There are many metal detecting targets that hobbyists are striving to come up with like relics, gold, old buttons, coins … But one of the most rewarding finds, as far as I am concerned, are Rings, especially those made out of valuable metals like Gold, Diamond, Platinum …
… But, do metal detectors find Rings? Yes, most detection machines can easily detect all sorts of Rings regardless of the metal they are made from. However, if your ring target is located in a difficult ground conditions or buried very deep underneath the ground, then you will need high entry machines to do the job for you.
In this article, I will dive into the different types of rings a detector could actually find as well as some machine recommendations to increase your chances to come up with ring finds in an efficient way!
What Ring Types can a Metal Detector Detect?
That’s probably something you will be highly interested in and that you should actually know about! In fact, many hobbyists, only talk about Gold, but neglect other types of rings that could not only hold material value, but also some serious historical value …
1. Gold Ring
After years of practice, it’s very rare that someone doesn’t stumble upon at least one Golden ring … That’s such an inevitable thing that should happen at a certain point …
… I remember several years ago, my wife has lost her golden ring and that was sad that at that time I wasn’t as savvy and I am now about detection activities … I mean, if that was the case now, I will certainly stand a pretty high chance finding it!
Anyways, let’s stop being nostalgic and focus on what matters the most which is how to recognize such a find once you have your hands on it.
If you are living in area where it is common to find such an item, then having Jeweler loupe is a very solid asset that you should have and they are pretty cheap (Check this Loupe’s Price Here at Amazon)!
Indeed, it will allow you to inspect the significant marks not only in the ring but also in any other type of jewelry or find …
… In fact, these are the different marks you could find in it:
- 10k: indicates 10 karats of gold, which is about 40% of gold and the rest are other metals.
- 14k: that’s around 58% of gold.
- 18k: indicates a 75% of the yellow metal.
- 20k: more or less 83%.
- 22k: Pretty rare, that’s about 91% portion of gold.
- 24k: That’s pure Gold right there.
- .417: means the same things as 10k (41.7%)
- .585: means the same things as 14k (58.5%)
- .750: means the same things as 18k (75.0%)
- .833: means the same things as 20k (83.3%)
- .999: means the same things as 24k (99.9%)
Keep in mind that if you find a mark like these ones (GP, GF, GEP), then this means that you’ve gold a piece plated by gold! If this is the case, then chances are, you will notice spots revealing the metal under the gold skin as gold is pretty soft and tends generally to rub away over time!
2. Tungsten Ring
This is a kind of ring that is gaining in popularity … They hold some value, but you shouldn’t expect any historical value from it …
… There are several ways to recognize it once you detect it:
- It is black in most cases, but it could also be white or gray in some particular cases.
- It has a high resistance to scratch.
- Compared to a gold ring for example, it is pretty heavy.
3. Titanium & Platinum rings
We are talking here about a very light ring, it has a low electrical conductivity … Thus, if your detector picks up a Titanium ring, the signal should be in a low target ID range.
Generally, even if you find it in an acidic ground, chances are, there will be little to none corrosion on it simply because it is highly resistant to that.
Such a jewelry is beautiful and cool to find, but keep in mind that compared to platinum or gold, titanium doesn’t hold that much value.
On the other hand Platinum rings hold serious value as good as white gold if not slightly better! There are several ways to recognize it; one of them is to check whether there is one of these Marks on the inside:
- PLAT: Means platinum jewelry.
- PT: Means the same thing and could be followed by a number.
- 900: Indicates around 90% of Platinum.
- 950: Indicates around 95% of Platinum.
4. Sterling Silver Ring
This kind of item holds a good value in it if you want to resell it for example! The good news is that due to its high electrical conductivity, the tones you will hear using your detector should be high, unless you are configuring otherwise in your machine’s custom mode … But the Target ID should be pretty high!
Another exciting thing about this type of ring is that it could be mixed/alloyed with Gold! You can know that immediately if you find the following marks 925 (92.5% Silver) and 585 (58.5% synonym of 14k).
Other than that, if you find “Sterling Silver” or “Ster” marked on the inside, then, this is a Solid indication …
5. Diamond ring
That’s probably the most rewarding thing that could ever happen to you while detecting … a decent piece of Diamond or gemstone in general could change your financial situation for the rest of your life!
The bad news, is that Diamond has a 10-13 in terms of electrical conductivity which is literally nothing … Thus, unless you use a 3D Metal Detector, your conventional machine doesn’t stand a chance detecting it in its pure form …
… However, a golden ring with a gem on it, that’s possible to detect using a regular machine! If you find this mark on the inside “CW” followed or prefixed with a number, then, that’s an indication! Yet, this doesn’t mean that you are rich just yet …
… You still need to test that piece of gem using a Diamond Tester (Check this one Here at Amazon) by placing its needle on the stone. If the heat signal is well conducted through it, then the little device will indicate on a scale whether it’s real or not!
