News Article:

Name: Chris Turner
Business: Finders, Vancouver
Contact: www.lostjewellery.com; 778-838-3463
Number of employees: One
Time in business: 14 years

What is your business? I help people recover jewelry they have lost at beaches, parks, lakes and even yards around the Lower Mainland. I'm a man with a metal detector and a mission to help those in need. Everyone's jewelry has its own unique story and I want to help people continue that story by finding the pieces if they lose them.

How did you get into this business? When I was a kid, I was looking through Field & Stream magazine with my dad and there was a metal detector on one of the pages. It fascinated me and I had to have one. I spent the summer I turned 14 working at a chicken farm to save enough to buy my first metal detector and spent my youth looking for coins and artifacts at parks and swimming holes. Many years later, I was at the beach in California and an older couple were in a panic because the woman had lost her diamond wedding ring. I found it in a few minutes and they were so happy. I knew there must be lots of people who needed the same service, so I started Finders.

Is this your full-time job? My dream is to be a full-time treasure hunter, but for now, I work as a stand-in for the local movie industry. It's been a good career for the last 22 years, but I'm ready to make finding things a full-time job. I'm in the process of setting up another business to cover treasure hunting services in the U.K. -- I have a team ready to go and look for Roman, Viking and Celtic gold and silver. We're just looking for the right client.

What do you like about your business? I love the reactions I get when I find that lost item for someone. Most people don't think they'll ever find what they've lost because it was dropped in the sand at the beach or lost somewhere on a field. I like the detective work that goes into the search -- I truly love what I do and could do it all day long.

What is one special thing you have found? I have found a coin here dated 1861, and in the U.K., I have found Roman and Celtic brooches and 2,000-year-old gold coins.

Biggest success? Getting my treasure hunters team (www.discovery4U.com) to the final round for the fantasy gift section of the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue this year.

Future plans? Searching for buried or lost treasure in the U.K. and Europe, and making Finders a household name here in the Lower Mainland.

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