Wedding ring found under Ballito restaurant’s deck – five years later!

In a lucky twist of fate a lost wedding ring was discovered during renovations at Mo-Zam-Bik in Ballito and returned to it’s delighted owner.

More than five years ago Mariska van Loggerenberg – a former resident of Ballito now living in Johannesburg – was enjoying an evening out at Mo-Zam-Bik restaurant when two pieces of her designer wedding ring slipped off her finger and disappeared between the deck planks.

The missing pieces comprised of an 18-carat white gold band and accompanying diamond ring were worth more than R45 000.

Despite hours of searching – the owner even took up a few floor boards – she was unable to find it again and sadly gave it up for lost.

“I cried for days after losing it,” she said.

It was not only the loss of an expensive piece of jewelry that crushed her but the disappearance of something with so much sentimental value. She has since worn a replica of the original.

Now, half a decade later and separated by more than 600km, a part of her ring has made it back to her.

While redoing Mo-Zam-Bik’s deck earlier this week one of the white gold segments of her ring came to light. Remembering that years ago a women had lost her wedding band there, Brett Michielim, the restaurant’s owner, reached out via the Dolphin Coast Neighbour’s group on Facebook – appealing for anyone who knew the identity of the owner of the long lost ring.

Within 10 minutes of posting his appeal he received a response.

“I was absolutely speechless” Van Loggerenberg told The Courier when she received a call from a friend in Ballito who had seen Michielim’s post, “I couldn’t believe it!”

This incredible tale has since earned her some minor celebrity status, with newspapers from across the country eager to share her story.

The ring was made up of three segments and only one has surfaced to so far but even so Van Loggerenberg said that she is hopeful the rest of her ring will be found – given that she never expected to see any part of it again.

Michielim has since offered a R2000 reward for the recovery of the centre segment with the diamond.

She expressed her heartfelt thanks to Michielim and his team for the extraordinary lengths they went to in returning her ring to her, “Brett really has gone the extra mile!”