The world is full of hidden treasures; you just have to be patient enough to find them.

And no one knows this better than a passionate 10-year-old treasure hunter who was able to make a remarkable $20,000 discovery at a popular Sydney beach.

A family recalled the incredible moment their 10-year-old boy miraculously recovered a lost $20,000 vintage watch buried in the sand at Balmoral Beach.

The watch belonged to a 79-year-old local who lost it after going on his regular morning swim at the popular beach.

According to reports, the older gentleman removed his 1975 Cartier Santos watch just before 7:30 am and placed it in the pocket of his shorts before taking a dip. An hour later, after returning to his car, his son, Justin, received a call from his distressed father saying the watch was gone.

The $20,000 vintage watch belonged to a 79-year-old man. Credit: Mary/Pexels

‘Dad was in a real state and very upset,’ Justin told reporters.

He added: ‘He returned to the car after his swim, and when he went to put his watch on, it wasn’t there.’

‘He parks in the same spot and swims in the same spot every day, but even after retracing his steps, it couldn’t be found.’

According to Justin, the vintage watch was bought in France and held ‘great sentimental value’ to his father, and he went on to say that it was one of his ‘most treasured possessions’.

The family then reached out to British expats Simon Shave and Meggan Brummer for help in finding the lost item since the couple has experience in recovering ‘treasures’ at the beach.

Meggan sent her husband to find the treasure, with the 10-year-old boy tagging along with his metal detector and a rake.

‘Simon and Josh went down to Balmoral after school finished, armed with a metal detector and a small shovel,’ Meggan shared before adding that the family wasn’t ‘too hopeful’ given that the watch was so valuable and had been missing for one whole day.

The watch had been missing for an entire day. Credit: Antony Trivet/Pexels

‘I was told by my parents that there was a watch lost down (there),’ Josh said.

While they were expecting to spend their entire day at the swimming spot looking for the watch, it was not long before Josh’s metal detector started vibrating near the steps leading down to the beach around 5:20 pm.

‘I just immediately got a signal. I literally pulled up the watch immediately, and I just found it within a minute,’ Josh explained.

The boy added: ‘As soon as I saw it, I became very excited – I knew I would be able to make the sad man happy again. It is the most expensive thing I have ever found.’

The grateful owner gave Josh an undisclosed amount of 'pocket money' as a reward for his honesty. But for Josh, the real reward was helping the man reunite with something valuable to him.

‘It feels really good to be able to reunite them with special things that are special to them,’ he shared.

This isn’t the first time someone has stumbled upon buried treasure at an Aussie beach – only this time, the lucky treasure hunters actually discovered a rare piece of history that’s reportedly worth over $100,000.

Leon Deschamps and Shayne Thomson were scouring the dunes at Shark Bay with metal detectors when they made a remarkable discovery – a buried infant Buddha statue that dates back to the 15th century Ming dynasty of imperial China.

This discovery is so valuable that the item could even change the course of history once its origins have been verified. You can read more about this story here.

Key Takeaways

• A young boy named Josh Shave found a man's valuable Cartier Santos watch worth $20,000 at a popular Sydney beach with the help of his father, Simon.
• The watch had been lost by a 79-year-old man who couldn't find it in his shorts pocket after his morning swim.
• Josh and his father were able to locate the watch using a metal detector and a small shovel.
• The grateful owner gave Josh some pocket money as a ‘thank you’ for finding and returning his treasured possession.

Do you have your own stories about incredible discoveries after a lost and found situation? Please, let us know in the comments below!

 

[RTS]

My father in law used to find gold nuggets out in the bush with his metal detector. They weren't lost but they were buried treasure.

 

[Jarred Santos]

My father in law used to find gold nuggets out in the bush with his metal detector. They weren't lost but they were buried treasure.

Wow, @RTS! Did he ever tell you about some of his oddest finds with his metal detector? I'm curious!

 

[MindyMac]

Wonderful story and also teaches children that just because it's Lost and then Found by them does not make the item theirs. People that find items and keep them are actually committing a crime. Obviously expensive items, even mobile phones need to be handed into the police. As part of an insurance claim for an expensive Lost item that a person may have Valuables Insurance added to their Contents policy, that insured person for that item, even if lost in the ocean needs to be reported to the police and that report number quoted on the claim form.

Just because you find a gold bracelet, watch, mobile phone, ring, wallet and cash does not mean that you are the new owner.