Tony Shere's Ring Finders Blog
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Tony Shere
- Location
- Perth (Australia)
- Contact
- 0402104425
- Search Locations
Perth and surrounding area
- Search Types
Beaches, Parks, Private Property, Water to 6 feet deep, Yards
Lost Monster 18K white gold ring at Swanbourne Beach, Perth…… has been found !!
Part 1;
Justine contacted me a few weeks ago with tales of woe.
She had lost a very large and expensive ring whilst wading in the shallows at Swanbourne Beach, here in Perth. Justine gave me a precise description and picture of the ring. It was a beautiful 18K white gold with a precious blue gem (sapphire?) set into the middle. The ring was a whopping 30 grams (or 1 troy oz in the old scale). I won’t disclose the exact value of the ring but lets just say it made my jaw drop. The ring had been hand made for her and the precious stone had originated from India or Sri Lanka (if I recall correctly).
The ring was sent flying off her finger when she had thrown a tennis ball to a friend. The size of the ring had made a definite “kerr-plunk” when it landed in about 1 metre of water.
Justine made some good mental notes of the lost zone as well as reference points back on the beach. I cannot stress the importance of doing this as soon as possible. Justine did a great job of doing this and luckily we also had a floating marker about 100 metres off shore.
The day she lost the ring was a warm and sunny 32C (90F) day with perfect conditions to try and hunt down the ring in the pristine waters. Unfortunately, a low pressure system managed to develop before I could get into the water which created very heavy seas, rain and swell. I took photo’s of the beach and measured an accurate distance back to the sand dunes as I had no idea how much beach would be stripped away. I also set some small lead weights with floats attached so as to gain some idea of where things would end up after the storm had passed. I have to admit that I wasn’t feeling too confident about ever seeing this ring again and it would be some time before conditions would even let me venture into the water. I assured Justine that I would hunt long and hard as soon as conditions improved.
Part 2; (3 weeks later)
Well at long last, hot summer weather with strong offshore winds finally arrived. I checked the beach cams and tide tables and everything was set up for perfect water hunting. My only concern was the sand that had either been washed in or out.
I hit the beach at 5am this morning and conditions were perfect. The water was clear and flat. My test targets were no where to be seen which was really disappointing. I think that maybe someone had removed them from the water which is not unreasonable I guess.
Anyhow, the sand was the problem as I could feel it was quite deep in places. I was looking for shells and depressions as well as heavier targets such as fishing sinkers and coins. I spent the next 3 hours digging junk targets such as beer caps and pull tabs. Some of these lighter targets were down quite deep so I knew that the ring was going to be way deeper into the sand. I had covered the area really well but for some reason I was thinking that the ring was further out as I could see a small drop off into deeper water.
When my first coin finally appeared in about 5 feet of water, I began to get hopeful and shortly after a lead fishing weight appeared in my scoop. I was definitely in the right area as the targets weren’t new drops but were corroded coins that had been in the water since the previous summer. I kept going into the sixth hour and had managed to dig about 20 targets but still no ring. I pushed out a little deeper into the drop off where it levelled out quite nicely and began to hunt the edge of the channel following the “coin trail”. This was a classic case of similar sized/weight targets being sorted by Mother Nature.
The detector signalled another deep target which I knew would take some digging. The yellow LED light on my detector flashed at me telling me something was there so I kept digging and digging until finally the signal from the hole was gone and that “something” was in my scoop. I let the sand melt away from my steel scoop and there in the bottom was one very large “silver” coloured ring. I think my hands were shaking a bit as I grabbed at the ring, the weight was astounding and as soon as I flipped the ring over and saw the dazzling blue stone in the sunlight then I knew that I had found what I was looking for.
I clenched my fists in elation as you can see from the actual video that I took “live”.
Another tide cycle and that ring would have been beyond the range of my detector and maybe lost forever.
Justine, it was a joy to find this ring for you. Thank you for seeking out TheRingFinders services but promise me that you won’t wear it in the water again !
Tony.
Here is a photo of Justine’s ring and the video of the discovery.
Attention “Michael”….your lost ring at Rottnest Island, Perth
Michael (from Geraldton, Western Australia).
I have lost your contact details. I am hoping you read this blog and make contact with me.
I will be looking for your ring this week out at Strickland Bay, Rottnest Island. I am hoping to find it from the specific details you gave me a few months ago.
If I find it then I will blog it here. I am unable to make any other contact with you. I will put the ring on the Perth “Gumtree” in the Lost & Found section.
As always, the item needs to be found first !
Tony.
Lost 18k white gold and diamond ring has been found on Rottnest Island, Perth
I headed off early this morning to Rottnest Island, which is about 20kms off the Perth coast.
Laura had contacted me as one of her friends had lost her ring after being dunked in the shallow water. I think they were celebrating her friends impending marriage so losing the engagement ring definitely wasn’t part of the celebrations. Laura was confident of the lost zone. I got details of the time the ring was lost and checked the local tide tables and it appeared the ring was lost at high tide and I was searching at low tide. Hopefully the ring might actually be out of the water.
