Cartier Love Bracelet with Diamonds Lost in a Two Mile Outing .. Found and Returned
One of my favorite miracle recoveries …
Susan’s friend contacted me trying to get help to find Susan’s Cartier Gold and Diamond bracelet. Three friends had spent the day in Newport Beach. They had planned to eat out and rent bicycles to checkout the action riding down the beachfront bike/ pedestrian path. They had not planned to be on the beach.
After riding the rental bikes from Balboa Pier to Newport Pier they parked the bikes just before sunset then walked out on the beach at low tide to do some photo shoots. They proceed to walk near the water’s edge 6 blocks to the north where they took photos on the breakwater boulders. That’s when Susan realized her very sentimental and expensive bracelet was missing.
The bracelet could be anywhere in a two and a half mile area. Much of the possible locations where it could be was the cement bicycle pedestrian beachfront sidewalk. The other was the low tide area of the beach. That could only be searched at low tide that fall in the early AM hours after midnight. There was also a possibility that the bracelet could have dropped into the large breakwater boulders. ( 98% inaccessible).
While waiting for the late night low tide, I searched the small amount of dry sand where the beach sifting machines normally maintain. The first low tide search did not prove to be successful. I knew it would take several attempts at low tide to feel confident that it was searched properly.
The next day after the night search, I remembered what Susan had told me during a phone call. ( all the clues they gave me were using a celphone as they could not come to the beach ) .. I realized there was an area of dry sand that I had not scanned.
I returned to set up a grid search of a 40’x60’ zone of dry sand that doesn’t get sifted by beach maintenance equipment ( AKA The Beach King)…… 20 minutes into my grid search I got a ID of #15 on my Equinox metal detector. That’s usually a bottle cap number. NOT THIS TIME .. ID #15 is also a open Cartier Love Bracelet. I dug lightly because it was a surface target. I could have easily been reckless with my sand scoop which would have damaged the fragile bracelet and it’s more than 130 diamonds. This is one of the most expensive Cartier love bracelets on their website.
A side note.. This is the newer model of the love bracelet. It has a hinge instead of two gold screws. When I closed the bracelet it gave me a #20 ID reading on my detector. ( most the time a #20 can be a penny)
Needless to say, when I called Susan she couldn’t believe the bracelet was found. I did text her a photo of her bracelet first, before calling her with the good news. I had to soften the surprise.
“I WILL TRY ANYWHERE “ Don’t wait call now! Stan .