The chance discovery was made by Ray Hollingsworth, who spotted the ring hidden in sand beneath a concrete path at Warrnambool 's Gateway Plaza in south-west Victoria.

"We were having to cut sections of concrete out so we jack-hammered into the ground and went into beach sand below the concrete, and my jackhammer found a ring believe it or not, sitting down below the sand," he said.

"The ring says 'Juliette', so we are looking for the Romeo who lost this ring.

"We think the sand was transported from Levy's Beach or a beach nearby around 35-40 years ago so for it to be transported here and for me to find it all these years later, it would be unbelievable to find the owner of this ring."

The ring appears to be an 18-carat gold wedding band, with the number 702 engraved beside the unknown woman's name.

While only 'Juliett' is visible, a faint outline of an 'E' can be made out at the end where it was rubbed out, perhaps indicating the ring was worn for a time before it was lost.

Mr Hollingsworth said it was a "fluke" to find it because the section of concrete they pulled up was only 30 centimetres wide.

"To explain how minute the chances were of finding this ring, we had to cut out a very small strip of concrete, it was a very small gap.

"To actually pierce the sand and find the ring it's unbelievable."

Unfortunately Mr Hollingsworth's jackhammer broke the band in one section upon impact but said it could be easily mended by a jeweller.

Another theory among the work crew was that it was a male's wedding band, engraved with the name of his spouse.

Anyone with information about the ring is encouraged to contact The Standard news desk.