- Michael Oliver, 40, from Hillsdale, NSW uses special equipment to hunt for lost jewellery
- In over two decades, he’s recovered more than a thousand pieces of jewellery worth more than $3 million
Here Michael tells his story in his own words.
Wading through waves in my wetsuit, I squinted at the ripples in the sand below.
It’s got to be around here somewhere, I thought.
Equipped with my trusty metal detector, I searched for the gold wedding ring that a young bloke had lost in the surf.
Suddenly the beep beep beep of my machine told me I was close.
Kneeling, I used my shovel to dig around the area until I saw something shiny reflecting in the sun.
‘I got it!’ I called out to the worried couple standing on the shore.
‘Are you serious!?’ the wife beamed, jumping up and down, ecstatic.
‘It happens all the time,’ I assured the young fella, who looked like he’d taken his first breath since the ring, which belonged to his late father, went missing three hours earlier.
Having launched my metal detecting service, Lost Jewellery Recovery, back in 2015, I’m always willing to lend a hand to people who’ve lost their valuables. Known locally as the Lord of the Lost Rings, I search for treasures big and small.
Even as a kid I’d had a knack for spotting things that would normally go unseen. Swimming at local rock pools with Mum, I’d find dollar coins and jewellery at the bottom of the water.
‘I found these,’ I’d say, handing in the items to the kiosk.
‘ On a lucky day, I found a gold ring!’
If they couldn’t find the owner, I got to keep them.
‘Here you go!’ I’d say, spoiling Mum and my sister Veronica.
When I was 10, I saw a man using a metal detector at the beach. Curious, I asked Mum what it did and how it worked.
‘The detector picks up a signal when metal objects are close by,’ she explained.
I knew then and there that I wanted one. So that Christmas, I was chuffed to unwrap a brand-new detector from Santa.
Whenever I could, I’d stroll along the beach with my family, sometimes finding hidden gems such as silver rings. On a lucky day, I found a gold ring!
I always tried to track down the owners to make their day a little brighter.
And even better, we’d help clean up the beach along the way, collecting rubbish and disposing of it properly on our way home.
Time passed, and marrying Michelle, in December 2012, she was super supportive of my hobby.
‘I love how you’re helping others,’ she said.
In 2014, aged 29, I injured my knee at my warehouse job. I was off work for three months while I underwent intensive rehab.
During that time, I realised how much I wanted to make my treasure-hunting hobby a full-time job. So I invested in better equipment and launched my business.
First, I spread the word on social media and handed out business cards.
Through that and word of mouth, people started to text or call me for my service.
‘The bracelet was worth more than $5000.’
Michelle and I had our first child, Noah, soon after, and our daughter, Layla, joined us three years later.
‘Daddy, let’s find the treasure,’ they’d say when they got big enough, coming along to help me at the beach when I was searching for lost diamond rings and missing gold bracelets.
Over the years, I’ve completed well over a thousand jobs at my local Sydney beaches.
In December 2024, a woman at Clontarf Beach called up saying she’d lost her bracelet. Containing four Suisse gold bars that were 24 carats each, it was worth more than $5000.
Using my detector at low tide, and a device with a jet propulsion system which blasts the sand away to help find the hidden treasure, I was on a mission.
After an hour of looking, I finally got a reading.
Spotting the shimmer of gold in the disturbed sand, I exploded with excitement.
‘Thank you so much!’ the relieved woman cried.
If I can’t easily track down an owner of any jewellery I find, I post to social media or on my blog to find the rightful owners.
It’s all about helping people reunite with their sentimental belongings, I think.
I’m not always hunting for treasure at the beach though.
In August last year I received a call from a woman named Marion who asked if I could find her dad’s treasures under his home in Eastgardens, NSW.
He’d migrated from Germany with his wife in the 1950s, and had told Marion about burying valuables under the house – his safe place after facing a series of robberies.
‘Reuniting her with the family heirlooms warmed my heart.’
Sadly, her dad passed away in 2009 after a long battle with dementia. before Marion could find out more.
Now, with the property up for sale, Marion had called me in for a last ditch attempt at finding her dad’s prized possessions.
Opening a sealed manhole in the hallway, and then another in the bedroom, I got into the crawlspace filled with dust and rusty nails.
After 45 minutes, my colleague Max and I discovered not one but two boxes full of gold coins, jewellery and her beloved dad’s watch.
‘I can’t thank you enough,’ Marion cried.
Reuniting her with the family heirlooms warmed my heart.
My job not only puts a smile on strangers’ faces, but also on mine.
In over two decades, I’ve recovered more than a thousand pieces of jewellery worth more than $3 million!
I never imagined I’d be a professional treasure hunter, but it’s safe to say I have no plans of stopping.
Noah, now seven, and Laylah, four, think it’s the coolest job, and I couldn’t agree more.
One man’s lost treasure is my job to find.
Visit lostjewelleryrecovery.com
