If it can happen, it will happen, and a lot has "happened" to customers' jewelry over Ketterman's past 25 years here in Leesburg, and even more since 1951 in Vienna. There are the common, dropped it in a public place and never found it, ran over it in the driveway, or looked down and my stone was gone. We have compiled some of our "favorite" extra special Jewelry "horror stories" to share with you on this All Hallows Eve.
Scared or Just Chicken?
The best stories, for the customer's sake, are the ones that have happy endings - when a jewelry piece is restored to it's rightful place in it's original condition. One of our favorites was a recent newsletter story. If you got our August Newsletter, you know about Condi the chicken. She took a particular liking to her (human) mom's diamond stud earring, and grabbed it right off her ear. After several days of diligent monitoring of the chicken's "digestion", the diamond was thought to be lost forever. Unfortunately, Condi fell ill and passed a few months later, but the story isn't all sad. The earring was retrieved by Condi's curious (human) dad, and after some minor repairs, was back in "Mom's" ear again.
You Look Flushed...
A young lady came into the store one day to find an engagement ring. The interaction started out with the usual, do you know what shape stone, color metal, style you would like...and then an interesting fact was unearthed, she wasn't engaged. In fact, she had been married for some time, and had a bridal set. The natural question was, "Why would you like a new bridal set?" Typical answers are, "I'm just ready for a change", "I would like a larger stone", or "I want to combine the two into one ring." She proceeded to tell the associate how she would often take off her ring and leave it around the house, but then she said these frightening words, "My two year old...potty training...'flush'..." The good news was, she had the ring insured and the insurance company paid for a beautiful replacement from Ketterman's. We did get to meet the young man responsible, and now "Mommy" keeps her ring on her finger or in the jewelry box.
Parts in a Jar
I will preface this story by saying, what is good for one, is not necessarily good for all, especially when it comes to cleaning products. A woman came into the store with a jar of clear liquid and something shiny bobbing in the bottom and what looked like sand. She explained that when she woke that morning, there were pieces of what had been her engagement ring floating in the jar (they had disintegrated into the sand-like substance in transit). She had cleaned her ring overnight in chlorine bleach, and the stone was all that was left.
Unfortunately this is not the only time Ketterman's has been presented with a ring (or what was left of one) that had been damaged or consumed by chlorine. There was another young man who had borrowed a friend's ring and "cleaned" it before returning it - there was no ring left to return. And then there was the gentleman who found his wedding band in three pieces at the bottom of the pool where he regularly swam laps. Just for your information, Ketterman's does sell jewelry cleaner, and you should always read and follow the instructions carefully. Oh, and check with a jeweler before using household cleaning products on your precious metals.
Bless You
A woman had taken her four carat diamond to Ketterman's in Vienna to have an insurance appraisal written. She picked up her ring and appraisal and went about her day. She was on her way to meet a friend and stopped at a service station to get fuel. Not wanting the attendant to assume anything because of her rather large ring, she wrapped it in a tissue and set it in her passenger seat. On her way to her destination, due to a cold she was working through, she had accumulated several tissues in her passenger seat. Not wanting her friend to think she was a messy person, she grabbed up all (yes, all) of the tissues and threw them out the car window (yes, out the window).
When she arrived at her meeting place, she looked down at her and and realized what she had done. She rushed back to the side of the road where she had disposed of her litter and searched through what she could find. It would seem that the heavy ring departed from the tissue as it was hurled from the car, and the ring was never found. So, if you find yourself driving past Bennett's Nursery in Vienna, it may be worth a walk down the side of the road. And the moral of the story: Don't litter.