,000,000 a year.  Furthermore, they probably have personal property insurance coverage like so many do with expensive jewelry.

It’s also easy to argue for why one should return the ring.  If you lose something of value, you certainly hope someone will have the decency to return what doesn’t belong to them.

I’ve lost everything under the sun before and am so grateful when someone returns my lost item.  Furthermore, it’s not like you can easily sell a 12 carat diamond ring without bringing any attention to yourself.

The largest engagement ring I’ve ever seen is 6 carats, and that was just ridiculous.  Finally, if you do happen to return something of great value, more often than not the person will likely reward you for your good deeds.

Related: The New Rule For Engagement Ring Buying

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Filed Under: Budgeting & Savings Tagged With: community, hmmm

Author Bio: I started Financial Samurai in 2009 to help people achieve financial freedom sooner. Financial Samurai is now one of the largest independently run personal finance sites with about one million visitors a month.

I spent 13 years working at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse (RIP). In 1999, I earned my BA from William & Mary and in 2006, I received my MBA from UC Berkeley.

In 2012, I left banking after negotiating a severance package worth over five years of living expenses. Today, I enjoy being a stay-at-home dad to two young children, playing tennis, and writing.

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Comments

  1. BRB says

    January 26, 2011 at 11:05 am

    I’ve actually had something like this happen to me. A woman dropped a ring in the parking lot where I worked. I thought that I saw a coat pull or something and went over to the object to investigate. It was a huge ring. I took it up to a co-worker and she looked at it and said instantly that it was fake. We took it downstairs and found out that the woman had lost it. They called her to let her know and she was so happy, I ended up with a $500 reward too!

    Reply
  2. Randy Addison says

    January 25, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    I agree with the admin. Anyone who wears a yellow diamond ring on a skiing park would be someone who just wears those kinds of rings for casual fashion. If the owner is already wearing that diamond ring, what more is that person is wearing for professional gatherings? Maybe a stone from Mars perhaps. :D

    Reply
  3. krantcents says

    January 12, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    The value should not matter! It is not mine, I would return it. I could not live with myself doing anything else.

    Reply
  4. Financial Samurai says

    January 11, 2011 at 7:41 am

    @Charlie – Doh! Yeah, I would think a lot about bad karma if I didn’t return it. Although, let’s say it’s a tiny engagement ring…. I would do everything in my power to give it back bc the couple probably isn’t wealthy.

    In this situation, I really am thinking about the mega millions this couple earns and not missing it due to their insurance policy. Hmmmm

    Reply
  5. Kevin@InvestItWisely says

    January 10, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    It would be a little difficult to see that, indeed, but doesn’t the adage “finder’s keeper’s” apply? I don’t know what I would do. I’m not unemployed and hurting, so maybe give it back, or maybe do what Jonathan suggested. I think the person would appreciate getting it back so I lean toward giving it back, but 12 carats is just so tacky! ;)

    Reply
  6. Money Reasons says

    January 10, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    He really went out of his way to find the owner of the ring too! I was impressed!!!

    If I were unemployed and my family was starving, I don’t know if my standards would be so high…

    Under my current circumstances, I would try to get it returned though too.

    Honestly, I might be tempted to just throw it way thinking it was a gumball ring, since it looked so fake…

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 11, 2011 at 7:44 am

      If my family was starving, I’d sell it to provide for my family or give it back and tell the owners my family is starving and if they could provide some assistance, that would be great!

      Reply
  7. Chubby Bunny says

    January 10, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    After verifying its legitimacy, I’d want to keep it, but from a pure logistical standpoint it would be nearly impossible. The market for 12 carat colored diamonds is obviously extremely small and there’s no way you’d be able to fence a ring like that.

    Even if you found someone to take it off your hands, you’d be lucky to get 5-10% of the ring’s value in cash. It’d probably be better to return the ring, hope for a generous reward from the owner and parlay the story into some sort of political or economic goodwill. Sounds pretty Machiavellian, but that’s what I’d do.

    Reply
  8. Andrea @ NickelByNickel.com says

    January 10, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    If I found the ring I would make every effort possible to give the ring back to it’s rightful owner. I would want someone else to do the same thing if it was MY ring that was found! Whether or not this person needs the money or is rich isn’t the issue, it’s not my property. I don’t think I would hand over the ring to the resort either, like some people have mentioned, but I would notify them and make every effort to get the word out there.

    Reply
  9. Sunil from The Extra Money Blog says

    January 10, 2011 at 11:23 am

    this story takes the cake . . . i’d sell it and donate the proceeds for all the reasons you already mentioned Sam. wonder if they’d miss it?

    what i really should do is return it – how did the dude find them anyway?

    Reply
  10. Kevin @ Thousandaire.com says

    January 10, 2011 at 10:35 am

    If it’s not mine, I’m not going to keep it. Pretty simple. $20 ring or $200,000 ring, it’s not mine.

    Reply
  11. youngandthrifty says

    January 9, 2011 at 11:58 pm

    Wow you’ve seen a 6 carat diamond ring? On a real finger? or on TV? ;)

    My friend just got engaged and she has a 2 carat ring and it cost a whopping $32,000. That is ridiculous! How can anyone justify walking around with $32,000 on their finger?

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 10, 2011 at 7:04 am

      $32,000 is big bucks! What do they, or her fiance do?

      Actually, the Tiffany’s saleswoman just last month was wearing a 5 carat princess cut. It looked ridiculous. She was older though.

