Colin Forster can relate to that.
Right now the Queenstown goldsmith and silversmith is in mourning.
For a rock.
Not just any rock, but a large, heart-shaped rock.
It used to sit outside the front door of his Gorge Rd workshop, acting as sort of a "greeting stone" for friends and customers.
Which it did. For years and years. But no longer.
Now, friends and customers are greeted by an empty space where the rock used to be.
So, in this week's Lakes Weekly Bulletin, Mr Forster lodged a public plea for its return.
"I do miss it and would appreciate its return or info as to where I can now find it," he wrote.
But, when the Otago Daily Times called yesterday, Mr Forster was still without his rock.
"No. Nobody's come in,"he said ruefully.
Mr Forster, who specialises in the design and manufacture of jewellery, and works with precious and semi-precious stones, has been in business in Queenstown for about 20 years.
As you can imagine, having gone to the bother of advertising his plight, Mr Forster is pretty fond of this rock, which he found one day, years ago, while out walking with his partner, Adriana Young, in Nelson.
A distinctive heart shape gave the rock an obvious symbolism, he said, especially for someone who had always tried to "follow the heart path in life".
The stone, about as long as a rugby ball, is "greenish" with a vein of white quartz through the middle and weighs "several kilos - one guy could lift it."
But, when asked the obvious question - Why would anyone steal a rock? - Mr Forster admitted to being baffled.
"I don't know why; a lot of us have an affinity with rocks. And this one is a bit of a cracker."