6. Palladium ring
Palladium is often associated or confused with platinum, not only because of the name, but also because of other similarities like color, the overall appearance, the brightness …
… Both are strong, yet Palladium is much more resistant to scratches, however, it is not as dense as Platinum thus, lower in terms of weight.
Usually Palladium rings have the PD 950 indications, synonym of 95% of this metal!
You can learn how to find valuable palladium targets with metal detectors …
6. Zirconium ring
If it happens that you come across with a ring with a stone and this mark CZ, then the stone is cubic zirconia … This is the little brother of diamond, often compared to it as they look pretty much the same …
… Yet, the zirconia value is nowhere to be close to diamond, but it beautiful for sure!
Best metal detectors for rings in general …
There are mainly 2 reasons why picking up rings in general is an easy task for most detectors:
- The size is quite significant so, no need for high sensitivity to be able to see it.
- Pretty often, even if you are dealing with gold, platinum or s.s. rings, they are generally alloyed with other metals which adds up to the overall conductivity. Thus, your machine will see them even more easily.
In fact, the main challenge is not the ring on itself but the ground conditions or the place where you are searching! Below I list different environments and what machine should suit each one of them the most …
1. Are you looking for a Gold/Wedding Ring?
There are some machines that are pre-set to pick up wedding or gold rings in general! A good example for that is the Garrett AT Gold (Check it Here at Amazon) … It actually operates not only on a quite high frequency, but also you can slightly adjust this frequency to have more chances to pick up your target …
… This machine will also allow you to prospect for gold in general which is a good thing to consider if you are close to a gold hot spot!
2. Which Detector to Use on your BackYard?
If you are searching within your backyard for a lost ring, then you probably should consider 2 things:
- Paying attention to cables or electrical wires that happen pretty often to be underneath the ground, so you won’t be digging for nothing and/or causing damage to them.
- Using a regular entry machine like a Bounty Hunter Tracker 4 (Check it Here at Amazon), simply because yards are generally clean, so no need for fancy choices. Or you may want to have a look at these cheap detection machines!
By the way, if you haven’t got into this hobby yet, your backyard is such a great place to start in and to do some bench tests … I mean, you never know what finds you could expect there!
3. Use this Detection Device if you are searching in or around Saltwater
Most entry machines struggle quite a bit when they are dealing with saltwater! That’s just a fact, simply because the mineral particles could trigger false signals that will be freaking you out … Thus you won’t get anywhere …
… If you are looking for a ring or any kind of valuable find in such a place, then the choice I generally recommend to people is the Equinox 800 (Check it Here at Amazon), simply because of the pre-set modes it already has … Indeed, you’ve got 4 different modes:
- Gold mode
- Fields mode
- Parks mode
- And Beach mode
In this case, the mode that will suit your need the most is the Beach mode, in which the machine operates of 5 frequencies all at the same time (going from 5 up to 40 kHz)! That’s pretty much the real power of this machine!
Another thing you should keep in mind is that this model is fully waterproof! In other words, you can completely submerge it (coil and control box) and carry on detecting, no problem!
4. What about Lakes and/or Rivers?
The main challenge that lakes and rivers present is the waterproof capability of your detector! I mean you still can use an Equinox 800 or even an AT Pro as both of them are fully waterproof, but only up to 10 feet …
… If this depth sounds good for you, then maybe that’s the way to go … However, if you are radically planning on diving with your machine, then a Minelab Excalibur 2 (Check it Here at Amazon) is the better choice …
… In fact, in addition to its outstanding detection capabilities, it can go down up to 200 feet underwater which will open up some serious possibilities for some great lost finds, including rings, all sorts of jewelry and more …
5. Have you lost your ring in your house?
If you’ve lost a ring inside your home, then I definitely don’t recommend that you use a motion metal detector, instead you should opt for a non-motion device … You can learn the difference between motion and non-motion detectors …
… In fact, motion devices won’t stop beeping in your home literally for about anything and everything which won’t lead you anyway!
The right thing to do is to use a simple Pinpointer (Check this Pro Pointer Here at Amazon) … Start by selecting the places where you think you’ve lost your ring, then switch on your pinpointer and get it close to the suspected area …
… The closer it gets to the metallic target, the more vibrating it will feel!
You can check these Cheap Pinpointing devices; you will get a better idea on how they actually operate!
Conclusion
Believe it or not, it has been almost 10 months in which I was hesitating whether it is worth writing this article or not! I wasn’t sure whether such an article will provide any value for you …
… But after I’ve received many messages in which people were claiming they’ve lost rings and jewelry, I’ve thought that I probably should address that in a Post, hopefully this could be helpful in some ways!
Hope you’ve learnt new stuff, if so, don’t hesitate to share this Post, so other people will learn as well!