Argentina
Lost a wedding ring on a beach in Argentina?
The spot where you planted the umbrella is the first thing we will ask about.
Something lost in Argentine sand is not necessarily gone for good, and the place where your umbrella stood makes a useful landmark. What counts is how exactly you can mark the spot, and whether it came off on dry sand or in the sea.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Argentina. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Below are the Atlantic beaches of Buenos Aires province, from Mar del Plata, Pinamar, Cariló and Villa Gesell on to Necochea, plus Puerto Madryn and the Bosques de Palermo.
How the Argentine shore changes from one resort to the next
At Mar del Plata the last of the Tandilia hills run out into the sea, so at Playa Grande and Varese the sand alternates with rock. Heading south from Punta Mogotes, the wide, gently sloping beaches give way past the lighthouse to beaches surrounded by thick vegetation, and then to small ones at the foot of cliffs. At Pinamar, pine and eucalyptus woods were planted on the coastal dunes, and Cariló, too, is a forest planted on a dune.
Puerto Madryn sits on the Golfo Nuevo, a gulf of calm water, and in Buenos Aires itself the water is a park lake in the Bosques de Palermo.
Dealing with Ring Seekers from the beach or from home
Your messages stay with one person
Whoever answers your first WhatsApp is still the one writing to you when the search is over, so nothing you have told us needs repeating to someone new.
Your pin becomes the starting point
The detectorist sets out from your pin and lines up the view in your beach photos before starting.
When the chances are slim
A phone gone off the end of a pier gives a detectorist very little. If your case is like that, you hear it from us at the start.
The details we ask for
The beach and the street or balneario where you came down, roughly where your umbrella was, whether you went into the sea, and a picture of the item.
Costs on the table early
We explain the costs before any search is booked, so you can weigh them against what the ring or watch means to you.
The Argentine beaches, towns and parks on this page
Each card is a beach, town or park where people spend their summer days. We leave Península Valdés, the Reserva Natural Faro Querandí and the Laguna de los Padres reserve alone.
Beaches, towns and one city park
Mar del Plata's central beaches
Mar del Plata has more than forty-seven kilometres of coast, so the beach's name comes first. The central ones are Bristol and La Popular, Punta Iglesia and Las Toscas, and La Perla, on the way north from Punta Iglesia, is the classic choice for a day on the sand. Piers and breakwaters reach out into the sea from the shore, and a photo with one of them in view helps fix where you sat.
Playa Grande, Varese and Cabo Corrientes
Here the sand alternates with the rock of the Tandilia hills where they drop into the sea, and you can walk at sea level or along the top of the cliff. Varese and Cabo Corrientes are the city's calm-water beaches, while Playa Grande is chosen for surfing.
Pinamar
Pinamar has 22 kilometres of coast, and the balnearios along it rent tents and umbrellas. The district also takes in Ostende, Valeria del Mar and Cariló. Avenida Bunge, the main street, runs straight from the entry roundabout to the sea, and the broad beaches suit kitesurfing and paddle surf. In Valeria del Mar a raised walkway at calle San Martín crosses a tall dune on its way to the sand.
Cariló
Cariló is a forest planted on what was a dune. Its beach has balnearios renting tents and umbrellas, like the rest of the Pinamar coast. The shopping centre is on Avenida Divisadero, and calle Carpintero leads from it through a thickly wooded area, and something dropped on that walk may be lying under the trees rather than on the sand.
Villa Gesell
Villa Gesell's wooden rambla follows the beach from Calle 303 in Barrio Norte to Paseo 129, with lookouts and little bridges along the way. At Paseo 129 the fishermen's pier runs out into the sea. The paseo you were nearest is the most useful number you can send us.
Necochea and Quequén
Necochea's balnearios line Avenida 2 between calle 73 and Pinolandia, with umbrellas and tents for hire, and the Rambla Municipal stands on calle 83. Quequén's beaches are narrower, with coarser sand, more shells and rock along their length. They run from the northern breakwater to Costa Bonita, with stretches for bathing and for surf, bodyboard and kayak.
Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn stretches along its own beach on the Golfo Nuevo, with a costanera where people walk. The clear, calm water draws divers and stand-up paddlers, the Patagonian wind brings out windsurfers and kitesurfers, and the balnearios along the town beach hire out the kit.
