William Rink's Ring Finders Blog
William Rink
- Location
- Bellingham (Washington, United States)
- Contact
- (360) 510-2307
- Search Locations
Located in Bellingham, I service Whatcom and Skagit Counties but also available to travel elsewhere on a case by case basis.
- Search Types
I can search any type of terrain or location including snow and water up to 2 feet deep. If the area your item was lost is private property please obtain permission from the owner prior to our search.
Lost Fairhaven Gold Pendant Found in Bellingham
Got a call this week from a women named Lori who lost a gold pendant. It was a beautiful custom ring and pendant matching set made by a local jeweler in Fairhaven, see article below. About a week ago she realized she had a loose chain hanging on her neck. The pendant was nowhere to be found. She was sure she lost it around her house but was all over the place that day on about a 1/2 acre of land. They have a beautiful garden and pathways, lots of grass etc.
We retraced her steps that morning and discussed all the possibilities. The grass had been freshly mowed the day before her loss and she had already retraced her steps searching the grass by eye. It was a fresh drop, about a week, so it couldn’t be deep although some of the garden beds were soft mounded dirt.
She had also borrowed a radio shack detector from a friend only to add frustration to the mix.
The first thing I did was take a reading off the ring since it was the same kind of gold and a similar design. I decided to start in a small wood chip area and then head into the garden mounds.
Immediately I got a dime signal. She has two preschool aged boys who were very interested in all this so I popped a quick plug and they retrieved the dime. Oh were they excited!
But I had to focus on the job at hand so I headed for the garden beds and in about 20 minutes I had made the find. It was about 2 inches down in one of the soft dirt mounds. Boy did she do the happy dance. She was very excited!
Coenraad Zielstra, see article below, the goldsmith who had made the pieces recently died of cancer and Lori was one of the nurses who had cared for him during his last days. The pendant and ring were hand made about 6 years previously so there was a lot of sentimental value to this lost pendant.
I turned off and set down my equipment and we were all enjoying the glory when her oldest son approached in tears and grabbed her leg.
He was so excited about finding treasures then it was all over, the hunt was complete and he was not a happy camper. So I grabbed my MXT and off we went around the yard to find a few more goodies. Spent another 20 minutes fulfilling this little boys treasure hunting dreams.
I sure love this hobby!
William Rink
Jeweler Metalsmith Artisan Will Be Missed
Coenraad Zielstra graduated from Vakschool for Goud en Zilversmeden with his gold and silversmithing diplomas in 1963. But Coenraad was much more than a metalsmith, he was an exceptional artist with his own gallery of rings pendants and jewelry items. His creativity and originality were exemplified by his use of antique metalsmithing tools he brought with him when he immigrated from Holland.
Entering his studio in Fairhaven Washington, one stepped into another time with his collection of 18th and 19th century mahogany tables, display cases and cabinets.
A row of rolling mills marked the beginning of his studio workspace.
Anvils, crucibles, molds, hammers, files, a large rolling mill are all antiques that function as well today as they did centuries ago.
His historic collection of metalsmithing tools would be remarkable for a museum, but they weren’t for show, they were used to create beautiful, wearable sculptures for the 45 years Coenraad has worked with them.
Dutch Master Goldsmith Coenraad Zielstra (1943 – 2010)
