IT TOOK A magnifying glass for one woman to discover that she could have been wearing another person’s wedding ring for over a decade.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Liveline programme, Marianne Crowley said she only discovered last night that her original ring must have been swapped with another in the 18 years since she married.

Trying to remember the date of her anniversary, she used a magnifier to inspect the inscription on her ring only to discover it was engraved with an unfamiliar date (July 1993) and name (Pat).

Her wedding to Flor, her husband, on the other hand, was in September 1997.

Marianne said she rarely removed her original ring and never left it in for repair.

She only remembers dropping it down a hotel sink around eight years ago.

“Even if it was the one I dropped down the sink,” she said, “what are the chances of picking one up that’s exactly the same, that fits my finger?”

The ring she has now is identical to the simple gold band given to her before her wedding, she said.

Marianne said she has even asked a jeweller if her own inscription could have gradually worn away, exposing an older engraving from the ring’s previous owner.

She briefly considered the possibility of it belonging to her brother-in-law, Pat, before remembering he didn’t marry in 1993.

“It’s all a bit of a nightmare,” she said.

Marianne said she is keen to return the ring to its original owner, hoping whoever claims it might be able to help her track her own missing ring.

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