Woman picks up $3 necklace at thrift store, left stunned after finding out its real value

Thrift stores often reward shoppers with the most amazing finds. While looking for cheap items, people often stumble upon historic artifacts, luxury clothing and real gold. This was the case with Redditor u/tinselpandora aka Nada Abdulkarim who found real pearls and 14k gold while shopping on a budget. Abdulkarim, who bought the piece of jewelry for just about CA $4.99 ($3 USD), was shocked to find out that the item was worth nearly 90 times more.

Here's how the thrift shopper spotted gold

Abdulkarim, 27, told Newsweek that she loves shopping for unique jewelry. She shared that she has been searching for unique items in local thrift stores for several years. About three months ago, she was on a similar quest, looking for something fresh and unique at a thrift store.

While rummaging through the items, she spotted a gorgeous pearl and gold necklace, which was priced at only CA$4.99 (around $3 USD). Abdulkarim didn't know if was real gold and pearls, but she had already fallen for the piece. She told the publication that she had never seen a piece like it before and considered it to be too good of an opportunity to let go. However, when she returned home and inspected the necklace in detail, she was shocked.

She said that she has a habit of inspecting every piece of jewelery she gets and checks for any stamping she may have missed at the store. In this case, she did miss the 585 stamp on the necklace that indicated it was made of 14K gold. She the inspected the pearls as well. She knew of a method called a 'girt test' where the pearls are rubbed against the teeth. If the pearls feel gritty, that means they are real and if they feel smooth, they are fake.

"The pearls passed the test, so I knew I had a real gold and pearl necklace," she said in the report.

Despite her own tests, she took the necklace to a jeweler, who also confirmed that its was indeed made of real gold and pearls. The jeweler also told her that it could be worth anywhere between CA$400 ($288 USD) and CA$800 ($576 USD). However, the value didn't mean much to Abdulkarim as she had expressed that she wanted to keep the necklace.

A Veteran Thrifter

This wasn't the first time that Abdulkarim had found gold at a thrift store. She told Newsweek that she had found several other pieces in the past as well, which she plans to hand over to her future children. Earlier, the thrift store veteran came across a similar piece of jewellery which she bought for CA$2.99.

However, she later learned that the necklace was made of 18 karat white gold and held a pear shaped sapphire as well. Naturally, she took the piece to a jeweler for a price estimation and it turned out to be worth over CA$2,000 ($1441 USD), nearly 100 times what she had paid.

For more such thrift store adventures, follow u/tinselpandora on Reddit.