7/20/26 Report - A Couple Finds. Assessing Stones Using AI, Test Equipment & Experts. Ancient History Uncoverd. Tropical Depression.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Mystery Find.  Front and Back View.
1 3/8 Inches Long.  8.5 Grams.

This find left me wondering a little bit. It feels too heavy for your typical junk jewelry but close inspection quickly reveals a flaking chrome-like finish.  It is definitely not silver, gold or platinum.

The inscription "I lobe you" on the back is an intentional cutesy misspelling that is commonly used on some internet forums.  

It probably had a loop that broke off.

The setting and everything else about this item says that the stones are junk too.

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Mark G. sent the following email after he did some additional research on one of his finds that I showed in a previous post.

  Here is what he said.

First, thank you for posting my communications when I get excited about something I've found, or found out about metal detecting. In one of my recent posts dated 6/9 and 6/15 I stated I had found 2 good size diamonds metal detecting, most recently found the 3rd and largest one yet set in a silver ring, at least that is what my Amazon diamond tester said. After a long back and forth with my copilot I was convinced; I had diamonds, but my copilot never left off the chance they could be Moissanite. We agreed to take them to a jeweler. I have a really great jeweler I used in Jensen Beach. I do a little business there for my wife, and he knows I metal detect and has always been good enough to take his time to educate me on my finds. Moissanite is the diamond impostor that fools almost everyone. Copilot is not wrong here; it took three jewelers a long time on 3 diamonds to actually say nope. They actually had to do destructive testing on them. I forget the name of the tool, but they would try to round off a facet edge, Moissanite you can, diamond you can't.

From Copilot:

Moissanite is the only common gemstone that can beat a diamond tester because:

• It has thermal conductivity almost identical to diamond
• It returns a positive diamond reading on most testers
• It has higher brilliance than diamond (more sparkle)
• It has double refraction, which can mimic clarity
• It is often set in silver, just like your finds

So, your tester wasn’t wrong — it was doing exactly what it should do. Moissanite simply tricks it.

Even jewelers get fooled without magnification.

Thanks for sharing your new research, Mark.  As your story suggests, identifying objects can be difficult and often involves a multistage process.  Some objects are more difficult to identify than others.  And some things require a type of testing that is not readily available to the average person.

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Massive wooden beams charred by the fire that destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple were unearthed during a recent dig at the Jerusalem Walls National Park in the City of David, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) reported Monday.

The First Temple, which was built by King Solomon, was destroyed in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar II, the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire...

According to the IAA, Jerusalem’s returning residents, as they began to rebuild the city, probably made a deliberate decision to preserve the memory of the destruction by leaving behind remains that tell the story of the catastrophe.

“The concept of a landscape of memory is familiar from many cultures around the world,” said Dr. Yiftah Shalev, who is directing the excavation on behalf of the IAA alongside Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

Wooden beams from First Temple’s destruction found ahead of Tisha B'Av | The Jerusalem Post

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There is a tropical depression in the Gulf.  Below is the projected track.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

The surf on the Treasure Coast remains small.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net