Charity shopper buys necklace for 75p but true value leaves them floored

A necklace purchased from a charity shop for 75p had far more value than first thought. An unnamed customer who made the purchase realised the item could be a lot more valuable due to its weight. Sharing their story, the customer confirmed a golden pendant had caught their eye while browsing.

They later purchased the item for $1 (75p) as the design of a diving whale caught their eye. Then when they got home they weighed the necklace and confirmed their suspicions, that the necklace was far more valuable than just the 75p they had paid for it. Impressively, the weight of the necklace was 6.3grams and is 14 carat gold.

They said: "It felt too heavy to be $1. I put it on a silver chain, wore it some, and didn’t think much about it. The other day, I was selling other thrifted items and asked to test this piece.

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"The guy immediately – and excitedly – offered me $240 (£179.90) after acid testing it and weighing it."

The eagle-eyed shopper spotted the thrifty find in a store in Skagway, Alaska.

While they were offered an eye-watering sum of money for the item, and quite a profit at that, the customer decided to turn the offer down.

The reason they said no to the £179.90 offer is because they would rather sell the item on to a collector. The necklace owner shared: "It’s too beautiful, and I’d rather it go to a collector if sold."

The jewellery piece has since been identified as part of a collection from artist Ralf Gorichanaz.

Upon further testing, they discovered the incredible worth of the necklace they had found, with 6g of 14k gold worth roughly £260 ($346), according to current online estimates.

The shopper had posted to social media in the hopes of finding out more about the item. Gorichanaz's diving whale tail necklace can be purchased on his Inspired Arts website.

The charity shop find in Skagway, Alaska, just happens to be where the artist's store is located, too. A silver pendant of the diving whale tail, the same design as the one found in a charity shop, costs $128 (£95.77).

It is one of two items available on the Inspired Arts storefront, with the other an equally priced necklace named "Morbius".

Skagway Artworks was established in 2000 and then changed its name to Inspired Arts in 2008. At time of writing, the store is still open and operated by both Gorichanaz and Tina Cyr.

A description of their page reds: "Focusing on highest quality fine arts made locally and regionally."