Graduation ring lost at sea found nearly 50 years later

A McMaster graduation ring that was lost to the bottom of the sea almost five decades ago has been found and returned to its rightful owner.

While on holiday in Barbados in 1977, Morgan Perigo was in the water with his family and his son was knocked down by a wave. When Perigo grabbed his son, his graduation ring was accidentally pulled off his hand and lost to the sea.

More than four decades later, Alex Davis, a professional freediver, discovered it at the bottom of the sea while out with his metal detector this past October.

“I had that little moment like Smigel from Lord of the Rings, where it was like “PRECIOUS” you know, you’re just finding coins and rusty stuff, and then suddenly the shiny gold ring is just staring you in the face,” said Davis.

Davis said he ended up digging about a foot deep into the ocean floor before finding it.

“The ring itself is like a signet ring, and it has that red stone, it says McMaster University around the ring, and then on one side it has 19 and on the other side 65,” said Davis.

“It wasn’t until I got home, and I have a jewellers loupe with a magnifying glass, and I saw that there were initials in it, and then once I saw there were initials, my brain realized there was a chance we could actually get this back to who’s it is.”

With help from the contact information that Morgan maintained with McMaster University, Davis was able to FedEx the ring back to Burlington, a welcome gift for Perigo’s 83rd birthday.