Man finds $40,000 diamond ring while treasure hunting at a Florida beach 

A man who was treasure hunting on a Florida beach was amazed when he discovered a $40,000 diamond ring buried in the sand. 

Joseph Cook was at Hammock Beach in St. Augustine, Florida in October combing through the sand with a metal detector when he stumbled across the amazing discovery. 

Shocked at his find, he posted videos of the ring on his social media. 

“No way, man. Whoa, look at that bad boy. Holy crap, yo that’s real. I swear to God, this is the biggest diamond I ever found on the beach,” Cook says in the video.

Cook, 37, called several local jewelry stores to check if anyone might have lost the ring. He eventually went to a jeweler, who told him the price of the treasure he had found: a whopping $40,000. 

"I just said, 'That's been sitting in my scooter for almost a week' — I couldn't believe it," he said. 

A few weeks later, Cook began receiving phone calls from an unknown number, which he ignored. However, one day, he decided to answer the call only to find the owner of the diamond ring on the other side of the phone. 

The two parties decided to Facetime to see if the ring was indeed the one they had lost. 

"They were pretty happy. The wife was on a Facetime call, and she just said, ‘Oh my God, I can't believe it,' and then she just started crying," he said. 

Cook met up with the couple and returned the ring to them. 

"Karma's always good. Every time I return an item, I find something better — so I'm happy I could give it back," he said. 

This year alone, Cook has returned over $60,000 worth of items to their respectful owners.