It looked like a regular pair of Olympic mittens sold at the Hudson’s Bay store in downtown Victoria.
But when Helen Lewis watched a female customer try on a pair a few weeks ago, the customer felt more than just the cozy feel of a warm glove.
“She said ‘oh, I found a ring in here!’” said Lewis. “I had a look at it and one of the other employees came along and noticed it’s a nice ring.”
According to Lewis, the shiny silver ring appears to have a First Nations significance given the unique etchings found on the band. It looked like something of value, leaving Lewis to believe that someone had tried the glove on previously and the ring got stuck inside without the owner even realizing what had happened.
Lewis took the ring to the lost and found department, where it’s been sitting since it parted ways with its owner around Nov. 27. She’s amazed nobody has called searching for their missing piece of jewelry.
“If I had lost that, at least 50 pairs of ears would have heard about it by now,” she said. “It’s a bit of a mystery.”
The store’s lost and found department receives two to three items on a daily basis, depending on the season. Many of the items are earrings that people have left in the dressing room or have fallen onto the floor, along with umbrellas, sunglasses and prescription glasses.
If nobody comes to claim the items after three months, they are given to charity. On one occasion, Barbara Ann, who did not want to publish her last name, took 33 unclaimed umbrellas to the community chest in James Bay, where they were sold for $3 a piece.
Both Lewis and Barbara are hopeful the owner will return to claim the unique ring, but Barbara said such reunions only happen two or three times a month.
“It’s not much. I’ve got more prescription glasses that get turned in here. It’s unbelievable,” she said. “You are out shopping, you put something down and then you can’t remember where it is because you’ve been to 12 stores. It happens a lot.”