Ring in the old

In the spring of this year, TG's mother died. His father has been gone since 2011.

As the summer progressed, TG and his brother and sister were busy tying up the loose ends of their mother's estate.

The last time TG went to Ohio to meet with his sibs, in August, there was a discussion about their mother's wedding rings.

The engagement ring with its impossibly tiny diamond was in two pieces: a battered, blackened, broken, dull gold band and a once-sparkling crumb-sized stone. By today's standards it is hardly credible; to two young people reared on Ohio farms marrying in 1948, it was a big deal.

It was obvious that Grandma Weber hadn't worn the ring in years; nobody could remember how long. She had a three-birthstone mother's ring that she paired with her original wedding band after her engagement ring gave up the ghost.

So it was that TG offered to take care of having the ring repaired and returned to his sister, to keep. He brought it home and promptly handed it off to me.

Naturally.

I put it aside and -- just being honest here -- forgot about it for a while.

But several weeks ago I remembered that I'd been tasked with taking the heirloom ring to a jeweler and arranging for it to be restored.

There's a jeweler I use when the occasion arises, and as it happened I had a few other pieces that needed work. I gathered everything and went to see them.

The young lady who discussed the matter of my late mother-in-law's ring repair was noncommittal. She said she'd talk to the actual jeweler and call me with an estimate for the work.

Which she did, a few days later.

Her words to me were: The jeweler says he will try to fix the ring. The charge will be eighty-three dollars and it will likely take several weeks.

Now, I don't know if you're like me. How would I know that? But I will tell you how I am: I got stuck on the word try.

So I said: If he tries and fails, will I be charged eighty-three dollars? Because if so, that could possibly be a deal breaker.

I felt it was a valid question. Saying you'll try is implying you could fail. Am I right? And I wasn't about to pay someone to try and fail when I could pay someone the same or a similar amount to succeed.

I mean, it's a ring that requires repair. You're a jeweler. What's to try? Just do your job. Your one job.

My question, however, was met with silence. Such a long silence that I decided not to help the young lady. I waited.

Finally she stammered: Well ... it's not a question of failing ...

And so I said: Let's go back to the beginning. You said the jeweler would try to fix the ring and that the charge would be eighty-three dollars. All I need to know is, if he tries and fails, and I'm handed back a still-broken ring, will I be charged eighty-three dollars? I'm not being difficult; it's a simple question and one that I think any reasonable person would ask.

There was a beat more of silence, so I continued: No hard feelings. Seriously. If y'all can't fix it, there are lots of jewelers in Columbia and I'll find one who will repair the ring.

Then she said: I'll ask him and call you back.

I said: Okay.

Presently the go-between called back. She said: He said he'd rather not deal with it.

I admit, that stung. Really? I thought. This is a jeweler to whom I've entrusted things like the re-design of my own wedding set for my thirtieth wedding anniversary in 2009, and the repair of a ring I've had since I was a girl. I buy gifts there.

It's local and family-owned. It's not Jared but it's also not a hole in the wall. It's a reputable jeweler with a sizeable inventory.

They're my go-to jeweler and they didn't want anything to do with repairing a sixty-eight-year-old ring with little monetary value but with significant sentimental import.

But I thanked her and told her I'd be by to retrieve my late relative's bruised and battered antique engagement ring with its diamond so minuscule, it was difficult to see.

A few days later, I took the clear two-inch-square plastic zip-top bag containing the pieces of the old ring, to a jeweler a few miles from my house. David's. A storefront in a pristine shopping strip anchored by Talbots.

I'd found David's via internet search and was impressed with rave reviews granted by multiple customers.

David himself took the wee plastic bag from me and peered at its contents. He neither hemmed nor hawed nor hesitated.

We'll restore it to its original beauty, he promised. It will be ready a week from tomorrow.

No excuses. No mention of try. Just a commitment to do.

And it was.

I went back in eight days. Meantime I'd received a courteous call telling me the ring was ready.

When David handed it to me, nestled in a beautiful inky-black box, I gasped.

The repaired, restored, renewed ring, all of a piece once more, was infinitely greater than the sum of its parts. The gold glowed; the diamond, which seemed much bigger now, twinkled beguilingly. It seemed full of the innocent promise of first love and the fathomless mystery of love that lasts a lifetime.

My eyes misted and I wished my mother-in-law could have seen her ring this way. She was not the sort of person who would have done this for herself. It occurs to me that we should have done it for her, long ago, at the very least when she lost her husband.

But we didn't, and it's too late, but at least now, it was done. Done by a confident, competent person who took responsibility for doing the one job he'd taken upon himself to do.

And it was more than the repair of a ring; it was a mission accomplished and pride in one's vocation. It was a nod to the past and respect for posterity and treasuring what's important, and understanding not only cost, but value.

As to cost: David charged me ninety dollars. A fair price, and every penny justified for what we got in return.

Find your gift. Offer your services, whether for money or other currency, such as the light in a person's eyes. But whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Excuses are lies. Be honest and be industrious.

You'll make people happy in ways that are difficult to measure but delightful to imagine.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Friday

Comments

[Donna (Texas)]

Crying on a Friday night is Not an option!
Awwww!! What a sweet ending! I can not believe the people these days who could care less about customer service! Our motto is, Reputation built on service...and we do our best to give the customer what they want. I think you just found yourself a new jeweler!
Hughugs

[Mari]

Awww - what a wonderful, touching post. What a letdown that your regular jeweler didn't want to work on it, but I'm so happy you found one that did, and did such a good job. It's special and beautiful. And you're pretty special too, for taking care of it.

[Judy Miller]

Your sister-in-law will be so happy to have her mother's precious ring back and restored and probably looking better than it did when brand new. She will cherish it for the rest of her life. I know, I would.

[Cheryl Arment]

What a beauty! I am so glad that it all worked out for you. I would like to see your sister-in-law's face when she sees it. It will be a wonderful keepsake. There is something to be said for a satisfied customer. If David's have a search engine searching the web for their name, they may see this and take you out to dinner! :) Just say'in.

When we lived in PA, I blogged about a problem we were having with pipes leaking that a plumber had fixed. I showed the wallpaper coming off and everything. Next day the boss of the company came and HE FIXED IT! I said, "How did you know?" He said, "We read your blog. No charge."

[Jennifer]

@Donna ... You may be right. Actually, the story doesn't end here. I took the beautifully restored ring back to "my" jeweler. I talked to a manager. She was appalled that her jeweler had used the word "try." She took a picture of the ring and promised to have a word with both said jeweler and the go-between. She was very nice and assured me they valued me as a customer. It was a positive experience. xoxo

@Mari ... It was an honor to do it and at least now, I know it pays to persist!

@Judy ... Ruth will indeed be thrilled with the ring and I've urged her to take the matching band and have it polished and cleaned, so that they match.

@Cheryl ... I'd like to see her face too, when she sees it. Maybe that will be possible in the spring. We haven't felt comfortable sending the ring through the mail, even insured, so we may wander up NW Ohio when it's warmer. That's a great story about the plumber reading your blog. I love that. He definitely stepped up and did the right thing.

[Sally]

Using this tiny phone I cant see updates on my blog but was able to get you through another blog friend. Having said that, so happy to see you here this morning
Such an inspiring wonderful message of long ago love that the ring turned out well and I know that your sister-in-law will be so happy to see it love you.