Perth, Cottesloe, Scarborough and Rottnest Island
Lost a ring or other jewellery on a Perth beach, on Rottnest or by the Swan River
From Fremantle and Cottesloe north through City Beach, Scarborough and Trigg to Sorrento and Hillarys, across to Rottnest Island, and along the river at South Perth.
A ring lost on a Perth beach can be found if you can place the spot and the sea has not had days to work on it. What decides it is whether it went into dry sand, the wet strip or the water, and how exactly you can mark where you were. The tide here is small, so on this coast the waves and the afternoon sea breeze matter more than the tide table.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch or phone in Perth with a metal detectorist who can search there. We line up a searcher who can reach the spot, hand over your pin and photos, and are straight with you about the odds.
If you are looking at metal detector hire in Perth, a hired machine is a fair option for a fresh loss on dry sand. For wet sand, the water or a small item like an earring or an Oura ring, a detectorist gets more from the same hour.
How a search works in Perth, from Cottesloe to Rottnest
In the first hour, fix the spot. Line yourself up with two things that do not move, such as the Indiana building and the groyne at Cottesloe or a surf tower at Scarborough, and take a photo in each direction. Drop a pin, note the time and how deep you were, then WhatsApp us that and a photo of the ring.
We find a detectorist who can get there and send them your marked map.
Places we cover in Perth, Cottesloe, Scarborough and Rottnest Island
- Cottesloe Beach, the Indiana and the groyne
- North Cottesloe Beach and Grant Street Beach
- South Cottesloe dog beach, Beach Street to Mosman Beach
- City Beach and its two groynes
- Floreat Beach
- Scarborough Beach and the Scarborough foreshore
- Trigg Beach, Trigg Island and Mettams Pool
- Sorrento Beach
- Hillarys Boat Harbour and Hillarys Marina Beach
- Mullaloo Beach
- Leighton Beach and Port Beach, North Fremantle
- Bathers Beach, Fremantle
- South Beach, Fremantle
- Rottnest Island, The Basin, Pinky Beach and Longreach Bay
- Rottnest Island, Geordie Bay and Little Salmon Bay
- Swan River foreshore in Perth city, Elizabeth Quay and Langley Park
- South Perth foreshore, Sir James Mitchell Park and Mends Street Jetty
- Coode Street beach, South Perth
Beaches from Fremantle to Hillarys, plus Rottnest and the river, where rings go missing
Each beach has its own way of taking a ring.
Cottesloe and North Cottesloe
Cottesloe Beach is 1.5 kilometres of soft white sand, easy to place yourself on because of the 100 metre groyne at the southern end and the Indiana building in the middle. Cottesloe SLSC patrols weekends and public holidays from October to April, so on those days the flags are a fixed point. North Cottesloe runs on to Grant Street, whose end is a dog beach outside the middle of the day in summer.
Scarborough and Trigg
Scarborough Beach stretches 2.5 kilometres in front of the foreshore, with waves that break close to shore, and the City of Stirling keeps lifeguards on it all year. Trigg is the surf beach, with the waves largest around the rocky point called Trigg Island. Mettams Pool to the north is popular with snorkellers, and calm water is where masks, watches and rings slip off unnoticed.
City Beach and Floreat
City Beach is a 500 metre white sand beach between two groynes that block the bigger waves, with the surveillance tower at the end of the southern groyne, and lifeguards on duty through the season. Floreat Beach to the north is a patrolled white sand beach with a groyne at its southern end.
Sorrento, Hillarys and Mullaloo
Sorrento Beach is 600 metres of soft white sand, usually calm because a reef 3 kilometres offshore takes the swell, with small waves next to the marina wall and the groynes. Hillarys Marina Beach sits inside Hillarys Boat Harbour, sheltered by the marina, and Mullaloo to the north has the same white sand and a surf club patrol.
Fremantle, Leighton to South Beach
Leighton Beach in North Fremantle is 1.5 kilometres long with usually calm water, and Port Beach curves south from it beside the north quay of the port. Bathers Beach is 300 metres of white sand beside the Fishing Boat Harbour, and South Beach, at the southern end of the port city, is calm, family water with a dog area.
Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island lies 19 kilometres west of Fremantle and has 63 beaches and bays. The Basin is a narrow 200 metre beach between low rock bluffs, with an intertidal platform and tidal pools, patrolled on summer weekends. Pinky Beach, below Bathurst Lighthouse, is one of the widest stretches of sand on the island, and Longreach Bay, Geordie Bay and Little Salmon Bay are short bike rides from the settlement. People snorkel over the reefs in these bays, so say which bay and how far out you swam.
