KEY WEST - Diver John Corcoran, of the salvage vessel JB Magruder, recovered perhaps the most intriguing artifact to surface this season. Artifact #71695 (length: 55.0 mm, weight: 7.9 g) is a gold earring consisting of 6 dangling pearls and two stones. The uppermost stone appears to be a cut ruby set in a carved shield type design with four small olive blossoms. The lower stone is suspended in an engraved teardrop.

The stone is faceted and clear with a seam indicating that two halves have been sealed together, encapsulating a dark red substance that is opaque in nature and some cracking is visible within. The area that produced this unique artifact is in close proximity to the locations of a pair of gold and pearl earrings (#50358) recovered by the JB Magruder in 2001 and an emerald set in gold cloak pin (#51237) recovered by the MV Dauntless later that same year.