Washing machine repairman finds Sheffield woman's lost engagement ring - three years after it went missing

Jane North, 60, from Walkey, had given up hope she would ever see her beloved gold and sapphire ring after accidentally putting it in the wash in 2018.

The treasured piece of jewellery was given to her by her husband, Bambos, in 1994 and otherwise hadn’t left her side for 23 years.

"I thought it had just been washed down the drain forever,” said Jane.

“It’s a beautiful ring. It has a tiny sapphire on it the size of a mouse’s eye. I adore it and I’ve had it on my finger everyday since I got it.”

But Jane says the ring ended up in the laundry by accident one day in 2018 after she walked home in a downpour and hastily put a wash on when she got in.

“I realised what happened and looked later but I couldn’t find it,” said Jane. “Our first thought was to check the rubber lining and the filter but it was nowhere to be seen.

"It meant everything to me. It was so upsetting. I thought it had been washed away forever.”

Jane was so upset she even visited Michael Spencer Jewellers in town centre where she drew the ring from memory and had a replica made – but it wasn’t the same.

It also meant she was without it when she and Bambos renewed their vows on their 25th anniversary in 2020.

“I wouldn’t exchange the original for the Star of India,” said Jane. “It’s just so beautiful.”

But now, after more than three years without it, Jane has been reunited with her sapphire ring – after having some trouble with her washing machine in January.

“It started making a really bad grinding noise,” said Jane. “I went on the Wonderful Walkley Facebook page and was given the number for Stephen from Valley Appliances.

“When he was done, he came into the living room and said ‘has anyone lost a ring?’.

"I couldn’t believe it – I thought, ‘it’s just not possible’. But there it was. It had been in one of the pipes all this time.

"It makes me believe there’s somebody up there. It’s just so meaningful to me.

After spending three years in the wash, the sapphire ring – which originally came from a jewellers on Bond Street in London – was looking worse for wear and was in need of repairs.

"I took it back to Michael Spencer Jewellers again, who cleaned and repaired it and have it looking good as new,” said Jane.

"What’s funny is now I’ve got the replica ring too, so I’ve got two rings to pass down one day.”

Stephen Bond-Rothwell, from Valley Appliances Repairs, who found the ring, said: “Jane was telling me as I was taking a look at her machine if there was anywhere a ring might turn up, and I said I’d see what I could do.

"I looked in one of the hoses and there it was.

"It made my day to see how happy it made her. It was just waiting for someone to discover it.”