A Band of Gold

Getting it resized

A Band of Gold

Nearly 55 years ago I bought my wife a wedding band at Beale AFB, California. As the decades stacked up behind us she gained some weight and it had to be cut off. She took home the ring plus a chunk of gold about 1/8 inch long. Throughout the years I've waited for the time when it was important enough to have it reworked, keeping the two in small, separate ziplock bags.

Monday evening that time arrived.

The following morning we took everything to a jeweler. He said he couldn't use the original piece and that was okay. A couple of hours later he called and said the ring was ready.

He did a fine job. Barb was very happy. But the piece of gold was missing.

"Oh, I had a drawer open. It flipped into the drawer with a bunch of other stuff," he said.

"Okay. Let's look for it," I suggested.

"It'll take some time."

"That's okay. I have time."

Later that afternoon he called and said he had Barb's piece of gold.

I really hate to think he was trying to make off with it, but it was in a bag of its own and he'd already told us he couldn't use it

How did it get into the drawer?

When I bought the band for her a half-century ago that small piece might have been worth a couple of bucks. But now it might be worth thirty or forty.

Now it's in our little safe along with a quarter-ounce given to us by our son-in-law a decade ago.

Who knows, maybe one day it will keep the wolf at bay one more day.

Reviews

[Vic Hundahl]

Thank you for your comments which encourages me to write. I read you gold ring story. I wished you had developed your wife’s character more. It appears that you still love her or have affection to take the effort to refit the ring. I would have liked you to include that. Sorry for the late response but I am traveling thru Denmark, Norway and Sweden

[Themistocles Parnassos]

That was a great story! I liked your simple yet very expressive and pleasant style of writing!

[Samuel Dickens]

My father was a watch and clock repairman and sometimes jeweler. Many times, I watched him "size" rings, either shrinking or expanding them. To make smaller, he'd cut a piece out, squeeze up the gap, then weld it with a special welder and gold filler. To make them larger, (the easier job) he usually stretched them by placing them on a tapered steel tool and gently tapping all around. You were right to make the guy return the small gold piece. An interesting story, well-told.