Well the beach was littered with countless pulltabs and beer caps. This was an area that had probably never seen a metal detector so the amount of digging was unbelievable. I spent the next three and half hours gridding the area but the ring wasn’t revealing itself easily. I rescanned the area at 90 degrees and my final signal for the hunt was the ring! The glint of the diamond was the first thing I saw and what a great feeling it was too. I called Laura with the good news and then headed off to the Rottnest Hotel/Bar for a well deserved cold beer(s) as the return ferry was 4 hours away (most upset about that!).
Glad that today was successful as it wasn’t an easy hunt after all.
Tony.
Here is a quick picture and video of the find…
Lost platinum wedding ring has been found at Cottesloe beach, Perth
Well today it hit about 30C so summer is just around the corner. The beaches were busy on the webcams so it came as no surprise to me that my phone rang with someone seeking help with finding their lost items.
Paul had left platinum wedding ring on his beach towel as he was aware that it was slightly large on his finger and he wasn’t going to venture into the water with it on. Well we all know what happened next, so with a firm shake of the beach towel, Paul’s ring flew off somewhere into the dry, sugary sand.
Paul contacted his wife immediately and she Googled for help and fortunately TheRingFinders website came to the rescue. I grabbed my metal detector and gear and drove down to the search area which is about a 45 minute drive from home. I didn’t want to postpone the hunt as the young kid’s armed with their metal detectors would surely find the ring that evening and it would likely end up in their own treasure stash.
We quickly marked out a large square in the sand and proceeded to hunt for his ring. There is never a 100% guarantee with finding lost items but I was 99.9% confident that the ring would be found. A $2 coin popped up almost immediately and my next signal (low tone for Platinum?) was indeed Paul’s ring. It is really nice to get a quick result especially after my last hunt was unsuccessful.
Thanks Paul for the nice reward and it is great to see the ring back on your finger.
Please feel free to post any comments and if you want to include a photo of yourself with the ring then that would be great.
Tony.
Lost white gold wedding ring has been found in Perth
I received a call from Tracy earlier this week regarding her husband’s lost gold ring. The big white gold ring was lost in a corner of her property, amongst thick grass and bushes. Tracy was confident that the ring was in an area of about 10 metres by 10 metres.
I arrived yesterday morning feeling confident that the ring would be found easily but as we all know, “if you miss it by an inch you miss it by a mile”.
The weather wasn’t going to plan and sure enough, the rain really set in. I joked that I should have brought along my underwater detector as the puddles began to form in the search area. Tracy managed to get me a pair of rubber boots which were definitely going to be needed today. I wrapped my newly purchased Tesoro detector in a plastic bag and set off to find the ring, full of hope and optimism.
Well, let’s fast forward 2 hours and see what we have found. Yep, I had found a piece of wire and a bottle cap for my efforts! I had searched the area 100% and the ring was no where to be seen. The ground was a heavy, mineralised clay that my detector didn’t like one bit but I had tested my gold ring and it signalled through nice and clear. Where the @#*&% was this ring? I had doubled the search area and still nothing. All I knew was that I hadn’t swept my coil over it.
The property boundary fence wasn’t really close to the search zone and the metal wire fence meant that I couldn’t get within two feet either side of it without the detector screaming at me. I made the decision to cease using the metal detector and started eye-balling along the fence line. The amount of roadside metal junk also made using the metal detector pointless if the ring was nearby. I decided that there wasn’t much more to be done with this search so I trudged off inform Tracy of the bad news.
Tracy was naturally disappointed but very appreciative of my efforts. I thanked her for the fuel money and the very nice gift of an old Garrett Groundhog metal detector which showed signs of life after I switched it on.
I told Tracy that I would return during the summer as by this time the thick grass that impeded my searching somewhat would have died off. It was really frustrating leaving without finding the ring…….a large 18K white gold ring was out there somewhere.
As I was about to turn onto the main road and head home, the rain decided to stop and the sun broke through the heavy clouds……”ah, what the heck, one last quick walk along the fence line”, I said to myself. I hopped out of the car and walked the same ground that I had covered only 30 minutes ago. As I started my way back to the car, I was casually scanning the ground and then suddenly, peeking through the gravel and clay was a silvery object that just flashed at me. I immediately thought it was a beer cap or similar junk object but on closer inspection it was indeed a very large and heavy white gold ring…..unbelievable. That is two consecutive searches where rings have been found within the last seconds of searching.
Tracy was elated with the discovery and just so satisfying to know that the ring isn’t lying somewhere, lost forever?
Thank you Tracy for the nice reward and the Garrett detector. I may have to send it in for servicing. Please feel free to add a comment to this post.
Regards,
Tony.
Lost gold and sapphire ring has been found in Perth
Caroline contacted me recently via TheRingFinders. She had lost a very sentimental ring that belonged to her mother who had passed away last year.
