Let me guess! You have a metal detector and want to use it to find jewelry and become Filthy RICH! (I am probably exaggerating here). But you are you likely looking for jewelry anyways …
If that’s the case, then the best approach is to target places with the potential to yield jewelry for you. I mean, what’s the point of having a powerful metal detector without using it in the right place?!
In this article, I share with you my top 10 places to come across jewelry while metal detecting!
10 Best places to metal detect for Jewelry
1. Towel lines on the beach
One of the best places to find jewelry is on the beach. If you find yourself at the beach at the end of the peak hours, then the best place to search for is at the towel line.
Make a mental note of where the maximum number of people were sitting …
Then return at night or at the evening to search along the towel line. The this place is where the most activity take place (getting ready to swim, getting back after swimming, walking, playing and doing some activities …). So you can imagine the potential here!
Helpful Tip: Don’t restrict yourself to the towel line only! Indeed, you can definitely try searching in shallow water with your metal detector. In fact, more than 60% of potential finds like jewelry could be found in shallow water. However, you will need a metal detector with a waterproof search coil like This Model.
2. High traffic local areas
High-traffic local areas is a great place to target jewelry too. These are places where a lot of people tend to gather.
Places like public beaches and outdoor retail venues are a good example …
Always start searching once the crowd thins out and before it becomes nighttime. You are likely to find many great items of value just lying around.
If you want to identify untapped high traffic local areas, then you should have a look at these tips to use old maps for metal detecting.
3. Re-enactment scenes
If you want to find old jewelry and other items, places, where re-enactments are carried out are a great spot.
Many places in the US hold re-enactment battles from the Civil War and other battles from history. Once the battle is over, you can head over with your metal detector to find some great finds.
By the way, if you are suspecting that a piece of jewelry is locate under a ground made of concrete, then you Must have a look at these tips to metal detect through concrete! You will find them really useful …
4. Popular camping areas
Some of the most popularly used camping spots and outdoor venues where you live are another great spot for finding jewelry.
People are also more careless about their stuff when they are partying and camping. However, come prepared to dig in such places as the items must have sunk into the land by now, making it harder for you to find.
5. Old houses
Old houses are an excellent place to find lost jewelry. People tend to spend a lot of time here, which means they are likely to lose many items in the years they spent living in the house.
Jewelry can easily slip off the hands or from the pockets, and over the years, they get lost around the house, never to be found again.
6. Under bridges and along river banks
Rivers, creeks, and streams are usually the other end of the drainage system of the town. These are ideal places where old jewelry, coins, and other valuables end up from the settled areas of the city.
Many people also like to swim and hold parties or camp out on the banks of the rivers, making these places the perfect spot for finding misplaced items.
Under nearby bridges is also a great place to look for, since it is common to hear many treasure stories about hidden treasures under a bridge or along a riverbank.
7. Old roadside stands and bus stops
Old bus stops, old roadside stands, and old movie theater complexes are good places to search for jewelry with a detector.
All these are places where a lot of money was handled. Any place where people gather in numbers is an excellent place to search for lost jewelry.
8. Old travel routes
Old railway stations, railroads, wagon trails, and hiking trails are great to search for lost old jewelry. Many detectorists have had great luck even searching on railroad tracks that are no longer in use.
Hiking and biking trails that have since been abandoned are places where you are likely to find many interesting items.
9. Local yard sales
The aftermath of a local town event or yard sale is another option to check out with your metal detector.
If you find many people visiting a particular stall, make sure to come back later when there is less of a crowd to search the area. With many people moving together in a crowd, the likelihood of losing things is relatively high.
Items also tend to get knocked off and lost in such crowded places.
10. Picnic spots
Having picnics is a great way of enjoying time away with family and friends. Many people enjoy picnicking in the local picnic spots of your city.
City parks and state parks are usually popular picnic spots. The weekends and national holidays are likely times when many people will be visiting these places to have a picnic.
Metal Detector recommendation for Jewelry
The Garrett Ace Apex (Check it Here at Amazon) is a good metal detector to search for jewelry…
It has a broad-bandwidth digital platform and the ability to operate on multiple frequencies that gives you more versatility than other detectors.
You can choose to detect with its powerful single frequencies to advance detection for specific targets, or you can select the detector’s simultaneous multi-frequency modes to detect for all targets in most types of soil.
The Garrett Ace Apex comes with a separate search mode for finding jewelry, making it easy for beginners to search for jewelry!
Other search modes include All Metal, Coins International, Coins US, Relics, and Custom. There is also a pinpoint mode available to allow more accurate target findings.
