Diamonds are a man’s best friend.
A 37-year-old treasure hunter discovered a $40,000 engagement ring while combing Hammock Beach in St. Augustine, Florida, with his metal detector in October.
A video posted by Joseph Cook shows him excitedly digging for the ring while initially thinking it was a coin of some sort.
“No way, man. Whoa, look at that bad boy. Holy crap, yo that’s real. I swear to God, this is the biggest diamond I ever found on the beach,” Cook can be heard saying in the video.
“When I first found it, I thought it would just be a nickel, but then I dug it up, and it was just this big old diamond-and-platinum ring.”
Cook immediately posted the video online in an effort to contact whoever had lost the wedding bling.
“When I went to the jewelers, they told me it was worth $40,000,” recalled the Florida resident. “I just said, ‘Oh God, that’s been sitting in my scooter for almost a week.’ I couldn’t believe it.”
Two weeks later, Cook began receiving calls from an unknown number. While he initially ignored the calls, he soon realized it was the owner of the ring.
“They were pretty happy. The wife was on a FaceTime call, and she just said, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it,” and then she just started crying,” recalled Cook.
The treasure hunter said the owner met him at Hammock Beach three weeks after he found the lost ring.
“It felt really good. I’ve returned $60,000 of stuff this year, but nothing even close to this before,” said Cook.
Cook said he wasn’t upset about returning the ring, because he believes in karma.
“I really wasn’t disappointed that I had to return it. I’ve got a necklace with about 25 to 30 rings on it, just so I can return them to their owners.”
“Karma’s always good,” he continued. “Every time I return an item, I find something better, so I’m happy I could give it back.”