SAINT AUGUSTINE, Fla. (WFLA) — A normal day at the beach turned into a lost and found hunt after a man unearthed a diamond ring worth $40,000.
Joseph Cook, 37, was using a metal detector on Hammock Beach in St. Augustine last month when he made the amazing discovery, SWNS reported.
“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 told the outlet.
In a video he recorded, Cook calls the ring “the biggest diamond I ever found at the beach.”
Cook took the ring to a local jewelry store and was told it was worth about $40,000. He put out a plea on social media, and asked local stores if they knew of anyone who was missing a ring.
About two weeks later, Cook began getting calls from an unknown number. He realized it belonged to the ring’s owner, a couple from Jacksonville, and connected with them.
“They were pretty happy,” Cook told SWNS. “The wife was on a FaceTime call and she just said ‘Oh my god I can’t believe it,’ and she just started crying.”
Three weeks later, Cook met the couple at Hammock Beach, the same location where the ring was found.
“I really wasn’t disappointed that I had to return it,” Cook said. “Karma’s always good, every time I return an item, I find something better, so I’m happy I could give it back.”
And after returning the ring, Cook said he found another diamond ring!
“Karma is real,” he said on his Instagram page.