What Would Your Choice Be in This Situation?

I would try to find that particular guy if possible.(thru the internet/ classmates.com etc., ) and after reasonable attempts,you can't find him, throw it in with the rest of the stuff, (although I'd have the gem removed before I'd cash it in.) If you need the cash to do Christmas , Go for It ! Noone will be the wiser ! Have fun shopping ! :>) C. S.

I personally think it will be fine if you sell it...it has been 12 years and he did give it to you!

The idea of giving it back is very nice, if you knew where he was...do you have any way of tracking him down? If you do, I say give it a try but if you don't or it doesn't pan out, don't feel bad and go ahead a sell it.

My hubby's class ring has been in his sock drawer doing a whole lot of nothing since the day he graduated HS :)

I would take all those other gifts and sell them, BUT me being me - would honestly have to find this guy (via facebook, or call the highschool you attended) and give him back this ring ! It may not mean anything to you - but it could to him, maybe something he'd pass down to his son or daughter OR cash it in for himself. It was his ring - that just my feelings on it.

I sorta feel like anyone would want their class ring back. I could be wrong, but, I've heard stories about people being happy getting them back after 30 or more years.
There are so many resources now; facebook, myspace, classmates.com, etc. I'd look him up and attempt to get it back to him.

Could you take it back to his parents? Does your class president have his contact information?

You tried to locate him, you couldn't, I say sell it.

If you said you would give it back to him, keep your word. Perhaps he and his family need that ring for the money or perhaps he has a son he would love to pass that ring onto. Whatever the case is or isn't, he should get the ring back.

I wouldn't sell the ring. Hopefully you will be able to get it back to him O. day.

Turn in everything else, keep the ring for another few years, keep searching.... and when you completely feel guilt free melting it down, do it then. If you already feel guilt free to melt it down, do it now ;)

If you know of any way to contact him, then I would. Only to return the ring.
Check on Facebook to see if he is on there, if you don't have any other ideas. If you know where his mom/dad are living, you might try to follow up with them, to see if they could give you his contact info.

You alluded to "knowing what his plans were back then"... does that mean that he moved away somewhere? or what? Even if he moved away... you could still try to contact him. Then you could mail the ring to him (insured). It's the right thing to do.

You said "I always said..." Did you actually say this or it was just your thought?

I am sure it is water under the bridge for him 12 years later, but to ease your mind, is there any way you could get in contact with him and return it either via mail or to his parents if they are still local?

As I type, I guess I'm leaning towards - attempt to return it. He might like to have it as a keepsake of his younger years and share it with his children,

I would try to find the guy on Facebook or somewhere like that to see if he wants his class ring. It probably would mean a lot to him to have it back. If you can't find him, oh well, you tried. But yes, I would take your old gold and cash it in. I did that with some of mine that I would never wear again. I went in thinking, if I get $150 I will be really happy. Guess what? I walked away with $584!! I was SO excited!

I say what are you waiting for. I would take the emerald out though they aren't going to pay you for it. It has been 12 years and when you broke up if he wanted it back (since he gave you the phone back) he should have asked for it. Times are hard. If he is living in the woods I don't think he would want it anyways, he doesn't sound by the way you have described him as materialistic at all. Good Luck..

I would try and find him to give it back, try your hardest, so you will have no guilt, if you can't find him and have exhausted every way to search, sell it

not worth it, you will hardly get anything of what they are worth right now no matter where you go. the gemstones mean absolutley nothing and there will be an appraisal fee just to find out the cost. you may want to put the ring out there on Ebay or Craigs list to see if you can get it back to the original owner or a family member but overall not really the best thing to do imho.

well, first off, i unloaded a bunch of gold jewelry. you dont get that much in comparison to what you paid, actually, the quality of the piece has no bearing, only its weight.

the ring cost $900, but even when purchasing, they are so overpriced. they will take out the emerald, but the stones they use in class rings arent the best cuts. even so, gemstones, besides diamonds, dont get much value. even diamonds though arent what you think. my sister has been divorced twice, and sold the rings. she took them several places. they were both quite nice rings, with decent quality diamonds. i think she ended up with 15% of the cost of the ring, if that, and that was for diamonds, which hold up value better than gemstones.

as for the ring itself, they are going to rip the emerald out, weigh the gold, and give you the going $ per ounce of the gold. it wont be much at all. they will actually put all the same karat gold together and weigh it with no regards to the jewelry itself.

its actually quite sad. the only person who will find value in that ring is him and his family. if it werent such a personal item, i would say no problem. but considering how little you will get, and how he may like to show his children someday, i would give it back. its not that hard, if you know where his parents are, just mail it to them. otherwise, put out on your facebook that you are looking for him, someone always knows someone. there are ways if you really spend time on the computer to find someone. most people are listed in the phonebook to some degree, and if he isnt, most likely his parents or siblings are. if you try a bunch of those white page listings, you usually can find relatives fairly easy.

otherwise, get rid of all your other unwanted or out of style jewelry. its not worth it unless you go with a few things, as one pair of earrings may only get you $10.