      I guess it depends on finger size too.

      Reply
  12. twentysomethingmoney says

    January 9, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    At that rate, you’d THINK they’d be able to give a nice reward for returning it :D

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 9, 2011 at 9:30 pm

      You’d think, but all the person got was a free stay at their vacation property. How about $20,000 instead! But, once again, they probably have insurance, so they’d be losing money if they paid!

      Reply
  13. The Passive Income Earner says

    January 9, 2011 at 6:33 pm

    I too would return it. Too big and too much to even think otherwise. It’s probably easier to find the owner too I would say versus a small diamond that many could buy.

    I am curious if they lost it on purpose though … As you mentioned, there is insurance on it and the misses might have been tired of it.

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 9, 2011 at 9:15 pm

      Hmmmm… good point! Would be nice to have a nice $200,000 insurance check and buy something new!

      Reply
  14. Charlie says

    January 9, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    I won’t lie, I know I would have thoughts about keeping it but I think my guilt would eventually build up that I’d want to return it and not have anything on my conscience. And I agree it’s such a great feeling when someone finds something you’ve lost. For me it’s usually nothing exciting but often a lost sock, missing glove, but once it was my credit card!! I went nuts for 24 hours panicking someone had found it on the street and was going to go on a spending splurge. I immediately cancelled the card when I noticed it was missing but still felt uneasy at my carelessness. Turns out it had fallen out of my bag in my office and a colleague returned it to me the next day. I was so relieved it hadn’t fallen into the wrong hands.

    Reply
  15. Car Negotiation Coach says

    January 9, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    Thanks for the link love Sam! Curious to hear what you end up getting (or if you wait). I’m eyeballing the 55′ 3D Samsung.

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 9, 2011 at 6:21 pm

      Still waiting actually. The TV I have still works pretty darn well, although the difference between the technology now and then is getting greater and greater. The LED TV is the game changer that ALMOST brought me over the edge, since I can really tell the picture quality dif. However, I decided that if I just wait 12 more months, I’ll could get better tech and prices will come down. Maybe the 3D/LED Tvs will be awesome by this coming Christmas!

      Reply
  16. Mike says

    January 9, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    Glad to know the unemployment checks are doing their job. Sigh….

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 9, 2011 at 3:15 pm

      Well, it’s not like if you are unemployed you aren’t allowed to have a good time. You should enjoy the time off and spend time with your family. I just wonder about Vail though, b/c I’ve been a couple times before it it costs a BOAT LOAD to go there as a couple, let alone a family.

      Reply
  17. Jonathan says

    January 9, 2011 at 11:57 am

    I would absolutely keep it, sell it, and give 50-75% to some charity, or my church. I think it’s stupid to spend money on stuff like that, better to let people who can use the money have it.

    Remember the old rule, “finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers”? I think it still applies. :)

    Reply
  18. Kay Lynn @ Bucksome Boomer says

    January 9, 2011 at 10:11 am

    Yes, I would turn it in. I believe in karma and what goes around comes around.

    Good question about an unemployed architect vacationing at Vail. Not a good use of emergency funds is it?

    Reply
  19. Laura in Atlanta says

    January 9, 2011 at 9:35 am

    I’d certainly tell the Ski Resort that I had found a ring and that if anyone had reported one lost to have them call me to identify it. I wouldn’t hand it over to the Ski resort though . . . finders keepers, I say. If no one claimed it back within a year, I would have no problems having it appraised and cashed in.

    I once found an envelope with cash in it, over $400. Same thing, I reported it to the Building Security that i had found it, even posted a couple of generic notes with my phone number in the hallway where I found it, but I held onto it. (“if you lost something very valuable in this building, call me at XXXXXXXX with description . . .” Within 6 months, I didn’t hear from anyone . . . finders keepers and i put it in the bank.

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 9, 2011 at 9:51 am

      Hmmm, I think that’s fair b/c you did make an effort. Reading up on law facts yesterday, there is a term called Statue of Limitations which allow for one to press charges/complain/whatever within a certain time frame.

      Reply
  20. Evan says

    January 9, 2011 at 9:07 am

    I’d try to return it/find the owner because the guilt would eat me up inside. What’s interesting is I’d probably search less if the diamond was smaller lol

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      January 9, 2011 at 9:54 am

      Ha! A guy with a conscience. But come on, everything is rational. If you can afford a 12 carat diamond ring, you are likely a MEGA MILLIONAIRE, which means you don’t have to feel too bad!

      Reply
  21. retirebyforty says

    January 9, 2011 at 7:00 am

    Ask me again when I actually find a big diamond ring. :)
    Never know what I would do in that kind of situation. The Mrs’ ring has a speck of diamond, maybe .25 carat.

    Thanks for including my video in your round up! I need to send it to Pepsi!

    Reply
  22. Rubee says

    January 9, 2011 at 3:16 am

    Would you be able to tell if the diamond is real?? Chances are I’ll probably think it’s just a costume jewellery.

    I usually never pick anything up so I’ll probably do the same if I see the ring and will never know it’s true worth. Hopefully, the owner would have retraced her steps and found her ring.

    Reply
  23. David M says

    January 9, 2011 at 2:14 am

    I would absolutely give it back!

    Why? I do not know why – I just know that I absolutely would give it back.

    Would I like and accept a reward – yes.

    Reply

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