ethics question: you find a diamond in a doctor's office... what do you do?

[unblock]

i had a routine check-up at the doctor's this morning. while changing into the lovely paper clothing they provided, i noticed a diamond buried in a wicker chair.

i was able to pick it out.

now what?

- pocket it?

- leave a note with the receptionist saying i found something, if anyone claims it, here's my cell phone number and i'll return it (otherwise it's mine after some number of days/weeks)?

- leave the diamond with the receptionist asking her to do return it if anyone claims it (otherwise it's hers after some number of days, unless she's a republican, in which case she pockets it immediately)?

- something else?

[HappyPlace]

1. Inform the receptionist, sell and donate proceeds to good cause if it's not claimed.

Win win.

[tammywammy]

2. Leave it with the receptionist. n/t

[mnhtnbb]

3. I presume you mean a diamond ring?

I had a friend find a diamond ring one time on the beach.

You might want to take the 'diamond' to a jeweler you trust to find out if it's real.
It may not be, and not worth much at all.

I'd ask for the doctor's office manager (not the receptionist). Tell her (him) that you found a ring
and leave your contact info with that person. I wouldn't show the ring or describe
it to the office manager. If someone contacts you and can describe the ring--including
the stone (size, cut, clarity, etc.) that matches what you found out from a jeweler, then
that is that person's ring!

You may just have found yourself a nice surprise, though.

[unblock]

4. it was a loose diamond, not a ring.

my guess is that it's fake, but i'm hardly an expert.

it had an unusual cut, square with a flat bottom.

[Renew Deal]

5. This sounds like the best advice

[MineralMan]

6. Turn it in at the reception desk and forget about it.

It's not yours, and you found it on private property. Turn it in. It's not yours, and you have no claim to it.

Simple. Odds are that the person who lost has already asked if it had been found there. I don't find any real question here. Not yours and found on someone's property.

It doesn't belong to you.

[unblock]

10. that's the answer i was looking for

yes, that's exactly what i did. i found someone else's private property on someone else's commercial property. i had no claim to it at all.

i asked the receptionist to return it to its rightful owner if they claim it; if not, well, happy birthday.

[enlightenment]

11. Right answer.

And the best.

[alphafemale]

17. This is the only responsible answer.

Finding a lost object in no way gives you any claim to it.

[malaise]

21. That simple n/t

[TwilightGardener]

7. Call them, let them know you have it. It's probably yours, though, because the person who lost it

probably would have no idea where it fell out. I lost the diamond out of my engagement ring when the setting snagged/bent on my big dog's braided nylon leash while he was trying to launch himself from 0-60 mph after a squirrel. Had the leash handle wrapped around my hand. I didn't realize it had fallen out right away, and was able to find the diamond on the ground after a fairly lengthy search under the big oak tree where the incident happened--it was needle-in-haystack luck. Edit to add: if you call them, maybe they can narrow down which patients were in the room that day or that week and find the owner that way.

[unblock]

12. oh, i've got you beat on that one

many moons ago, my first wife and i got home in new jersey at 2am after a long dinner/evening at family in manhattan.

she then realized her ring no longer had its diamond stone. we searched the car and the driveway, then she figured she had to call our host (knowing they were the sort to still be up cleaning) they did some searching on their end but came up empty.

she then remembered she heard a tinkling sound when we had gotten into the car to leave. thinking it might have fallen out at that point, we realized we had to go back to our parking spot before morning lest any find it first.

so, yes, we drove back into manhattan, got there around 3:30 am (hey! no traffic delays at that hour!), drove up to our parking spot, which miraculously was still vacant, shone the car lights on it, and eventually found her sparkling diamond.

the streets of new york city really are paved with diamonds, you know!

[TwilightGardener]

14. Wow, pure luck that she had ANY idea where it might have fallen out.

At least I lost mine in my own backyard, but finding it in the grass/weeds still felt like a miracle.

[mnhtnbb]

16. That's a good one!

My engagement ring was a 3 stone ring: ruby in the center and a smaller diamond on each side.
Twice I lost one of those little diamonds--and found the stone both times--once when getting my
son's car seat out of the car the ring snagged and I found the stone on the pavement--and the second
time I realized a stone was missing in the kitchen when I was unpacking groceries. Got out the flashlight
and found the stone under the refrigerator.

Eventually I had my engagement/wedding rings remade into one ring and bezel set all the stones.
No more stones have fallen out!

[underahedgerow]

18. I was cooking a Mexican fiesta for a family party near Cannes, FR, in a very fancy enclave....

The Mom had just bought a new ring a couple days before. So there she is, holding the Pinata for her little boy to thwack with the stick, and he thwacks her hand/finger/ring instead. The stone went flying, never to be seen again. A dozen of us abandoned all festivities to comb the grass & shrubbery, and of course it was right next to the pool as well, so it really was a lost cause.

We kept hearing years later that he was sure someone of 'the help' had nicked it, which was really rude.

The stone was worth 250,000 bucks. Hubby hadn't insured it yet. Ouch!

[Cleita]

8. All businesses that deal with the public have a lost and found even if it's just a box

in a supply closet. Most likely the person who lost the ring will retrace their steps and eventually ask for it. If it's not claimed for a reasonable length of time, then how it will be disposed of varies according to the business.

[Travis_0004]

9. I would give it to the doctor

Let him put it in lost and found and deal with it.

[Zorra]

13. Tell the receptionist saying i found something, make sure the whole staff knows

give them your number.

If you live in a rural areal, put an ad in one of those local ad papers and see if you have any luck.

Keep the diamond for at least a year before you decide to do anything else but hang onto it.

I found a $200 watch by the side of the road and did all I could to find the owner.

After 5 years of waiting for a sign about what to do with it, I gave it to a friend who told me his watch broke.

[PatrickforO]

15. Turn it in to the doctor. It isn't yours.

[underahedgerow]

19. I side with Satan. If it's a valuable stone then it could have a number on it, lazered in. I would

look for the tag and see it if's traceable. If not, I would have it appraised at a decent pawn shop, and take as much money as I could get for it, which will be about 1/3rd at most of its retail 'value'.

If it's a significant stone, it'll be insured and the former owner will be compensated.

If it were a piece of real jewelry that was well worn, loved and most likely sentimental, then I would turn it in, or leave an advert at the Dr.'s office.

Most likely, it is a piece of glass, since a well made piece of jewelry is far less likely to lose stones. Cheap stuff loses stones, but it could have been the lottery!

[Marrah_G]

20. I would give it to the doctor and explain where you found it.