The Swan River at Perth and South Perth
The South Perth foreshore runs from the Narrows Bridge to Ellam Street, with Sir James Mitchell Park along the river by Mends Street Jetty and small river beaches at Coode Street, Mends Street and Mill Point. The picnic lawns, the sand and the jetty are where rings, earrings and phones go. On the city side, Langley Park lies along the river near Elizabeth Quay.
What you get from Ring Seekers in Perth
One person on WhatsApp
You explain it once. One person takes the details, lines up a searcher for your stretch and keeps you updated.
We brief the searcher with your map and photos
The detectorist gets your marked spot, your photos and the time of the loss before setting foot on the sand.
Plain about poor odds
A ring lost in the surf at Trigg with no fixed point, or off a boat in Thomson Bay, is a poor bet. We say so first.
We know how this coast behaves
A small tide, a strong afternoon sea breeze and reef rips at the northern beaches. We brief the detectorist on the conditions for your beach, not a generic beach.
Costs agreed before anything happens
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Tide, sea breeze and sand from Fremantle to Rottnest
What the searcher is up against here.
Tides at Fremantle
The tide range at Fremantle is about 0.7 metres, and in the 2026 predictions every high and low sits between 0.29 and 1.44 metres above chart datum. The wet strip is narrow and reachable for most of the day; we still give the detectorist the low water time, when the shallows are easiest.
The Fremantle Doctor
The Fremantle Doctor is the afternoon sea breeze of the Perth region, arriving from the south west on summer afternoons. It brings chop and moving sand to the west facing beaches after lunch, so a detectorist in the water at Cottesloe or Scarborough works the morning.
Sand, surf and rips
The sand is white and soft from Fremantle to Mullaloo. City Beach, Sorrento and Hillarys hold a ring near where it fell; Scarborough and Trigg have bigger waves and stronger rips, and Cottesloe has permanent rips against its reefs. A ring in the surf zone works deeper with each set.
Questions about Perth, Cottesloe, Scarborough and Rottnest Island
I lost my wedding ring in the water at Cottesloe. Is it worth a search?
Often yes, if it happened within the last day or two and you can place it. The tide at Fremantle moves within about 0.7 metres, so a ring dropped in knee deep water is not carried far by the tide alone; waves and rips do the moving, and the southern corner by the groyne usually has the calmest water. Tell us which side of the Indiana you were on and how deep you were standing.
My Oura ring or watch came off surfing at Trigg or Scarborough. Can it be found?
Both contain metal, so both show on a detector. The problem is the water: Scarborough has bigger waves and stronger rips than its neighbours, and at Trigg the Blue Hole rip runs on the south side of Trigg Island. An item lost there moves, and a detectorist can only work the shallows on a calm day. If it came off on the sand, the stairs or the foreshore, the odds are far better.
Can a detectorist search The Basin, Pinky Beach or Longreach Bay on Rottnest Island?
Yes. The Basin is a narrow 200 metre beach between low rock bluffs, with tidal pools, between Pinky Beach and Longreach Bay about 10 minutes from the settlement, so a ring lost on the sand there is a small, well defined search. Rottnest is 19 kilometres off Fremantle, so tell us which beach, where you sat and the time before anyone travels.
I lost a ring in the Swan River at South Perth or near Elizabeth Quay. What are the odds?
It depends on whether it went in the water. A ring lost on the lawns of Sir James Mitchell Park or on the sand at Coode Street beach is a normal search. One lost off the Mends Street Jetty or at Elizabeth Quay is a job for a diver.
I dropped my phone, keys or sunglasses at Hillarys Boat Harbour or Sorrento Beach. Any chance?
Keys and phones show on a detector. Hillarys Marina Beach sits inside the boat harbour, sheltered by the marina, so a phone dropped in the shallows stays where it fell, and Sorrento Beach next door is kept calm by an offshore reef. Metal-framed sunglasses show up; plastic frames are found by eye.
I lost an earring or a bracelet on the sand at City Beach or South Beach in Fremantle. Is that searchable?
Yes, and dry sand is the best case. City Beach sits between two groynes, so if you can say which groyne you were nearer and how far up from the water, the search area is small. South Beach in Fremantle is calm, family water and works the same way. Photograph your towel spot against the groyne or the surf tower before you leave.
What if the ring cannot be found?
Some are not found. If the spot is vague or the loss was days ago in the surf, we tell you before anyone travels. We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Perth, Cottesloe, Scarborough and Rottnest Island
Lost something between Fremantle and Hillarys, on Rottnest or by the river? Mark the spot first
Which beach, which groyne, tower or jetty, what time, and a photo of the ring.
The sea breeze will be in by mid afternoon and the next swell can move the bank. Get the pin and two photos in line with something solid, then WhatsApp us the place and the time.