On a calm, sunny morning in October, Alex Davis went diving off the southern coast of Barbados with his metal detector, a routine he follows a few times a month. Typically, he discovers bottle caps and rusty nails beneath the sand and coral.
This time, however, after kicking his legs and dipping his head into the turquoise waters, he heard a low beep from his device, indicating the presence of gold.
“I pull back two more large rocks,” said Mr. Davis, a 34-year-old free diving and spearfishing instructor originally from Britain. “And as I pull back the third one, and the sand settles, almost immediately I see the band of the ring poking out of the sand.”
Mr. Davis discovered a gold graduation ring that had been lost in the ocean nearly 50 years ago, featuring the year 1965, the name “McMaster University,” and the eagle from the Canadian university’s coat of arms. A polished maroon stone, likely a garnet, was set in the center.
Describing his reaction, Mr. Davis likened it to a moment from “The Lord of the Rings,” imitating the character Sméagol’s voice as he held the One Ring.
Upon returning home, Mr. Davis examined the ring more closely and found three initials, FMP, inscribed inside the band. Believing these to belong to the owner, he reached out to the university’s alumni association.
His inquiry was received by Karen McQuigge, the director of alumni engagement at McMaster University, who searched the alumni database. She quickly identified an alumnus named Frederick Morgan Perigo, who graduated in 1965, and provided Mr. Davis with his email address.
Mr. Perigo, who declined an interview request, informed Mr. Davis and a local publication that he had lost the ring while on vacation and had thought it was gone forever.
In 1975, while in Barbados with his young son, Mr. Perigo lost the ring when a wave knocked the child down. As he helped his son, the ring slipped off and was lost in the ocean, despite the family’s efforts to search the beach.
Nearly 49 years later, on October 22, the day before Mr. Perigo’s 83rd birthday, a package arrived at his home in Burlington, Ontario, containing the ring, which Mr. Davis had arranged to return.
“The sea gives and the sea takes,” Mr. Davis stated in a phone interview, emphasizing that returning the ring felt like the right thing to do: “I never felt like it was my ring.”
The ring was found in nearly perfect condition, showing little corrosion and an unblemished central stone.
“It was a shock,” Mr. Perigo remarked. “It was the most miraculous 83rd birthday present I could ever have.”
The day after discovering Mr. Perigo’s ring, Mr. Davis returned to the ocean with his metal detector but found only more bottle caps and rusty nails. However, he noted that somewhere off the coast of Barbados, another long-lost treasure awaits discovery.