A newlywed couple on honeymoon in Antigua recovered a lost wedding ring after hiring a local metal detector specialist, highlighting a growing service industry for travelers who lose valuables on beaches.
The couple, visiting from New York City, realized the ring was missing while beach hopping on the island. The husband had been digging for shells when the 14 karat gold band, purchased at Costco for approximately $1,000, slipped off his finger.
The couple initially searched the wrong location for about an hour using borrowed snorkels but found nothing. After reviewing photographs that evening, they determined the ring had been lost at Turner’s Beach, not the beach where they had been searching.
Social Media Led to Local Expert
Through a Facebook group for tourists in Antigua, the wife posted a request for someone with a metal detector. Most responses offered prayers or warnings about bad omens, but one comment referred to a local man named Winston Merchant.
Merchant, a resident of St. John, Antigua, agreed to help over a WhatsApp call. He quoted a fee of $50 if he failed to find the ring and $200 if successful, with payment in cash. The couple accepted the terms.
Merchant has been using metal detectors since 1998 and estimates he has recovered approximately 1,000 pieces of jewelry over that time. His clients are primarily tourists.
His equipment includes a Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II metal detector, which cost $800, and a pair of headphones priced at $140. The device is waterproof to a depth of 200 feet.
Search and Recovery Operation
The search took place 44 hours after the ring was lost. Merchant used the wife’s wedding ring to calibrate his detector for gold frequencies before scanning the beach.
During the search, Merchant waded into water up to his neck, scooping sand from the ocean floor and sifting it through a cylindrical device similar to a pasta colander. He recovered several items including a quarter, a matchbox car, and multiple aluminum can lids, all of which he pocketed to avoid re detecting them.
Merchant works full time farming marijuana and black pineapple, a rare sweet pineapple variety grown only in Antigua. He funds his metal detecting side business through that income.
Statistics cited in various reports suggest that between 10% and 40% of men lose their wedding rings at some point, a trend that has contributed to rising demand for metal detecting services. Rising gold prices have also made the service more popular.
Merchant previously located a valuable pendant the size of a grain of rice on a resort lawn. On another occasion, he found a woman’s diamond ring on a beach at Sandals resort and delivered it to the airport moments before her flight departed.
The couple recovered the ring and paid the agreed $200 fee. Merchant continues to offer metal detecting services to tourists and locals in Antigua.
