When Kiwi Christine Downer glanced at her hand mid-dip in a cruise ship pool off the French Riviera, her heart sank — the diamond from her decades-old engagement ring was gone.
It prompted a last-minute search-and-rescue mission from her husband, Richard, who raced around the streets of Nice to source dive gear before the vessel ‘s scheduled departure.
The drama unfolded on a sunny afternoon in southern France in September, when the couple returned to their cruise ship after a day ashore.
“We just came back to the ship, and we went to the pool, and I just got in the pool and looked down at my ring, and I’m going, ‘My diamond’s just fallen out’,” Christine told the Herald.
The ring had been “slightly dodgy” before they left New Zealand, but she had assumed the issue was minor.
Realising the diamond was likely detached in the pool, Christine felt “pretty sick” when she discovered it was gone.
Other passengers joined the search, spending more than an hour sweeping the pool in a grid pattern with their feet.
When the diamond remained unfound, Christine told them to stop. It was insured, she said, encouraging them to continue enjoying their holiday.
Richard, however, wasn’t willing to give up. The ring had gone missing in Lake Taupō 25 years earlier.
“It was like déjà vu. It was all over again, and there’s no way I am going to let this ring be lost,” he said.
Richard disembarked and set off on foot to find goggles or a mask.
Several dive shops were closed or no longer operating, and by the time he found an open store, he was several kilometres from the ship and facing an imminent departure time.
Back on board, the group had been seated for a special dinner when an announcement came over the speaker.
“Everyone’s on board, except for one person, but we head that he is coming,” Christine recalled them saying.
With the help of a tuk-tuk, Richard made it back to ship just 15 minutes before departure, heading straight to the pool before it could be drained.
“The second dive under, there it was, just looking at me at the bottom of the pool,” he said. “It was right there waiting.”
Christine burst into tears when Richard showed her the diamond, saying it was a miracle it was still there and hadn’t been sucked into the filtration system.
“I was just thrilled. I couldn’t believe Richard had done it again.”
House of Travel Kāpiti Coast consultant Jo Coolen, a close friend of the couple who organised the trip and was poolside when the diamond went missing, said the moment was unforgettable.
“I’ve helped plan a lot of amazing trips over the years, but only Christine and Richard’s would include goggles, a tuk-tuk dash, and a cruise ship literally waiting on one passenger to set sail,” Coolen said.
“If anyone was going to find that diamond at the bottom of the ship’s swimming pool, it was Richard.”
The ring was particularly special for the couple as they bought it in Chicago, where Richard once lived as an exchange student and where he proposed to Christine.
“It is really special to us. So, if we can keep this ring rather than have it replaced, that’s what matters most,” Christine said.
While the couple were lucky to locate the diamond, Coolen said that as a professional travel consultant, she always stresses the importance of organising insurance for the entire trip, as others aren’t usually as fortunate.
“But my personal advice to Christine is that [Richard is] a keeper, but no more swimming with that ring on.”
Tom Rose is an Auckland-based journalist who covers breaking news, specialising in lifestyle, entertainment and travel. He joined the Herald in 2023.
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