News

Nov 13, 2024

Woman Buys 'Cartier' bracelet for $10 at Thrift Store—but There's a Problem - Newsweek

A shopper has posted on social media about a recent thrift store find, which may be a luxury item. Jo, who did not give a surname but posts on TikTok under the handle @dayoutgirl, shared on the

A shopper has posted on social media about a recent thrift store find, which may be a luxury item.

Jo, who did not give a surname but posts on TikTok under the handle @dayoutgirl, shared on the platform that she obtained a bracelet with a Cartier logo for 8 pounds ($10) in a Glasgow charity shop.

In the post, she said: "Did I find a real Cartier bracelet in the charity shop!!!!??? Thrifting goalz."

"I didn't realize it was Cartier, as it was in a different box, and posted it on TikTok to see people's opinions on whether it's real or not," Jo told Newsweek.

The bracelet in question is a 17-inch bangle with two stones and Cartier stamps on the inside. Jo's post shows it in a box from Kirk Freeport, a luxury retailer in the Cayman Islands that carries Cartier jewelry.

"It wasn't in a Cartier box & for £8 I had to take the chance," Jo wrote in the post.

Jo's post gained more than 490,000 views, as TikTok users pondered the bracelet's authenticity and asked whether a professional had inspected the item.

While the thrifter took the bracelet to a jeweler for authentication, they could not confirm its legitimacy. She later consulted a second jeweler who suggested an acid test to check whether the bracelet's metal was genuine gold or silver, though the test could damage the metal if it turned out to be fake.

Acid tests involve applying a mild acid to a small, inconspicuous area of an item to observe how it reacts, which would indicate what it's made of. If it is real, the small scrape can show whether the bracelet is solid gold or plated.

The jeweler tested the bracelet's two stones, and one had the blue reaction typical of diamonds, though the other showed no response.

The prices of authentic Cartier bracelets, long considered status symbols, often start in the hundreds of dollars and can reach the hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the materials and gemstones used. Their popularity has also made Cartier jewelry one of the most counterfeited luxury items, with replicas available online for a fraction of the cost of the genuine pieces. Many fakes bear near-identical details, including Cartier's signature engravings, making it difficult for even trained eyes to authenticate them without specialized testing.

Jo said she intended to authenticate the item, adding that she was no stranger to treasure hunting in charity shops.

"I've always loved vintage and charity shopping and love the sustainability theme along with finding random objects or expensive items," she said. "I also found a real Louis Vuitton bag for 8 pounds at the same charity shop last year."