You should trade it in for something nice for yourself. You'll get a lot more out of it that way. I'm trading in a diamond that cost $1300 and they're giving me $1800 toward another purchase!

You've gone through great lengths to find him - good for you! Any chance the school (if it's still around) has a contact number for him? Maybe one last ditch effort??

I guess if you've tried to locate him with no luck, and he hasn't tracked YOU down looking for his ring, then it's yours to do whatever you choose to. He probably doesn't remember that you still have it.

Hmmmm, it's not like you need the money to feed your children, and a promise is a promise....

Plus when you're as old as I am you might realize that 12 years really ISN'T that long of a time after all.....

And it's unlikely you'll get a TON of money for it....

I like reading all the answers, it's a VERY philosophical question, even if you didn't mean it that way!

sell it. It has been way to long, if it was important to him in any way he would of got it back from you by now. I'm actually surprised you still have it after all these years and 2 husbands later

Get his or a family members address and mail it back to him. I once had a gold chain from an old boyfriend, I gave it to my cousin who knew his brother, and I returned it to him.

What I would do is try to send it back to him. If you have high school reunions, is there maybe an alumni book or CD available you could look up his address? Or the internet (facebook, e.g.). Old friends who might know where to send it?. Personally I think it would be in really poor taste to take someone else's stuff, cash it in, and keep the money. He paid for it, it was put in your hands under more juvenile circumstances or way of thinking, and he may be thinking a lot about it and wishing he had his classring back. I'm 56 and lost mine a week before high school commencement and to this day wish I had it again and wondering where I lost it. Some things can't be duplicated or replicated.
Do the right thing and return it.

I'd try hard to locate him and return the ring. The rest of the stuff, if it has no real sentimental value to the giver, can be sold.

I agree. Sell the other gold but as you are able, try to find the owner of the class ring and return it when you can. I like the idea of writing to the local law officials of the town where he used to live. In small towns, they know everything about everybody.

I guess I would just do what I'd hope someone would do for me. Have a great day. D.

I agree, I would try and get the ring back if I could ever find him, you may be able to get in touch with him through the maker of the ring, or at the very least his parents.

Everything else, trade in and get some cash.

You can run an add in the local classifieds of his hometown, someone may know how to contact him. It shouldn't cost much, less that $50. Once you have made an honest attempt to find him to return such an expensive personal piece of jewelry I would say job well done and go ahead and get rid of it.

In the UP you can probably just ask how Joe Schmoe is doing at the police station and they will know who he is and if he is still there.
I would send a letter to his mom at the original address, without the ring. Tell her what you want to do with it, send it to him, and wait for a response. Maybe ask her to have him call you or get a hold of you.
Or get a hold of his high school. Someone there is bound to know how to get a hold of him, especially if he is still up there.
Keep trying. Things are a little unconventional up there. You have to be creative.
I would not sell anyone's class ring, other jewelry yes.

Can you find and locate his parents and give it back to them? They are the one's who probably paid for it in the first place and would also know how to reach him on occasion.

I'd make a serious attempt to find him or his family and return that ring. The others I'd definitely trade for cash!

My thought is it isn't yours, give it back to him or his family and be done with it. Sometimes the school it was from can locate the person as well. You already know it isn't truly yours, or you wouln't have second thoughts about it. The guy or his family paid good money for it. They should have it. Plus, you'll get nowhere near $900 for it. And the odds that it was a real emerald, unless it was bought at a jewelers, isn't too high. Someone might have been feeding you a story there.

If the ring was made by Jostens or a similar class ring company, I think you might be able to contact them and they may have information on record and be able to assist you in returning the ring. If you can't find him after exhausting all efforts, then I would say go ahead and sell it and the jewelry for sure.

Everything but the class ring. I would try to find him to return it once and for all or just hold on to it.

I think you should try to get this one back to the original owner. The companies who make these rings will often ty to track owners if they are returned. OR try facebook. This is probably something he would want back. I don' think it is yours to sell for scrap.