Engagement ring maintenance.

I noticed that I was a bit remiss on taking my ring for the 6 month check.  I was so remiss that I was almost a year out.

Oops.

I've never had that happen.  Life has, well, happened.  I also hate the mall.  (Hate is a strong word, but I really do.)  The store that holds the guarantee is in the mall.

Drat it all.

I go to big box jewelry store and a gentleman helped me and K.  At first, I couldn't tell if he was going to.  I thought he had just walked away, but he was readying himself to check my rings.  He called us over, I handed the rings over and he started his inspection.  He pulled out the mandrel and started pulling.

Yup.  I knew that she was out of round.  She was more so in oval.

:(

He checked.  He cleaned.  He was truly the most thorough that anyone has ever been.  Then came the news.  The news that I knew was a few years coming.

"The shank needs redone."

"I've known that for some time.  I figured that you'd tell me that."

"The ring is just about to break.  If it breaks, it may fall off and be lost."

I knew that the shank was thin when I had the great hand squashing incident of 2012.  I was hoping that when they reshaped it that by some miracle, that the shank could be made whole again.  Well, it was.  It just didn't earn anymore metal in the transaction.

So I bid my engagement ring a short farewell.  I had to pay the $160 in full to get her into repair.  (Redoing the shank does not fall under the warranty.)  It kind of irritated me having to pay for a repair before the item was actually delivered, but people stiff the jewelry store on repairs all of the time.  I understand the need for the change in policy.

My engagement ring isn't at all large.  I'm good with that.  Though I have my wedding ring on, I do feel a little naked without it.  I didn't realize how much I played with it until I had to hand it over.  Soon enough it will be back with another shank repair that will last me another & years or so.

What's funny is that the gentleman was apologizing for everything taking so much time and for the fact that they were essentially dead, then everyone came in.  "I work retail.  I understand how it goes."  He asked where I work and I told him.  Apparently, he is a customer.  I told him how I work display and sales.  He said it explained a lot about my ring.  He also made a comment about my energy.  "That would be a good job to keep you busy.  You seem to have a lot of energy."  "I was blessed with ADD.  Sometimes, I suppose, that it is a bit more manic than I give it credit to be."  And I thought I was being a bit more sedate than my usual self.  :shakes of the head:  He chuckled, handed my credit card back and I was off.