My recent bling find, yes it’s real! (2 pictures)
This is a repost blog.
Original posts by u/jfcrohlo on subreddit r/metaldetecting on Reddit
5 Apr 2022: My recent bling find, yes it’s real! (2 pictures)
It was buried in the wet sand, but I believe it was released recently from the nearby cut that had formed.
From the comments:
TheDetectorGuy: As you can see from my previous posts, the finds are not always glamorous : You just have to keep at it… Some other Finds
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ICCW:I hate you but congratulations!
TheDetectorGuy: Trust me, I have put my time in , I’ve been detecting over 20+ years with hundreds of rings found but none with this many Diamonds.
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TheDetectorGuy: I’ve found and returned lots of phones, what’s nice is the new iPhones are waterproof.
I once found a ziplock bag underwater with a drivers license and a iPhone in it , this made it easy to return back to the owner.
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TheDetectorGuy: I didn’t think it was real at first, it’s marked 14k. Yes, it was an OMG moment and Electronic Diamond tester confirmed the stones. I think there are over 100 stones on it. Some so small I don’t know how they even set them.
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KaijuAlert: Maybe the cash value isn’t very large, but I bet you were walking on clouds after you found it. That’s priceless.
TheDetectorGuy:It’s so weird for years I would find plenty of gold - lots of mens rings, silver, necklaces, but ladies wedding bands and engagement rings with diamonds - they always seem to elude me. I felt cursed because when I did find something striking , it ended up being costume almost every time. Over the years I have found sapphires, ruby , citrine , amethyst and other stones but not to many ladies bands with diamonds.
Pro tip: I think the reason for this is , I hunt in the water or right at the waters edge, but the engagement rings with the big diamonds are light so they have a tendency to wash up higher on the beach towards the edge of the dry sand where I don’t hunt as often.
Just my thoughts.
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Any-Guarantee3892: It’s going to be difficult to find the owner now because you posted a picture of it, now anyone who saw this picture can say it is theirs, if you post it on Facebook and someone claims to be the owner, tell them that they have to show you a picture of them with the ring on their hand…. Don’t get taken by anyone. That ring is worth a lot of moneyTheDetectorGuyI never disclose all the information about the things I find like, especially if I post it, things like location found, ring size, special markings inside, names, inscription, makers mark, dates etc. The owner would know these attributes and scammers will not. Not my first rodeo. This is why you only see the top and side view of the ring, I’m also very resourceful when it comes to locating people on the internet, scanning lost and found sites, etc. Plus I also have a network of metal detecting friends (and belong to club) where we share info amongst each other when we hear someone lost something we go search for it. I’m a programmer by trade and very effective researching what I can find on the internet. Even a picture on the hand can be faked, they would need the other identifiable info which they do not have.
Any-Guarantee3892: Very good, I’m glad to hear that you have thought of all that, I just hate to see anyone be taken a vantage of because I know how much work and time goes in to metal detecting. If you have it appraised let us know, I’m very curious as to it’s value. What kind of detector do you use? I have a AT Pro but soon will have a mine lab 30 30
TheDetectorGuy: I have multiple detectors (Minelab CTX3030, Equinox 800, Excalibur 1000 with WOT Coil, Sovereign with Wot Coil, Vanquish 540, Simplex +, Whites XLT, Whites DFX, Tesoro , Ace250 and a few others) As you can tell I’m a big fan of Minelab machines.
My favorite machine to date is the Equinox 800, but the funny thing is I wanted to test some Simplex settings by the salt water and that was the machine that found the above ring. So for you newbies out there, part of it is luck, part skill and having a decent machine really helps too (this one ring pays for my Simplex).
I’m going to recommend you get the Equinox 800 instead of the CTX3030 (unless your doing prospecting too). CTX3030 is an excellent machine but it is heavier than the NOX, also the technology in the NOX (MULTI-IQ) I believe is newer than what is in the CTX3030. Also I noticed the NOX is better at finding thin small gold chains than the 3030. If your going to do some prospecting I suppose the 3030 will out perform the NOX.
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Elmachow: How long do you give trying to find the owner before you sell it? And do you keep the money? Not judging, just curious. Great find whatever the outcome.
TheDetectorGuy: It really depends, I don’t really sell too much of it especially if there is a chance the owner could be located (identifiable marks inside).
The reality is, if you find a piece of jewelry on the beach it could have been lost yesterday or 20 years ago. Once I was working a cut on the beach and all the coins I was pulling out was from the 1960’s era and then then I got a 1963 high school class ring which was later returned. The beach had just unlocked items that were buried for years and I happen to be there at the right time. I have been to the beach here in California where overnight it carved an 8 foot wall (cut) along the shoreline removing sand when our winds blew parallel to the beach all night long. All the treasures locked in for years we released and taken out to sea or moved to a new low spot on the beach.
