I was just beginning my day when I received a call from Mousha – she told me that she lost her precious heirloom diamond ring the previous day on the beach after getting tumbled by the waves at the shoreline. I dressed in my warm swimming gear and biked to her location at the nearby lifeguard tower.

She had a very good description of where she had been sitting, swimming, and approximately where she was when the waves got a little rough. Her brother helped her estimate about how far away she had been from their sitting location when she was in the water. That description was incredibly helpful for coming up with a search plan.

I started with a W pattern along the high tide line down to the churn of the current tide first. Because the tide was moving out, I planned to move deeper into the water if nothing turned up in the wet sand. When someone shares a story of how they think their ring fell off, it’s important to listen closely and ask a lot of questions.

“I sat and prayed and she went out to begin her mission. I literally had no hope for her to find it but I was flabbergasted by her genuine niceness and her willingness to look.” – Mousha, Ring Owner

About an hour into the wet sand search, my CTX 3030 came back with a very solid signal…

I scooped about 8 inches of sand which contained the target, so I moved up to avoid the waves. As I spread out the sand from the scoop, I was thrilled to see the shape of a ring on its side. I picked it out of the sand, cleaned it off, and sure enough..it was a beautiful ring just as she described. I grabbed my gear, marked the spot in the sand and ran back to join her near the guard tower. She couldn’t miss the huge smile on my face as I had her describe it one more time…then I revealed it to her.

That moment – the moment when I see someone’s face light up – is what it’s all about for me. That item had so much meaning to her, it’s not just a valuable ring, it’s a piece of her life and heart. I loved hearing her describe the meaning. She had designed the ring herself using scrap pieces of gold and diamonds that belonged to her mother and grandmother.

She later shared that she felt like a part of her heart was drifting in the ocean. Now she has this connection to her mother and grandmother back with her where it belongs. I’m very glad that she found Ring Finders with the help of her brother and decided to take a chance and give me a call!

“The waves were very strong and I found myself tumbling in the strong current near the shore. When I got back to our spot I realized that my precious ring that I had designed using scrap pieces of gold, and diamonds from the pieces that were left to me by my mother and grandmother, was gone. You can only imagine how sad I felt missing what I held close to my heart so I always feel connected to my mother may she rest in peace. (Hence the reason I wore it to the beach because I never take it off). I searched the beach for hours and left feeling like a part of my heart was drifting in the ocean.” – Mousha, Ring Owner

So how do rings that seem tight come off in the ocean?

I hear so often that they can’t imagine a ring that is so tightly fit would just come off. Temperature of the water makes a big difference. If you are in chilly water, your hands are going to shrink up a little. Just enough to potentially make it easier to get rings off. Then if you are splashing around or get caught up in the sand and waves, the friction can just grab it without you even noticing.

I always share that it would be best to leave them at home, but if you’re traveling it can be scary to not have them on you. So at the very least, engraving your precious items can mean if you lose them it’s easier to know that it belongs to you. Some people use things like this ring protector that can be worn to help prevent loss. It might look a little goofy, but the feeling of losing it is worse!