A woman who went thrift shopping in Texas got more than she bargained for when she discovered a bracelet that is thought to be nearly 200 years old and worth whopping $25,000.
Antique jewellery dealer Jessa Pena (otherwise known as @glitterandgoldfinds on TikTok) couldn't quite believe her eyes when she found the 18-karat portrait bracelet in a thrift store run by the Catholic Church and a charity.
The bright and colourful design of the bracelet includes enamelled portraits with scalloped details and features topaz, pearl, ruby, and gold.
“When you go thrifting and accidentally find a 25k bracelet,” she wrote in a viral TikTok about her unique find.
Pena told Newsweek that she believes the bracelet is "likely late Georgian to early Victorian, circa 1835, made of 18-karat gold, with the name of the Swiss canton on the back of the shields."
She explained: "These bracelets were made to celebrate the garb and heritage of the regions of Switzerland; 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, so I was especially thrilled at the rarity."
Although the price of the bracelet was set at $5,000 by the thrift store, the piece of jewellery could be worth anywhere between $12,000 and $26,400, according to Pena.
The video has received 1.6m views, 137,000 likes and over a thousand comments from people who shared similar find they have come across while vintage shopping, while others urged Pena to go back and buy the bracelet.
One person said: "I bought $10,000 in handcrafted Japanese Geisha dolls for $20 at a goodwill bin years ago and have been chasing that high ever signs. I kept my favorite one."
"Go get it and immediately go to Sothebys," another person wrote.
A third person added: "My grandma found a 20k piece of art at a estate sale for $40."
"I found some 15k jade lamps in a sale bin for $10 at a thrift store in New Orleans. Go get them!" a fourth person commented.
Someone else posted: "This why I live for thrifting."
In the end, Pena didn't buy the bracelet but her viral video resulted in one of her friends deciding to go and purchase it themselves.
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