It was an amazing warm sunny day when I got a call to dive for a lost diamond ring. I grabbed my detector, camera gear, and my brother and headed out. Little did we know what was in store for us that day. This diamond ring was no ordinary ring, it was a custom designed platinum ring with over 5 karats of diamonds. Somehow the ring had been lost in the lake behind their house over a year ago, and no one could find it. When we got there, we were greeted by the family and they showed us around to the back yard where they had a large lake. Standing on the shore, they pointed out towards the middle where they think the ring fell into the water. After getting geared up I grabbed the detector and my brother grabbed the Gopro and we got into the water, we soon found that the lake was deeper than we thought. After descending to almost 30 feet, visibility was poor and there was 8-10 inches of silt and dead leaves. Once we started swinging the detector, visibility went to near zero. I spent about 45 minutes swinging the Minelab Excalibur II in the cloudy darkness with no luck. I was not sure if we were ever going to find it, but then I decided to go up the side of the lake to about 20 foot of water and that is when I heard a good solid tone. It took about 5 minutes for me to get the ring in my hand because of the poor visibility. I grabbed one last handful of mud and sand and I could tell I had something. I ran my hand full of muck over the coil and it rang out loud and clear. I nervously swam to a location with a little bit better visibility and finally looked into my hand and what I saw made my jaw drop! It was the largest diamond ring I had ever seen. My hands started to shake, I could hardly believe what I had just found. I gave my best underwater yeehaa, then headed to the surface. Once above the water with the sun overhead, I got to see the true gleaming beauty of this massive gemstone and the intricate design work of the platinum setting. This ring was a true piece of art, I could hardly believe what I had just found. I was very fortunate to be able to film the recovery of this families prized heirloom. Because of the value of the ring, the owners requested privacy, but the smile and relief on the families faces when I handed over the ring was priceless. It was one of the most exciting finds of my life.
Ryan - Idaho, USA