To answer your question, Most the time I give pieces to family and friends or it stays part of my collection, or returned to the owner.
With this ring find , that day the wet sand was very quiet not too many targets around or coins from the cut, I got there too late as most the targets were moved into the sea. Because this ring was heavier than the other items, I think it took longer to move out and I just got lucky.
EternitySphere: It’s somewhat unique, I would contact the local police department to make an attempt to locate the owners. Returning valuable lost items is always worth for more then the item itself, especially if it’s a treasured family heirloom.
TheDetectorGuy: That sounds good and all, and have returned many rings and items back to original owners, but I have been doing this long enough to know that a ring found from a cut could have been lost for many years. One police agency will lock it up and especially without any identify marks (such as SSN OR driver license engraved on the inside, they will make no efforts to locate an owner)
Here is a recent example where I was able to locate the owner of another ring, and we returned it: Reddit post
Turk482: Right . And how would they try to find an owner? Take out an ad in the paper? “ Anyone lose a big valuable ring”? Nah… that ring is all yours. Congratulations!
EternitySphere: I agree that it’s likely a very old drop based on it coming out of a cut. I also agree with you on the police issue. With the ring having no engravings or markings, that certainly makes it more difficult.
I know it seemed like I was being a slight condescending, but was directing my post outward to others that may be looking on for what best practices should be.
TheDetectorGuy: I didn’t take it as condescending, I have lots of friends who are cops and have even worked with them to locate crime scene weapons under water and in fields with my metal detector, I just know unless the person who lost It happens to go to the right police station and file a report to where the person turned in the ring to chances are unlikely, because they topically don’t share that info between other city and state agencies unless it’s stolen, and after a period of time may get sold at auction.
For me personally I understand the sentimental aspect of retuning an item back to an owner, and would always do so if given the opportunity otherwise it’s just another ring in my collection. But giving it away to a scammer, or a police agency that will not make the efforts that I will in finding the owner is of no interest to me , I’ll keep it until then.
EternitySphere: I just wanted to clarify that it wasn’t meant as condescending and only directed at you. Generally when people mention their credentials or experience in something, it’s a defensive statement versus a condescending comment.
Beautiful ring. I worked in jewelry for a number of years and I think your estimate is a bit on the lower end. I’d give it a range of $3,000 - $3500, $4,000 being the upper end.
Something else to consider with it’s design that would value it higher is the craftsmanship. While it’s not a single large carat stone in the center that is typical of more expensive pieces, it takes craftsmanship and real work to design and set that many stones in that setting.
I think it’s unique enough that given the choice between this design and the same setting with a large central stone, I’d take the one you found. I think it’s beautiful.
TheDetectorGuy: Like you , I also like to educate new people in the hobby and to help share my experiences as well. Thanks for your comments, I understood where you were coming from. Like you pointed out the craftsmanship is what’s sets the ring apart , very difficult to set some if those smaller stones
14 Nov 2022: Ring Update - Appraisal was Finally Done $7000 Retail Replacement
From the comments:
TheDetectorGuy: I posted this find a while back - here is the update , 2.89 ct weight , 172 diamonds , 14k white gold, it was previously Rhodium plated and some was wearing off so I had it re-Rhodium plated and cleaned. Looks Awesome, picture doesn’t do it Justice.
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Individual_Evening88: Curious what they charge to replate?
TheDetectorGuy I took it to Jared’s a chain jewelry store here in California they re-rhodium plated it with same day service , cost me $100 total which made the ring look new again.
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PoisonWaffle3: Sorry to see that you’re getting a pretty hard time from a lot of the folks in here. Maybe they’re realists, maybe they’re speaking from experience, maybe they’re just jealous and hoping to find one just as cool, but it’s pretty disheartening to see.
In either case, no matter what is appraised value or it’s actual value, it’s a beautiful ring, and a helluva find for a metal detectorist. Congrats on the great find!
That said, do you have any plans for it? A lot of us collect/display our good finds, but this deserves more. I’m not sure where you’re at in life, but is it something that you or a family member could eventually use as an engagement ring or wedding ring with a little resizing? If that’s the case, it’s actual value doesn’t matter at all.
TheDetectorGuy:I have been detecting for over twenty years and found hundreds and hundreds of rings but many of them all fakes , I’m a beach hunter detectorist but for years ladies Diamond rings have eluded me (not my friends just me, I will tell you why I think this is so in just a bit) . To this day I have yet to find a real solitaire ladies Diamond wedding band . I was the king of finding costume jewelry, where as someone’s first day detecting on the beach, they found a $20,000 platinum Diamond ring. You just don’t know when your day will come. Then I found this one , I thought it was fake at first wasn’t until I got it home and saw the markings and tested it for gold and tested the diamonds. I like to hunt in the water or by the waters edge, I believe the ladies rings are lighter so they get washed up higher by the dry sand (I just don’t hunt there as often as I should, This is why I believe I don’t find them.)
