Julian Fuchs, who moved to Arthurs Point with wife Sarah and 3-year-old daughter Souleah six months ago, had just finished a family photo shoot last month when he noticed the ring was missing.
As the picture session included three locations, trying to find his lost bling was a ''needle-in-a-haystack'' operation.
Location one was among rock, the same colour as his tungsten carbide and carbon graphite inlay band. Locations two and three were tussock-filled mountain terrain.
The pair married in Mrs Fuchs' native Australia in 2012 and the ring has sentimental value. It made him more determined. He went back a few days later to try again.
''I got it into my head and was convinced I would be able to find it somehow.''
His neighbour gave him instructions on how to use the metal detector but excitement meant the initial search was far from meticulous. It was ''random zig-zag'' movements at location two.
A more thorough grid search followed.
While he found bullet shells, beer bottle tops and other rusted bits and pieces, there was no sign of the ring.
After searching for almost an hour, he decided to try location three one last time.
''It was literally the last sweep and it was only a half-hearted look.
''There it was. The heart rate went up a few notches and it was a surprise and relief. It was almost ironic because I must have lost it in the last 30 seconds of the shoot and found it the last 40 seconds before I gave up.''
In a bid to keep Mrs Fuchs in suspense, he placed everything he had found on the kitchen bench, with the ring among the haul.
Mrs Fuchs was amazed by her husband's determination.
''He is renowned for losing everything and it is always kind of semi-valuable stuff. A typical guy losing his wallet or keys.''
Mr Fuchs was delighted to find the ring and said it meant a lot.
''It is a wedding band; it obviously has sentimental value. But ultimately it is a material thing that can be replaced - you can't lose the meaning of something just because you lose the physical thing.''