Bosques de Palermo, Buenos Aires
Parque Tres de Febrero, better known as the Bosques de Palermo, is a city park of woods, squares and four lakes: Regatas, Rosedal, Planetario and Victoria Ocampo. Most of it, the Rosedal included, is free to walk into. People picnic under the trees or beside the lakes, take small boats and pedal boats out on the water, and follow the paths between the rose beds of the Rosedal.
Places we cover in Argentina
- Mar del Plata
- Playa Bristol, Mar del Plata
- La Perla, Mar del Plata
- Playa Grande, Mar del Plata
- Varese and Cabo Corrientes, Mar del Plata
- Punta Mogotes, Mar del Plata
- Pinamar
- Ostende and Valeria del Mar
- Cariló
- Villa Gesell
- Mar de las Pampas
- San Bernardo
- Miramar
- Necochea
- Quequén
- Puerto Madryn
- Bosques de Palermo, Buenos Aires
Lost on an Argentine summer holiday
On your hand, ear or neck
- Wedding bands and engagement rings
- Hoop and stud earrings
- A gold chain with a medal
- Chain bracelets
Watches, phones, keys and more
- An Oura ring
- Sports watches and smartwatches
- Phones
- Car keys and the keys to a rented flat
- Metal-rimmed sunglasses
- The metal bombilla from a mate set
The moment it went
- Planting the umbrella at a Pinamar balneario
- A game of tejo or paleta on the sand at Mar del Plata
- Paddling out at Playa Grande
- Fishing from the pier at Villa Gesell
- Stand-up paddle on the Golfo Nuevo
- A pedal boat on the Palermo lakes
From the first message to the search
Starting with a message from your phone.
Message us the item and the beach
Send a WhatsApp message naming the item, the beach or park, and the day, and say whether you were in the water.
Your umbrella spot on the map
Drop a map pin where the umbrella or towel was, or where you went into the sea. Add a photo taken there with a pier, lookout or balneario in view, and one of the item.
Briefing a detectorist
We look for a metal detectorist who can get to that beach or park and pass on everything you sent.
Search day and the outcome
Once you agree, the search is arranged, and afterwards we tell you how it went, whether or not anything turned up.
Questions about Argentina
My wedding band came off while we were putting up the umbrella at a Pinamar balneario. Can it be found?
The umbrella helps, because it gives the search a fixed point. Pinamar's beach is lined with balnearios renting tents and umbrellas, so name yours, the row the umbrella stood in and roughly how many steps it was from the water, and tell us whether you swam afterwards.
Can a phone dropped from the fishermen's pier at Villa Gesell be recovered?
The pier stands at Paseo 129 and runs out into the sea, so first tell us how far along it you were. A phone that went over near the far end is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. If you are not certain it fell from the pier, pin your walk along the wooden rambla as well.
Where do we start for a signet ring lost surfing at Playa Grande?
Playa Grande's sand alternates with rock, so the first thing we want to know is whether your way in and out crossed any. Pin your entry point and the stretch where you reached the shore again, and send a photo taken from the waterline towards the cliff.
Is a beach at Quequén different ground from Necochea for a lost earring?
It is. Quequén's beaches are narrower than Necochea's, with coarser sand, more shells and rock along their length. Tell us the nearest landmark, such as the northern breakwater or the Rambla Municipal, and whether it was a stud or a hoop.
I had my bracelet on in the shops on Avenida Divisadero in Cariló, but it was gone once we got down to the beach.
Between the shops and the sand in Cariló there are wooded streets such as calle Carpintero, so the route counts for more than any one spot. Pin the shop or café where you remember wearing it, the house you went back to, and the way you walked down to the beach.
We hired a pedal boat on one of the Palermo lakes and came home without the car keys.
Name the lake first: Regatas, Rosedal, Planetario or Victoria Ocampo. Pin where you boarded and where you came ashore, then add the rest of the visit, such as a picnic under the trees or a walk through the Rosedal, with a rough time for each.
Does it help to know where I launched at Puerto Madryn? My smartwatch went while I was paddleboarding.
It does. The town runs along its beach on the Golfo Nuevo, with balnearios spread along it, so your launch point fixes the stretch. Tell us that, how far out you think you were when you noticed, and whether you fell in at any point.
Argentina
First the beach, then the spot
To begin, open WhatsApp and give us the beach or park and the item, plus a map pin dropped where your umbrella, towel or boat was. We reply with what else to send.