Shopper shares photo of 'beautiful' discovery in pocket of pants bought at thrift store: 'Nice find'

A Redditor recently shared an unexpected find with the community at r/JewelryIdentification.

"Please help identify this ring found in a pants pocket from local thrift store," wrote the original poster. "I would assume the baguette is most likely sapphire? Hard to see in the photos but it almost appears grayish when not looking directly at the face."

This is an impressive find, considering the poster only paid $10 for the pants. They aren't alone, either. Thrift shoppers have had plenty of luck with jewelry. Others have found pieces from Hermès, Merle House, and gold chains for dirt cheap when shopping secondhand.  

Besides saving money and occasionally scoring a surprise jackpot like a ring in a pants pocket, there are loads of other benefits to shopping secondhand. Buying from thrift stores prevents items from going into the trash. Once in a landfill, many items (especially clothes) release methane as they break down. This methane captures heat in the atmosphere, which exacerbates a bunch of destructive weather patterns. This includes floods, droughts, and wildfires that incur massive costs on society at large. 

Items in landfills also shed microplastics over time. These filter into waterways and eventually into the food we eat. Once ingested, microplastics are associated with increased health risks to the reproductive and neurological systems. 

Thrifting has benefits upstream, too. When you buy a used item, you prevent the unseen costs of manufacturing something brand new. This includes the environmental impact of resource extraction and the human toll that goes into making the things we use every day. 

If you want to do your part to curb all of these negative consequences, consider becoming a part of the circular economy by selling your old stuff online. This puts a few bucks in your pocket and gives your gently loved items a useful second life. 

The Reddit community was impressed by the mysterious ring found by the original poster, though there was no conclusive ID. 

"Yes real.. nice find. About 300 dollars," said one commenter.

"Tanzanite? Sapphire?" replied another. 

"Beautiful piece, I hope you keep it," chimed another. 

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