A WOMAN struck gold while sifting through items at a charity organisation basined in a church in Texas recently. Jessa Pena, who is antique jewellery dealer, spotted the hidden gem and knew instantly she found something special. The savvy shopper took to social media, detailing her find in a now viral video with over 1.
4 million views. Although it might not look like much to the untrained eye, Pena recognised the bracelet was worth something - £19,500 to be exact. “I was especially thrilled at the rarity,” Jessa told Newsweek of the golden bracelet.
The jewellery dealer says she often trawls through second hand shops, but has never found something worth so much before. Not only is the trinket worth a pretty penny, but it's also incredibly old. Pena claims the pieces likely dates back to the “late Georgian to early Victorian, circa 1835", making it 190-years-old.
READ MORE ON SHOPPING The impressive bracelet is 18 karats and features small portraits and "scalloped details". But the luxury doesn't end there, the bracelet also reportedly contains multiple jewels for added sparkle and shine. “18 karat and above in heavy quantities is rare to find in older jewellery, as usually someone would have been sold it along the way," Pena explained.
The piece was priced at $5,000 (£4,000) in the shop but it could be worth much, much more, according to Pena. Most read in Fabulous That said, the eagle-eyed shopper didn't actually purchase the bracelet and left the shop empty handed. Her TikTok about the bling enticed a Houston-based antique enthusiast to go thrifting , who then encountered bracelet too.
“She thought it was enough of a sign from the universe, and decided to get it, which I am so glad about,” Pena said of her friend and fellow antique enthusiast. She added that her friend plans to get it appraised to keep in her collection. After Pena's video went viral on TikTok people were stunned by the find and couldn't believe Pena didn't snap it up when she had the chance.
“Go get it and immediately go to Sotheby’s,” one person said. And a second commented: “Nothing interesting happens when I go thrifting.” However, some mused that the bracelet could be fake, explaining that online listing she showed to compare it's potential worth was different to the one in the second hand shop.
But Pena assured people that doesn't mean it's not legit. READ MORE SUN STORIES “I think people were confused by the pieces not being exactly alike in my video. “In antique jewellery, nearly everything is handmade, sketched by other artists, and had a team of people working on it, so not every piece will look the same," she said.
Ross Dutton has been a manager for Crisis's charity shops for four years and currently runs the charity's Finsbury Park shop in London. Choose your area - As a rule of thumb, the posher the area, the better quality the clothes that are donated. Don't hang around - If you see something you like, buy it, as it'll likely be gone when you come back Look out for cut-off labels - Some of your favourite high street stores will have deals with local charity shops to donate stock that isn't sold during their own sales .
Often part of the deal is that they need to cut the labels off the clothes. Stay at home - While some charities have their own site, like Oxfam and Crisis . many also sell from dedicated eBay stores, such as British Heart Foundation and Scope .
You won't get the range of bargains that you would get in a physical store, but if you're looking for something specific it may be worth checking online too..
