It’s perhaps every engaged or married couple’s worst nightmare: A vacation or a trip to the beach ruined when a ring — sometimes worth thousands of dollars — goes missing. Yet, in Hawaii, perhaps hundreds of rings are misplaced this way each year, lost at sea after a frolic in the waves or dropped in the sand when beach towels are moved.
“When people get cold — like when they go in the sea — their hands shrink a little bit,” said Kailua-Kona resident Sylvie Madison, who along with husband Brent, operate Big Island Metal Detecting. “If they have a lot of sunscreen on, it’s just a recipe for disaster.”
After frantic searches that rarely return results, most owners give up hope of ever seeing their jewelry again. But several metal detecting enthusiasts around the state are offering their services and equipment, and can be commissioned for a targeted search.
The Madisons moved to Hawaii Island from Phuket, Thailand, and began offering metal detecting services a little over two months ago. Their company, Big Island Metal Detecting, is the only professional company offering such services on Hawaii Island, and is part of an international network of similarly minded metal detecting enthusiasts called The Ring Finders.
The Ring Finders requires its members to have at least one year of metal detecting experience and just four other companies — two on Maui and two on Oahu — are listed in the company’s Hawaii directory. A similar network, www.lostmystuff.net, has six Hawaii-based volunteer members.
Brent says there’s a lot of trust involved in hiring someone to find valuable jewelry. “Our clients are trusting us to not go there and take it and keep it. Our reputation is most important in everything that we do. The last ring we found two weeks ago was worth $13,000. If we find it, we return it.”
“Every single time we’ve done a recovery, the people always come with us. We reassure them. We pick up trash and quarters. We let them see everything that comes out,” added Sylvie.
Last month, the Madisons assisted Pedro and Martyna Majchrzak in finding an engagement ring the couple lost while celebrating the one year anniversary of their engagement at Anaehoomalu Bay. The diamond ring fell off a hat that Martyna had placed it on to take a photo and was swept away by a wave. After spending the evening searching, as well as in tears, the couple called the Big Island Metal Detectors.
After arriving at the South Kohala beach, Brent located the ring within 10 seconds. The couple rejoiced in the find, with Martyna telling the Madisons that she “would have spent the next four days here — the rest of my vacation” searching for it.
Also during August, the couple helped another visiting family locate two rings — including a 2.75-carat diamond ring — lost in the water at Keokea Beach Park in North Kohala. Within an hour, the company located the first diamond channel ring and then the larger diamond ring.
A video shared by Big Island Metal Detecting shows the family’s reaction as Brent located the rings in about 3 feet of water.
“Oh my God, praise the Lord, praise the Lord,” the woman, identified as Avesta, exclaims before hugging Brent and Sylvie.
Big Island Metal Detecting, like many others who list services on sites such as The Ring Finders, works on a reward basis.
“It’s such a charge to find the owner,” said Chris Turner of Vancouver, B.C., and founder of The Ring Finders (www.theringfinders.com). “Ninety-seven percent of our directory works on a reward basis. We ask that clients cover our expenses and then pay us what they think is fair only when the item is found … I once got a homemade loaf of banana bread and I’ve gotten to go to places like the Rocky Mountains to find rings.”
For some with a lost ring, it can be tempting to rent a metal detector and try the search themselves. Brent cautions against that, however.
“Minerals in the salt and in volcanic rock here in Hawaii can throw off a lot of the detectors. Most detectors in a certain dollar range, when they come in contact with the water are instantly destroyed. And, as clean as our Hawaiian beaches are, there’s still a lot of trash — once you’ve done this for awhile you can tell by the sounds, ‘pick this up, don’t pick this up,’” he explained.
Of course, “The best thing is not to lose your ring in the first place,” said Sylvie.
“If you buy a piece of jewelry that is very expensive, take pictures and have it inscribed,” added Brent.
In addition to finding services, other online companies such as www.lostmyring.com, offer some preventive security by issuing registered identification numbers. The owners engrave the number on their jewelry, which makes them easier to return if lost.
“We always check inscriptions on jewelry we find hunting,” said Brent. “We Google inscriptions, and have Facebooked rings. We absolutely try to find the owners. We would want someone to return our things.”
If you are unlucky enough to lose your ring, here are some tips from the Madisons that could increase the likelihood that it will be found:
1. Immediately stop and make mental coordinates of your surroundings. Line up your location with trees or other identifiable landmarks on the shoreline.
2. Do a quick search and record identifiable features of the area that you searched.
3. Note the date, time and the tide. This will help when you return to the search area.
“If they lost it on the beach, half the time they are playing ball and just put on sunscreen,” said Sylvie, “If they can figure out whether its high or low tide, we can more easily figure out where on the beach they might have been and triangulate where they might have lost it.”
4. Contact a professional who can help with your search through an online company like The Ring Finders, www.lostmyring.com or the Madisons who can be reached at 430-5660 or by email to info@bigislandmetaldetecting.com.
