A woman has shared the incredible discovery she made while charity shopping – a bracelet worth $25,000 (£19,631).
Jessa Peña was browsing at a local thrift store when she spotted a “large chunk of gold in the window”.
“Thrilled” at the rare shiny find, the 25-year-old used her background as an antique jewellery historian to date the bracelet to the late Georgian-early Victorian era, circa 1835, and found it was made out of 18k gold.
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The bracelet was marketed for $5,000 (£3,926) – roughly its gold weight price – but due to its quality, rarity, the jewels used, and the enamel portraits, Jessa estimates the bracelet could be worth five times as much.
She documented the find on TikTok, where the post went viral with 1.6 million views.
“I was very excited because although there is jewellery at the thrift store now and again, rarely do they have something antique, much less antique and in good condition and with enamel – which has a habit of chipping,” Jessa, a digital archivist from Houston, Texas, told What’s The Jam.
“And 18k and above in heavy quantities is rare to find in older jewellery, as usually, someone along the line would have been able to sell it for scrap/ melted metal and recoup some quick money – so I was especially thrilled at the rarity.
“The quality definitely stood out.
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“The bracelet is likely late Georgian to early Victorian, circa 1835, made out of 18k gold, with the name of the Swiss canton on the back of the shields, with citrine, topaz, turquoise, pearl, and ruby.
“These bracelets usually go anywhere from $12,000-$25,000 all depending on condition, gold weight, enamel portraits, and of course, the seller.
“These bracelets were made to celebrate the garb and heritage of the cantons or regions of Switzerland.
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“Lots of the nationalism of the cantons has been lost, and it gives us a contemporary look of Swiss traditional wear of the time.
“The jeweller on staff did the metal testing and I thoroughly examined it for the appropriate patina, construction, and wear marks of a piece of this age.”
While Jessa opted not to purchase the bracelet, one of her followers later found it.
Jessa said: “I had left it as I knew that I would likely re-sell it since I am in my graduate studies.
“But I wanted to take some time to think it over, or maybe allow someone else to find it.
“She [the follower] thought it was enough of a sign from the universe, and said she may go back to get it herself, which I am so glad for, since it is going to a person with a beautiful collection and to a person with an appreciation for antique pieces.”
The video garnered 140,000 likes on TikTok and led to users sharing their own thrifting success stories.
Jessa added: “I think people are interested in thrifting and reusing old items because of the draw to history.
“In recent years, I have noticed as a dealer, that more celebrities are wearing antique jewellery even in casual looks, and I post in hopes that the public begins to take more interest.
“With efforts in sustainability, thrifting has become so popular with social media, which I love, since I’ve been thrifting and antiquing since I was a little girl.
“And nothing is more sustainable than buying an already made piece, and it retains value very well.”
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