If you have ever misplaced a gold ring, earring, or another piece of favorite gold jewelry, you know how frustrating the search can be. So today, we’d like to suggest some strategies that can help you find your lost treasures.

Shown: a woman searching for lost gold jewelry in the seat cushions of her couch, after reading our post on Gold Refiners.com, part of Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners..

As you will notice, many of the strategies we suggest for finding your lost jewelry are also good for finding jewelry that is hiding in old homes, furniture, clothing, and other places. Let’s take a closer look.

If You Lost a Piece of Jewelry in or Near Your Home, Look in these Places

Down sink traps and (gulp) garbage disposals
In trash and recycling cans
In pockets and pants cuffs
On the bottom of hanging clothing bags
In washing machines and dryers, including lint filters (if you left your item in a pocket of a garment and later washed it, this is a good bet)
In your refrigerator or freezer (rings can slide off when your hands get cold)
Near the drain in a bathtub, hot tub, or shower
Under furniture cushions
On the floor under furniture, radiators and appliances
In pets’ food dishes, beds, and (dare we say it?) cat boxes, because animals have been known to move things around and even eat small items
In kitchen drawers or storage areas where your item might have fallen
In areas near the bottom of staircases (dropped items have a way of rolling down and ending up at the bottom of stairs)
Among your children’s or grandchildren’s possessions (they’re not crooks, but they might have found your item and added it their holdings)
On the tops of dressers and counters (lost items are often “hiding in plain sight”)
At the bottom of dresser drawers under socks, underwear, etc.

If You Lost a Piece of Jewelry Outside Your Home, Check these Places

In storage areas in your car and under interior carpets and seats
The place where you last saw or used the item that you lost
Lost and found services at gyms, libraries, schools, restaurants or other places where you have been recently
Lost and found ads in local newspapers (also consider placing an ad that offers a reward for the return of your lost item)
Lost and found posters on bulletin boards in local stores, schools, churches, etc.
Pawn shops in your area and nearby cities (if someone found your item in a public place, it could have ended up there)
Listings of items for sale on Craigslist and eBay

If those Strategies Fail, Try These

Talk to all the people you were with around the time you lost your item of jewelry. Ask a lot of questions. Were you wearing it when they last saw you? Did they see you take it off? Where did you go while you were wearing it – to a favorite store, to your gym, or Starbucks?
Ask your spouse, significant other, roommate, or someone else, to take over the search for you. Sometimes other people see things that you cannot, ask questions that you might not, and find your item.
Find an item that is similar in size and shape to the one you lost. Go to the top of a staircase in your house, drop the surrogate item, and see where it ends up. Repeat the same process in different places. Don’t be too surprised if it leads you right to the item that you lost.
Rent a metal detector and search areas around your home.

Security Concerns

Be cautious about going to claim silver or gold jewelry that you have located through a lost and found listing or on Craigslist. Here are some safety protocols to observe:

Do not give your home address or have anyone come to your home to return your lost item to you. It is safer to meet in a pubic and well-populated place like in an open seating area in a mall or in a restaurant.
Consider speaking with your local police to get their suggestions for meeting with someone who is offering to return your item to you. Some police departments even allow people to meet safely in their buildings to conduct Craigslist and classified ad transactions.
If you are paying a reward, give cash. If you pay via check, it is possible that you could be giving a crook the opportunity to use your checking account and routing number dishonestly.
Do not visit ATMs with the person you are paying. Obtain your cash well ahead of time from a source that is far away from the place where you are meeting the person who will return your item to you.
Have someone else accompany you to any meetings you have with someone who claims to be returning an item to you. If you cannot think of someone appropriate, consider hiring a private security service to accompany you. You may pay a few hundred dollars for such a service but if the person who claims to have your item turns out to be shady, you will be very glad that you did.

Come to Think of It . . .

At the start of this article, we mentioned some of the places where you are most likely to find lost items – at the bottom of stairs, in sink traps, in pockets, under cushions, and so on. Those are also very good places to look for gold in old homes you have bought, in antique stores, and elsewhere. Give it a try and if you find some, call one of our qualified consultants at 800-426-2344 to learn how to turn your discoveries into cash.

Blog

How to Find Lost Gold Jewelry

If You Lost a Piece of Jewelry in or Near Your Home, Look in these Places

If You Lost a Piece of Jewelry Outside Your Home, Check these Places

If those Strategies Fail, Try These

Security Concerns

Come to Think of It . . .

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