Switzerland
Lost a ring or watch in Switzerland?
A flat lakeside path from Minusio into Locarno, lidos around Lake Maggiore, and lake and river swimming in Zurich and Geneva.
At Locarno a flat lakeside path runs along Lake Maggiore from Minusio through Muralto into town, and the lake has Lido Locarno, Lido Ascona and freely accessible bathing areas, so the first question is where you were. After that, a search turns on the detail you can give: the stretch of shore, where you went into the water, and whether you were swimming, wading or out on a boat.
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 Switzerland. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the lake or the river, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Ascona, Lugano, Geneva, Zurich and Lucerne are covered on this page as well.
Lakes and rivers rather than a coast
Summer swimming here means lakes and rivers. The Italian-speaking part of Switzerland alone has more than 160 km of shoreline, with lidos at Ascona, Lugano and Locarno and river beaches such as Avegno on the Maggia. Geneva swims in the lake, from the Plage des Eaux-Vives to the Bains des Pâquis, and in the Rhône, whose banks its residents love.
Zurich has lake baths such as Mythenquai, Tiefenbrunnen and Utoquai, and a river bath on the Limmat a short walk from the main station. Lucerne's lido runs for over 300 metres along Lake Lucerne, with a sunbathing lawn as long as the sand.
How we handle a Swiss case
Always the same person
The person who replies to your first message plans the search with you and sends you the result. There is nobody else to chase.
A searcher who knows your spot
From you, the detectorist learns which bath, lido or riverbank it was, which way you came in and where you settled, so no time goes on the wrong shore.
No false hope
A watch that slipped off while you drifted down the Rhône in Geneva is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Costs you can weigh up
We explain the costs before any search is booked. There is time to think them over.
Our Ring Finder Service Locations in Switzerland
Lake shores and river baths from Locarno to Geneva
Ticino comes first, with Locarno, Ascona and Lugano, then Geneva, Zurich and Lucerne.
Lidos, lake baths and riverbanks
Locarno and the lakeside path
The lakeside path follows Lake Maggiore from Minusio through Muralto to Locarno and on to the Camellia Park, not far from the Maggia. It is flat, mostly on pavements and ways kept for walkers and cyclists, and people walk it all year. Boat trips on the lake head for Ascona and Brissago, so a loss here can be on the path, at a bathing area or on the water.
Ascona and the Maggia at Avegno
Lido Ascona sits on Lake Maggiore a few hundred metres from the village, with the Alps as a backdrop. A few kilometres from Locarno, the beach at Avegno on the Maggia river has clear, cool water, smooth rocks and thick greenery around it.
Lugano and the southern lidos
Lido di Lugano is a fine sandy spot on the shore of Lake Ceresio, a place to unwind after the city centre, with a view of Monte Brè and Monte San Salvatore. Farther south, the lido at Melano lies at the foot of Monte Generoso, and there are lidos at Bissone, Agno and Brissago too.
Plage des Eaux-Vives and Baby-Plage, Geneva
Geneva's free beach at Eaux-Vives is long, made of sand and small pebbles, and looks out at the Jet d'eau, with a park to relax in. Next to it, the small Baby-Plage is sandy and grassy under big trees, a few metres from the Parc des Eaux-Vives. The Bains des Pâquis are a meeting place with something going on all year.
Quai de Cologny and the Rhône
Off the Quai de Cologny, a circular wooden platform 40 metres across floats on the lake like an island, with swimming ladders down into the water. Geneva's residents also love the banks of the Rhône, where people barbecue, picnic and swim among the trees, letting the cool, clear water carry them along.
Mythenquai, Tiefenbrunnen and Utoquai, Zurich
Strandbad Mythenquai has a 250 metre sandy beach, a large lawn and diving platforms. Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen lies in a park on the right shore of Lake Zurich, with diving platforms, a long slide and stand up paddle boards to rent. At the wooden Seebad Utoquai near Bellevue, swimmers dive from the boards and swim out to rafts anchored about 30 metres away.
Oberer Letten, Zurich
A stone's throw from the main station, the Oberer Letten river bath on the Limmat has a 400 metre swimming channel where bathers drift downriver, a diving platform, two beach volleyball courts and sun terraces. Your entry and exit points are the two to give us.