The bottom line is with perseverance your day will eventually come. I put my time in and it eventually it paid off. Over the years I have sold lots of gold (mostly mens rings, chains and brackets , earrings). Usually rings that have lots of little diamonds look impressive but they are not really worth very much , usually the gold and Diamond chip values. This ring is a bit different because of the 172 diamonds in various sizes and the time to set all those stones. When talking to the Jeweler (over 50 years and GIA certified) he said it would cost him about $3500 to remake that ring if he had to (a lot of it is the time is the labor). This ring was buried for a while and released from a large cut after a storm. I had it re-rhodium plated to clean up some of the white gold wear, got it appraised and now I know what it is worth, I will eventually sell it. To me this I more like a cocktail ring than a wedding band, but I’ll take it as the one to end my ladies Diamond ring dry spell. It was my day to get lucky and I’m wishing you all that you get your day as well.
m4xxt: Just wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading about not only your experience but in turn your good luck with this find. I wanted to ask you how you knew or arrived at the idea that the ring had been released after a big storm? And reading about where you like to search specifically when on the beach, how have you found your luck over the time you’ve been hunting around rocks? Cheers and have a great day!
TheDetectorGuy: Here is an example , many years ago my friend and I would go beach detecting every morning to the same place before work, this spot was connected by two heavily populated beaches on each side and formed a low spot and had a huge cut, during the night the high tide would hit this cut (8’ + wall of eroded beach), and it would release all the treasures in for us to find the next day during low tide before the items washed out to sea or got buried again. It was also in a location where finds from one of the two beaches would move and settle there. Every day we would hunt it, clean it out of all trash And treasures and the next day it would have a new pile stuff for us . This cut was very large and lasted for months , filling in and eroding again. It amazed me how the tides and currents moved items around and sorted everything by weight , so I always got a custom for digging the faint deep signals , I had a 15” WOT coil on my Minelab Sovereign or Excalibur and back then the technology required a bit more skill than our modern machines like the Equinox. I never minded seeing other people detecting because they were going too fast , with Un- even swings looking for the freshly lost items , we would go right behind them and still find stuff, the deep signals which were usually gold or sinkers. This is why when you find sinkers or a bunch of signals close together go slow And zig zag or spiral around the whole area . This was the same area where another friend of mine had found 13 gold rings in one day (unheard of, but true) One day the we were getting lots of old coins where the dates On the coins were from the 60s, also found a 1960s class ring ( returned) , I even found buffalo Nickle’s and mercury dimes, and other silver coins, the recent storm tore up a new section and released that period of time worth of finds. The point is you never really know when it was lost , it could have been lock in there for a while . This ring was found in a recent cut after a storm. Sorry to report that this location had filled in over time and hasn’t been the same for years. Every now and then it does get cut again but the lay of the land has changed it, and is depositing funds in a new low spot elsewhere.
DontAsk_Nunya: I’m new to the hobby, but this gives me hope. The coolest thing I’ve found so far was an old cap gun from the 40’s. I’m also landlocked with zero tourist areas, but I love history and the thrill of the hunt, so that keeps me going.
TheDetectorGuy: Every area has something special to unlock, I bet you have access to some old sites where old coins may be prevalent , it’s harder for me to find nice old coins when you are surrounded by modern city. But I do have California beaches and tourist areas.
DontAsk_Nunya: There is a spot near my house that used to be on an old horse and wagon postal stop. It’s mostly paved over now, but there are a few spots. Hoping to get permission to hunt the area!
TheDetectorGuy: Old farmhouses , during the depression people didn’t trust banks so they would hide or bury valuables , good places to to detect, driveway fence post, mailboxes , Chicken coops (cant get near the valuables without all the chickens clucking), look for large trees with a nails in it, they would hang a plumb line on the nail and below is where they would bury their treasure. Even outhouses was a place for valuables…who would want to search there, but a common hiding place. Church grounds or properties , years of get togethers, picnics, festivals , etc where people would come together as a community.
DontAsk_Nunya: Wow! That’s awesome information. Thank you so much! I have learned a lot since I joined this sub.
TheDetectorGuy: Always get permission a few bad eggs can spoil it for all of us. I once saw a new Detectorist bringing a full size shovel to the local city park , the groundskeeper wasn’t to thrilled to see it , especially if there are holes left behind. I always bring a small Lesche digger hand tool , always fill my holes so you can’t detect I was even there. I also wear a pouch , remove all trash , sharp objects I encounter,especially at the beach. When they see my pouch of fish hooks, rusty nails , eroded cans with edges like razor blades they see we also perform a public service as well. As for parks we don’t want city ordnances banning Detectorist because grounds are being torn up.
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