Jeweler loses 40-year-old engagement ring, wedding band during routine inspection

GOLDSBORO, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A diamond is forever. At least that's the hope, especially when it comes to your engagement ring and wedding band from your special day.

When you take those rings to a jeweler for repair or inspection, you trust nothing will happen to your rings. However, for Peggy Bell that was not the case after the jeweler lost her rings.

"These rings are special rings. Forty years! My diamond ring was from years. I'm emotional and I'm having a problem behind it."

Her husband bought her engagement ring 40 years ago from Kay Jewelers and bought several more through the years, including her 25th anniversary ring.

To make sure the rings are covered under Kay Jewelers warranty, she took the rings to the jewelers for inspection. During the most recent inspection, according to the paperwork from Kay Jewelers, all of her rings needed repairs or to be cleaned and polished, so she left her rings there. When she went back to the jeweler to pick up the rings, she couldn't believe what an employee told her.

"'Didn't the manager call you and tell you the jewelry was missing or lost?'" Bell recalled.

She said she was assured they would try and find the rings. So Bell tried to be patient, but eventually her patience ran out.

"Your manager signed for my jewelry, so where is my jewelry?"

The rings never turned up. So Kay Jewelers agreed to replace Bell's rings, which they did, but when she took them to an appraiser, she was told the rings were not the same quality of the rings that were lost.

Bell said her appraiser told her, "Give them back to Kay Jewelers because the quality of the diamonds was not good; they were low-quality diamond rings compared to what I had."

Bell gave Kay Jewelers another chance, but after waiting months and still no resolution, she turned to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson for help. Suddenly, the case picked up.

"When you got involved, that's when things did move, moved faster," Bell said.

Jamie Singleton, President, Kay Jewelers said about Bell's case, "For more than 100 years at Kay, we've proudly helped millions of customers celebrate life and express love. We take customer service and product quality very seriously and sincerely apologize to Mrs. Bell for not living up to our own standards. I personally reached out to Mrs. Bell and my team will remain hard at work until she is completely satisfied."

Kay Jewelers worked with Bell and replaced all of the rings she lost.

"I'm very happy with what I got and received from Kay's," Bell said. She said the jeweler even gave her an upgrade on her main wedding band. "They remade my jewelry and gave me a three carat one, and then re-did my rings. I have my paperwork now to prove all of my values."

Bell said she's happy it's all behind her and thankful it worked out. She tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you've done to get my jewelry back."

The Troubleshooter Takeaways when it comes to anything valuable make sure you have pictures and documents to prove the value before handing it over for repair or inspection, and if there are problems, document everything.