When Kevin Jenkins' wedding ring slipped off his finger, hit the footpath, then rolled into a drain on Tutanekai St, his first thoughts were how he was going to tell his wife Ann.
The heart-stopping moment happened on Wednesday.
"I put my hand in my pocket to get my keys out and it fell off and rolled into the grate," he said.
"Losing a ring is never a good thing, especially losing a wedding ring. I've had it for 15 years."
All was forgiven yesterday afternoon, when Fulton Hogan workers managed to fish the gold band ring out of the drain and return it to a relieved Mr Jenkins.
"I am really happy. My wife will be happy, I am going to get home and tell the wife, it makes up for Wednesday when I lost it."
He did not expect it to be returned but had been hoping for the best.
"If I get it back it's a bonus. I expect a lot of ribbing from my friends."
He said his wife was understanding when he told her had lost the ring, as it could have happened to anyone.
"When I told my wife I had lost the ring she was quite happy about it. She was not annoyed, not really. She did get a little bit quiet which is her way. We go really well and I am really happy to get the ring back. It's not going anywhere now."
Fulton Hogan had searched the drain for the ring on Wednesday, but it was too full of water.
They emptied the drain and let it dry out until yesterday afternoon when another exploratory search led to the happy ending.