18k Beauty (& her little Platty friend)

TK-421

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Messages
363
Location
Japan
Ever start a hunt 99% convinced it's a bad idea?

I do that from time to time. Usually I'm right, and I go home shaking my head thinking "Why!? Why did I do this to myself?!?"

But every now and then it's totally worth it!

I had already hunted both nights of the weekend a the lowest point of the tide cycle (which happened to be 2:30am and 3:00am here) and was quite sleep deprived and definitely had work in the morning. But there was one more (not quite as good) low tide left for me. And the sea conditions and weather forecast were good. Of course, that low was going to be at 4am...

Sooooooo, I get up at 2:15am, onto the beach by 3am, prepared to put in 3 hours before work. Seas are calm enough for easy wading, but no sooner do I step foot in the water than-- torrential downpour begins. Great. Well my sandshark and all my kit is waterproof, and there's no lightning happening, so this is survivable. But it surely isn't fun! I really hate getting rained on!

Two hours in--I'm feeling like a very wet fool. The usually productive parts of the swim area are oddly sanded in, and I've got a few coins and some trash and that's it. And rain showers have rolled over me one after the other without end. Thanks, weather-people. 0% chance of precipitation my butt! :mad:

I trudge on and get to an area that's usually got a foot or two of soft sand. I've only found big targets there in the past, because the sand is too deep for the SS to pick up anything smallish way down at the rock below. But to my surprise-- the sand is almost completely washed away. Just a few inches on top of the rock! Remembering recent advice from y'all, I realize this might be the opportunity I was looking for. And indeed, I start to pick up targets.

First-- Ugly dolphin pendant. Junk metal, but it's something different, I guess.
Next-- Weird silver ring! Alright! Now we're talking! I consider any silver a win. Maybe not a big win, but at least I can stop regretting my life-choices.
Then-- Sleek little platinum! Actually I didn't have enough light to see whether it was plat or white-gold, but it was completely untarnished and had a bunch of hallmarks and good weight, so I was superexcited. As it turns out-- 3.35g of Pt 850! Niiiice!
Finally--18k heartstopper! Dawn was upon me and I knew it was time to go home, but I got a really strong signal. Tried digging with the scoop but hit coral bedrock. Tide was rising fast, but I was determined to get this one last target so I reached my arm down into the water all the way to my shoulder and started prying sand and rocks out of the pockets in the coral with tired fingers until I spied a very unfamiliar buttery glint. :shock:Nestled deep in a cavity in the coral-- 7.47 grams of 18k and one of the prettiest rings I've yet found!

So in the end, it was 3 miserable hours very well spent, and I drove home grinning ear to ear! :D

(Any advice on identifying the weird magenta stone? And, do y'all think I should try selling the beauty on auction instead of for melt? Pretty though it be, I don't wear gold so it's gotta go! HH!)
 

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Way to go on the yellow and Plat TK :yes: Real nice 18K you got there. :yes:
18K and Plat are easy to polish out any scratches and get them back to like new condition.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=203824
Sorry photobucket has got my pics up for ransom :lol: Use what I said in that thread or get a dremel with a felt polishing wheel.

That 18 is the Japanese ring size. The D010 stands for Diamond carat size 0.10 so that ring has 1/10 of a carat on it. You should see a dot between the 0 and the 10. Your trash to keeper ratio has me drooling :lol:
 
You are getting VERY good at this Sport very quickly! ... Awesome finds and great write up of a rainy dark low tide hunt! Impressive!
 
:dingding: Way to go at it! I for one like hunting in the rain since it keeps me cool from our oppressive heat here. Great hunt!!
 
Way to go! Hopefully that's a Ruby stone. My mom used to love Rubies. Definitely not a melter. Know any jewelry store owners even with small shops? Fixing to display some of mine in a shop for Christmas shoppers. WE agree on a high and low price they sell for. Then its a 70/30 split. My 70 will be way more than melt or I don't sell them.:lol: And they make my jewelry look good and are the one who has to guarantee authenticity of stones, gold and Platinum.
 
Your persistence paid off with 2 great finds,,, love that 18k! Being a bit of a lunatic myself, I rather enjoy hunting in the rain, keeps the competition to a minimum.
 
Very cool ring! My first thought on the reddish stone was amethyst (it comes in shades like that). It's only a hardness of 7, so it could pick up scratches from fossil coral, which is also a 7, which may explain the slightly cloudy look to it.

Skippy
 
"I rather enjoy hunting in the rain, keeps the competition to a minimum."
Same here! Great story TK! Congrats on going with your instincts and your persistence really paid off. :yes:
 
What a GREAT HUNT!! We have a coquina rock beach near here that you can detect and get signals all day long but you dig and hit a massive rock. You're not supposed to move or damage them so I rarely detect there as it's frustrating to not be able to find out what was under the rock :) I just tell myself it was a beer can or fishing weight and that is how I sleep well at night but now you're post makes me wonder! THANKS!! :laughing:
 
Outstanding finds. Sure beats my trip to the beach yesterday. Did not sleep well the night before and got up tired. Hit the beach and when I stepped out of the vehicle the heat and humidity was oppressive. I lasted around three hours and then it took me over half an hour to walk one and a half city blocks getting back to my car I have never been as exhausted as I was by the time I got to the car. I had to run the air conditioning for a while before I felt safe to drive

I would much rather detect in a gentle rain as I would the heat and humidity I endured for a while yesterday

If you know a reputable jeweler they can tell you about that stone.

Most jewelers are more than willing to tell you what you have. Unfortunately one broke the bad news to me over a beautiful "Diamond" that I found
turns out it is mossionite. Man made diamond. Not worth much.
 
Nice finds! Those Japanese gold rings are awesome! Gonna start hunting before work here soon, modded my rig with a backlight finally!
 
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