In recent news, a well-meaning husband who wanted to raise a bit of money for his young family sold an old watch box belonging to his wife. What he didn’t know was that the watch box hid a sparkling stunner: an engagement she had hidden in there that was worth $23,000.
Eric and Racquel Cloutier, who live in Laguna Niguel, California, were expecting their fourth child in late May…around the same time that their neighborhood was organizing its annual garage sale. Before she left for the hospital to give birth, Racquel hid her cherished ring in an old watch box for safekeeping. On the day of the garage sale, her husband Eric picked up said watch box and gave it a $10 price tag. A buyer managed to bring it down to $5. His wife came home a few days later with the baby, and wanted to try on her ring to see if it will fit her once more. When she couldn’t find the box she hid it in, she started crying to her husband, who admitted what he had done.
Meanwhile, Alyssa Loussau of Mission Viejo, California belatedly realized there was a hidden ring in the watch box she had bought at a nearby garage sale. Her husband, who lost his keys, had taken out the cushions in the box to look for them there. They were shocked to see Racquel Cloutier’s valuable engagement ring tumble out.
After learning about the lost engagement ring through local and national media, the Loussaus managed to track down where the Cloutiers live, and returned the ring to them. A happy and grateful Racquel, now the mom of four adorable kids, told NY Daily News: “I couldn’t believe that my ring had come back to me, they really found it!”
Hopefully, Racquel and other owners of precious diamond rings have learned the importance of proper safekeeping of their valuable jewelry from this incident.