The gold and sapphire ring was lost about 9 months ago in her back yard. Caroline thinks she was hanging out washing at the time when the ring disappeared. This scenario is all too common with wet fingers and the shaking of damp clothes sending rings flying anywhere.
Caroline has to vacate the house as soon as possible and the thought of leaving without her mother’s ring was weighing heavily on her.
With winter finished and warm spring weather here, the green grass was quite thick and knee high in places. I started a systematic grid search at the far end of the yard and proceeded to flatten the grass down and sweep very slowly with only iron discriminated out. The ring was quite small with three sapphires so no signal could be ignored with fear of leaving it behind.
About 45 minutes later, I was literally down to my last few seconds of searching the back yard and was resigned to the fact that the ring wasn’t going to be found and this is something I really hate. One last crisp signal was heard and I carefully dig into the damp grass…….a glint of gold shone in the bright sunshine and I quickly grabbed the partly muddy ring. Caroline wasn’t around so I quickly gave it a rinse under the tap. Caroline came down the back steps asking if she could move some items that were impeding my search. I informed her that I had searched the back yard thoroughly and there was “no need to move any items……because I have just found your ring!”
To say that Caroline was beyond happy is an understatement. The reaction on her face was what makes this job so satisfying.
Thank you Caroline for your generous reward and wishing you all the best in the future.
Tony.
Lost gold and sapphire wedding ring at Mandurah, Perth (Part 1)
I recently spent a few hours looking for an expensive and highly sentimental white gold and sapphire wedding ring that was lost by Peter. Peter informed me that it was most likely lost in one of two locations when he was carrying out some backyard clearing. The ring has come loose from his finger within his leather gloves and has not been seen since. Peter recalls taking his gloves off on several occasions and the big ring has gone zinging off without him noticing. Peter’s wife has a matching ring but much smaller so he is desperate to retrieve his ring.
The first search area was where the gardening was done so we were hoping that it would turn up as the area was now nice and clear from thick grass and bushes. Try as we might, the ring was nowhere to be seen. Peter was now sure that the ring was probably at the other location where all the garden cuttings has been dumped so off we went to the next location.
Upon seeing the huge pile of wet grass, branches and general garden waste, I reluctantly informed Peter that a metal detector was the least useful tool we could use. The mound of vegetation was several metres long on both sides and three metres high ! The prospect of finding this ring was unlikely unless the pile was raked flat…..a daunting prospect. Peter also informed me that the huge pile was going to be burnt down when it dried out. I was fairly confident that the ring would survive the heat of the fire and it was then a matter of detecting over a pile of ashes. I gave Peter the two options and after he sought some advice from his jeweller regarding the ring withstanding the fire, we agreed that I would come back after the material has been burnt.
I hope to return next month after their bonfire night….hopefully the ring is there and in one piece. Stay tuned for Part 2 !!!
Thanks for reading,
Tony.
Lost ring found at Perth sand quarry
Justin contacted me recently as he had lost his gold and platinum wedding ring at a nearby building site and sand quarry. Fortunately, the area was clean of any rubbish as it is being prepared for a future industrial area. Justin was brushing sand off his hands when the ring went flying off his finger. I decided that this job required urgent attention as the concrete trucks would be moving in very soon to pour the concrete building pads, which would mean his ring would be gone forever.
Justin was very confident in the area that he felt the ring come off, in fact, he had the spot down to about 1 square meter as I could see where he had been digging.
I got out my trusty detector and within 30 seconds I had my first nice signal and sure enough there was Justin’s ring packed into the wet sand, probably buried less than an inch deep. He just couldn’t believe that he didn’t find it as he was right on the spot. The wet yellow building sand did a good job of hiding the glint from the ring plus it has been cold, dark and wet down here in Perth. As luck would have it, the weather today was sunny and cool.
It was great to have helped you out Justin, keep that ring safe.
Tony.
Lost white gold ring at O’connor beach Perth has been found
Andrew contacted me recently in order to recover his large white gold wedding band that he lost in very shallow water at one of Perth’s lesser known beaches. He was very confident in the ring’s “drop zone” with an area of about 20 metres by 5 metres. I was confident in finding this ring as the area is reasonably calm and other metal detectorist’s very unlikely to have been in the area.
I met Andrew at the beach this morning and told him I would contact him within a few hours to let him know whether I had been successful or not.
I grabbed all my gear and proceeded to grid search the area as best as I could. The area was thick with shells and iron junk signals were everywhere. This search called for patience and a methodical search pattern.
About an hour later, I had my first non-iron target through the headphones. Surely I couldn’t be this lucky ? I sunk the steel scoop into the sand and shells and began to slowly sift the contents. Lodged in a shell was Andrew’s large white gold wedding ring. It was found in about a metre of water having been swept from the steep beach into the first gutter. I quickly called Andrew with the good news and personally delivered the ring to his work location which was only 10 minutes away.
Nice meeting you Andrew and thanks for the tour of your very impressive work facility.
Regards,
Tony.
Here is Andrew’s ring prior to it being returned to him.
