Treasure hunt for spurned NZ ring

A spurned suitor in New Zealand has found an unusual way to dispose of his unwanted engagement ring - by holding a treasure hunt.

Anthony Gardiner said he would hide the ring somewhere in the city of Wellington on Saturday, and post clues on his Twitter account.

The 29-year-old bought the NZ$5,000 (US$3,270, £1,950) ring to propose to the woman of his dreams.

But she turned him down, and he said he no longer wanted the "unlucky" ring.

Clues

"I met this girl I thought was pretty cool, bought a ring... turns out she wasn't as keen," Mr Gardiner told Wellington's Dominion Post newspaper.

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But as he had bought the ring in Hong Kong, he was not able to return it - so he decided to hold the treasure hunt in the hope of finding a worthy recipient.

"Obviously, it's been a pretty unlucky ring for me," Mr Gardiner told the newspaper.

He said he hoped it ended up with "somebody who's keen, who's found a cool chick and who wants to give them something they normally wouldn't be able to afford."

The ring has five 0.25 carat diamonds set in white gold.

Mr Gardiner will start posting clues to the ring's whereabouts on his Twitter site at 8am local time on Saturday.