Lucerne Lido
Lucerne's lido runs for over 300 metres along Lake Lucerne. A footpath separates the sandy beach from a sunbathing lawn just as long, and there is a large children's play area, so say which side of the path you were on.
Places we cover in Switzerland
- Locarno
- Lakeside path, Minusio and Muralto
- Camellia Park, Locarno
- Lido Ascona
- Avegno, Maggia river
- Lido di Lugano
- Lido di Brissago
- Lido di Melano
- Lido di Bissone
- Lido di Agno
- Parco della Golena, Bellinzona
- Plage des Eaux-Vives, Geneva
- Baby-Plage, Geneva
- Bains des Pâquis, Geneva
- Quai de Cologny, Geneva
- Rhône banks, Geneva
- Strandbad Mythenquai, Zurich
- Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen, Zurich
- Seebad Utoquai, Zurich
- Flussbad Oberer Letten, Zurich
- Lucerne Lido
What Swiss lakes and rivers take
Taken into the water
- Wedding bands
- Engagement rings
- Oura rings
- Watches and fitness trackers
- Bracelets
Left with your things
- Phones
- Car and flat keys
- Earrings
- Chains and pendants
- Metal-framed sunglasses
Swiss summer moments
- Walking the lakeside path into Locarno
- Swimming out to the rafts at Utoquai
- Drifting down the Limmat at Oberer Letten
- A barbecue on the banks of the Rhône
- Climbing down a ladder at Quai de Cologny
Setting up a search in Switzerland
Four steps, all of them in one WhatsApp chat.
Say what happened
On WhatsApp, name the item, the lake or river, the bathing place and the day.
Where exactly, with pictures
Drop a map pin, add photos of the spot as you saw it from the shore, plus one of the item, if there is one.
Lining up the searcher
With your agreement, we look for a metal detectorist able to get to that shore or riverbank, and brief them.
Hearing back
After the search we report the ground searched and the result.
Questions about Switzerland
Which details matter for a ring lost while swimming off Locarno?
The lakeside path runs from Minusio through Muralto to Locarno, so first name the stretch and put a pin on your entry point. Then give your distance from the shore and the depth when you last had the ring, and whether you were also on the path or on a boat that day.
I think my watch came off swimming out to the rafts at Seebad Utoquai.
The rafts are anchored about 30 metres out, so tell us whether you swam straight there, dived from a board first, or climbed onto a raft and sat for a while. The part of that swim where you last noticed the watch decides where a search begins.
Our car keys went somewhere on the lawn or the sand at Mythenquai.
Mythenquai has a 250 metre sandy beach and a large lawn, so pin where you lay, then add the barbecue site or table tennis table if you used one and the way you walked in from the entrance.
An earring is missing after an afternoon at the Plage des Eaux-Vives in Geneva.
The beach is long, and its sand is mixed with small pebbles. Pin your towel and your way into the lake, and send a photo from your spot with the Jet d'eau in it, which fixes your position along the shore better than words.
I dropped my phone off the floating platform at Quai de Cologny.
The platform is a circle 40 metres across with swimming ladders, so tell us your side of the circle, or which ladder, and whether the phone splashed into the lake or landed on the wood. A photo from where you stood helps us place it on the circle.
I was drifting down the Limmat at Oberer Letten when my ring came off.
The swimming channel is 400 metres long, so your entry point, your exit point and the moment you noticed are what we need. If you sat on a sun terrace or played beach volleyball before or after, mark those too.
My daughter's bracelet went missing at the Lucerne Lido.
At the lido a footpath runs between the sand and the sunbathing lawn, so start with which half you settled on. Then pin the spot, and add the children's play area if she was there.
Our son's Oura ring slipped off on the rocks by the Maggia at Avegno.
The beach at Avegno is ringed by smooth rocks beside clear, cool water. Mark the rock he sat on and the place he got into the river, and send a photo that shows both. Say too whether he swam across or stayed near the edge.
Switzerland
Maggiore, Lake Geneva, Lake Zurich or a river bath
Tell us on WhatsApp which lake or river it was, add a pin and name the item. We reply with whatever else we need to know.