Countries known by Jewelry Abundance
1. United States
The US is one of the best countries to search for jewelry!
Most states grant you easy permission for detecting. From the many beaches to amusement parks like Disneyland, there is no end to the places where you can find lost jewelry.
Some of the potential jewelry items you can see in the US include heirlooms and diamond rings on the beach.
The US is also home to some of the major sporting events in the world. Sporting events are another very popular place in the US where you can find lost jewelry.
2. Australia
Australia is an excellent country for finding jewelry, especially gold jewelry. Detecting for jewelry and gold nuggets, beach detecting, and detecting on public land are allowed in the country without restrictions.
The best place to find jewelry in Australia includes ghost towns, historical sites, sports, camping grounds, and the beaches.
3. United Kingdom
In the UK, the best place to metal detect for jewelry is at the country’s many beautiful beaches. However, in the UK, you need to obtain a permit before metal detecting at any place, including beaches.
Some common jewelry items found in the UK include gold or platinum rings, necklaces, silver bracelets, and diamond earrings.
4. Canada
The best part about metal detecting in Canada is that there is no law against metal detectors in the country. However, you cannot use a metal detector in the national and provincial parks.
The best places to search for jewelry in Canada include Halifax Common, other public parks, and of course, the beaches.
Detectorists have reported finding antique jewelry, pendants, medallions, and diamond earrings across Canada at many different places.
How to make sure that a piece of jewelry is valuable?
The easiest way to identify if you have found an item of value is to check for any engravings. Quality jewelry items are permanently engraved with the purity of the metal they are made from.
These are known as hallmarks. These markings are typically based on parts per 1000. So, for example, if a gold ring is engraved with 375, it contains 37.5% gold.
The same type of hallmark percentage holds for silver as well. The higher the percentage of purity, the more valuable the find is.
The biggest mistake metal detectorists make with jewelry is to think about the melt value of the metals.
Jewelry holds most of its worth in the engineering, design, and craftsmanship of the piece. Even an old piece of jewelry can fetch a lot of money if it is cleaned up and resold than if you sell it to the smelter.
If you come across a ring with an unusual setting or unique design, its resale value will be high owing to the effort added by the artisan.
Semi-precious and precious stones in jewelry are the biggest draw for detectorists. Sometimes even costume jewelry can have gemstones that are worth retrieving. This includes precious stones from necklaces, rings, hairpins, and broaches.
While we all know that a diamond ring is worth a lot, but there are also factors like color, cut, mounting, and size in carts of the diamond that will determine the exact value. The same is true for other gemstones like opal, emerald, ruby, sapphire, etc.
You can either consult an expert or use a reference book on gems to find out the stone’s value.
To determine the value of what you have found, here is an essential guide:
- Identify the metal of your item. For example, is the ring made up of gold, silver, or platinum?
- Try to find the purity or percentage of the item. Determine if it is 10k or 14k gold, or .950 or .925 silver or platinum.
- Determine the weight of the item.
- Are there any jewels set inside it? Make sure that it is not just glass crystals.
- Judge the quality of a gem by its color, clarity, cut, and carats.
Preserving Found Jewelry – Tips
Finding jewelry is awesome, but knowing how to preserve it (to keep its value) is as important. Below my best tips to preserve found jewelry:
- If you have found silver piece of jewelry, you need to clean it properly to preserve its value. The best way to treat silver is to use an old aluminum bowl or pan, add an ounce of washing soda to a pint of distilled water. Now place two sheets of crumpled aluminum foil in the water and soak the silver jewelry until the tarnish disappears. Many commercially available silver cleaners will also work well.
- Gold jewelry doesn’t need much cleaning. A simple soaking in soapy water is usually all that is required. You can polish gold jewelry with jeweler’s rouge but never use sulfur compounds on them.
- Always store all found jewelry in a clean, dry place.
- Keeping the pieces in a fabric-lined jewelry case or a box with compartments and dividers is a good idea. This prevents the pieces from scratching each other.
- If you find a loose stone, fix it immediately to avoid the stone from falling off.
- Taking any valuable pieces to a jeweler for a deep clean at least once a year is a good idea. They will know exactly how to clean the piece to prevent any damage.
Final Thoughts …
The biggest mistake most detectorists do when they are looking for something specific (for example jewelry or gold or relics or anything specific) is that they are trying to find the best metal detector for that specific target they are looking for …
Obviously there is nothing wrong with that! But, the caveat here is that they tend to miss the most important thing! Doing Research to Figure out The Right Place To Target So They Can Find What They Are Looking For.
Hopefully after reading this article, you won’t do this mistake.
