I would try to give it to the person directly. Would suck that the owner of the ring paid some kind of finder's fee to another company when they didn't do much.

Very cool story. I lost my wedding band about 2 months after the ceremony. I was dumping leaves in the woods, and after finishing noticed the ring was gone--tried looking for it for 2 days--even had a metal detector, but has not been found--keep expecting to see a squirrel sporting it one of these days.

don't wear them..
but for her I tried..
but no rings allowed on the flight line..
on ..off ..on.. off..
so of course I lost it..
so while eating lunch in the snackbar one day..
I noticed the guy across from me wearing it..
he gave it back..
it's laying in a drawer now..

Rika

Funny but I just remembered I lost one in Hawaii awhile back...

Speaking of Hawaii and jewlry...

My wife and I were in Hawaii several years ago on a company trip and she really liked a black pearl and diamond necklace we saw. I said I'd think about it. Just as we were about to leave, I snuck away and bought it. I presented it to her later and she started crying tears of joy! Then she told me she was crying because she bought one herself because she didn't think I'd buy her one...

precious!

I have a pretty good ring story. My (now ex) wife and I were at walden pond swimming about a month after we got married. She was playing around and ended up dropping her engagement ring (diamond and all) in the water. The bottom is really silty and it was pretty clear after all of our searching that we we not going to find the ring that day.

I came back with a friend and a a snorkel mask the next day. The ring was lost in about 4 feet of water. I searched and searched and miraculously I found it. I also happened that it was my birthday, so it was a very nice gift to find it again.

I can tell you this: I experimented with metal detectors and they are worthless for finding gold. This is especially true in water. The metal detector guy is most likely just crook.

Any decent metal detector works fine in water and can certainly find gold.
If you are using a $29.95 detector from Radio Shack, the above is not true.

Way to go Andrew!


So I don't get it?, the guy asked one of those guys that cruises the beaches with a metal detector to find it? Sounds dumb, so how did you find him (just in case I loose mine) :D

Well to summarize a few questions
- I haven't talked about a reward - that's not what it's about for me
- Yes, you can find gold with a metal detector - either on land or in water
- Is the contracted guy going to get paid? Probably yes, but then again they wouldn't be getting the ring back with out him - so he did find it for them. sort of....
- Here's a link to the initial guy I contacted - I suspect he has an informal association with a small group of others that do the same thing:
http://www.lostringmaui.com/index2.html

Not a bad way to earn a living - walking the beaches of Maui and going for the odd swim :)

Regards,
Andrew M

One of my friends -- who was in some marital distress -- lost his wedding ring while on a business trip to Pearl Harbor. Bad situation. We spent hours hunting around the beach trying to find that d*** ring. She somehow decided to believe him, and last I saw they were still married.

That's nice of you to find the owner of the ring... We were in Kauai on our honeymoon and snorkeling and I lost my wedding ring. I just kept telling my wife that a sea turtle mugged me! LOL!

I wonder if you can google the inscription, and find the original owner without the 'ring guy.'

Not to disparage the 'ring guy' and/or his service, but I bet he's going to yank the original owner pretty hard.

Did it contain diamonds or is it just gold? I would expect you to be at least rewarded with its scrap metal value.
Jim

Nope - tried to do that already using manufacturer and model of ring, inscription, metal, style, etc - no dice.

The ring guy did offer to give me the name of the person so I could send it back - I think he's already billed them fior his time back during the initial search - I'll ask him when I get there.

AM

Buzzkill for Neal. Jackpot for the guy finding the watch.

good for you! not many people like you around. i would have never thought you wuld have found the owner. i would not have tried that hard, not because i am dishonest, but what are the chances.

Really cool story. I would want to meet the owner of the ring and would love to see the look on his face.

About 8 years ago, I lost my wedding ring at the Hollywood Bowl. This was about 3 months after I got hitched. Of course I didn't say anything. I hurried back to my dad's shop (Dad's a Jeweler) the very next day and made another one without all of the inscription on it. She never knew.
Then my dad busted me at dinner and ask how the new ring fit. Coffee came out of her nose laughing. I can't seem get anything past this woman.

Hi Andrew I tried to PM you but couldn't get it thru.

Aloha Andrew, Maui will be fun. when are you planning to be here. I think you will find that our local airlines do not make it easy to hop inter-island, each leg is a separate fare. It really adds up. Have you been to the Iou valley just to the west of Wailuku, it is a beautiful place to spend some time! Also in a few weeks a P-car mechanic is going to be here from the mainland for 6 weeks and I will be pulling the engine out for a clutch job and all that goes with it, Would hate not to have a fun ride to cruise with you while here. Let me know if I can help you plan your stay with some local knowledge.
Cheers Richard

Well, I'm back from Maui and the ring is being sent back to the owner. I met the detection guy and he was a really nice guy who does this as a side job.
He had already been paid a fixed price a while back to look for the ring and wasn't going to claim a reward - He's just going to send it back to the couple that lost it.

He did have all thier contact info and I was able to call the wife and tell her I found the ring.
Boy, was she suprised! They were on thier honeymoon right after the wedding back in 2009 and lost it their first day on the island. The ring hadn't been resized yet and fell off the very first time they went into the ocean. Lots of searching but no ring turned up. She offered to send me flowers / gift / money, but I declined - It's just nice to know they got back something that was important to them.

Hey Richard - Sorry, I didn't get the above post before I left or we could have met up. I was actually suprised at the number of P Cars I saw in Maui - yellow 911 SC, white Cayman, 2x Boxsters and a 996 or two I've been to the I'o valley a few times - some nice hiking trails in there - quite different from what I see up here!

The only donwside to the trip? MCDonalds doesn't make the SPAM MCMUFFIN ANYMORE!!!!

Regards,
Andrew M