Nick Richards loves to hunt for lost treasures, especially if his detective work brings joy to others.
It's what motivates his passion for metal detecting, a hobby he has pursued for about 25 years and one which has reunited hundreds of people with lost engagement and wedding rings.
"And it feels good to be able to return something to people of huge sentimental value."
Often people find Mr Richards, who lives at Hallidays Point on the NSW Mid North Coast, through social media or by word of mouth.
He says his success rate is high and jokes he has an uncanny ability to make people cry when he discovers their treasured jewellery.
"To be able to return, say, an engagement ring, to someone who is in tears, is tremendously rewarding … I get a hell of a lot out of doing it, and I will travel hundreds of kilometres to do that if I need.
"We are up to possibly 20 rings this year … over the years, I would have found hundreds of rings. I've lost count."
'Deadly weapon against lost jewellery'
Armed with a sophisticated metal detector and scuba gear, Mr Richards takes a systematic approach to each search, always trying to determine tidal movements and exactly when and where an item was lost.
"The gear we use is waterproof down to 60 metres underwater, and that combined with scuba diving, if you are good at what you do, is a deadly weapon against lost jewellery," he said.
"If it's in the surf, it's very urgent because the wave action and sand tends to bury it beyond retrieval sometimes."
The metal detector essentially talks to him as he goes, making different sounds depending on the metal type.
"If I am scuba diving … it's often murky water, and you can't see your hand in front of your face … so I listen in my headphones to the different noises," he said.
Mr Richards said locating a ring was a great feeling.
"If you have been searching for six or seven hours … the feeling you get when you finally pick one up out of the mud is just incredible," he said.
"It's dirty, messy, nasty, but a great challenge ... character-building, I think."
'This incredible miracle'
Stephanie Gesling from Melbourne is one of the many people Mr Richards has reunited with their wedding ring.
Ms Gesling thought her ring was lost for good when it slipped from her hand during a recent holiday at Boomerang Beach, south of Forster.
"It came off in the water," she said.
Mr Richards was called and despite it being New Year's Day, he quickly headed to the beach and began searching.
He ended up returning later that night when the tide was at the right height, and the ring was quickly retrieved.
"It all seemed hopeless to me and then this incredible miracle," Ms Gesling said.
"I felt so relieved ... and then I carried the ring back to the house and got on one knee and gave it to my husband like I was proposing again."
'Every day I love you more'
Sydney resident Ben Cutmore is also relieved to have his wedding ring safely back after losing it in shallow water during a houseboat holiday in the Myall Lakes area.
He contacted Mr Richards, who headed straight to the scene with some helpers, and within an hour, the ring was found.
"The guys were great, they just did it for the love of it," Mr Cutmore said.
"My wife was very happy. I was also happy ... we've been married about 22 years now, and it was actually my second wedding ring.
"I lost the last one at Mona Vale in the surf.
"My wife has a saying, 'Cada dia yo te quiero mas' which means, 'Every day I love you more,' in Spanish, so we had that engraved on the ring ... I'm very relieved it was found."
Lord of the rings continues
Mr Richards has no plans to hang up his metal detector any time soon.
"I have a couple of searches [for rings] coming up in Sydney Harbour, one at Five Dock and one at Balmoral," he said.
"I see myself never really ever losing the thrill of the treasure hunt. It's too much fun.
"We solve a lot of mysteries together and have brought a lot of people a lot of happiness at the same time."
