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When the couple bought their wedding rings in Melbourne a couple of weeks before the wedding, Shane selected a titanium ring.

Prior to the wedding he realised the ring was too big.

Remembering it had been a hot day when they bought the rings, Shane said he must have had swollen fingers when he tried it on.

‘‘Putting it on several times as the wedding got closer I realised it was too loose and I could spin it around,’’ he said.

‘‘I called the jewellers to ask about having it resized, but was told that titanium rings could not be resized.’’

Just two weeks after their wedding, Shane said he lost his ring.

‘‘Because it was too big I had developed a habit of twirling it around my finger,’’ he said.

Driving along in the Valley Sport vehicle Shane said the ring flicked off and, by some unlucky chance, went into an airconditioning vent.

Taking the vehicle apart with the assistance of several colleagues, Shane said they were unable to locate the ring.

‘‘I told Emma, ‘I’ve lost it, I know where it is, but I just can’t find it’,’’ he said.

She suggested he wear the Cartier stainless steel dress ring she had given him some time before they were engaged, but which he had refused to wear at the time.

‘‘It turned out to be a much better fit than my wedding ring, so I asked Emma if she would mind if it became my wedding ring and I have been wearing it ever since,’’ Shane said.

‘‘I now have a wedding ring sitting somewhere in the ventilation system of the Ford Ranger.

‘‘When we drive around in that car, even now more than 12 months later, we can often hear the ting, ting, ting of the wedding ring rolling around inside the car.

‘‘Even though the ring does have sentimental value because it’s my actual wedding ring, it’s a work vehicle and the costly exercise of paying a mechanic to pull the car apart and locate a ring with no guarantee is something that I won’t pursue at this stage.’’

Shane said there was a lesson in this story.

‘‘When you make the commitment and buy the ring, it is important to have it correctly fitted or you might lose it,’’ he said.

He said the experience had taught him several valuable lessons: don’t try on a wedding ring when fingers were swollen in the heat; pay attention to the road and don’t be distracted by spinning the ring on your finger; and, if you must spin the ring, buy a specially designed spinner ring.