Woman thrifts $2 necklace that resembled a Tide pod — later finds out real value of the rare art piece

An artist and TikToker scooped up the find of her lifetime while looking for a necklaces at a thrift store. Jess Smith from Pennsylvania told Business Insider that she picked up the strange necklace with a pendant that looked like a Tide pod for $1.99. She later learned that the weirdly beautiful pendant was designed by legendary Pittsburgh artist Aaronel deRoy Gruber, and it was worth over $3,000. 

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Smith, who follows a weekly ritual of visiting a small thrift shop in Pittsburgh, said she came across the necklace at its "giant necklace rack". While digging, she saw the weird necklace with a giant clear pendant on it. "It was neon, translucent, and I thought it was made of plastic," she told BI. 

When she took a closer look at the pendant, she saw an inscription that looked like a signature and it seemingly had the date 1973. Nevertheless, since it was just $1.99, she bought it thinking she would wear the funky-looking necklace. 

However, Smith decided to run the necklace by Google Lens, a free reverse image search app, to see if she could find out more information. This is when she realized that she may have bought a rare piece of art.

After a few searches, she came across the work of Aaronel deRoy Gruber, a sculptor who was famous for her 3D plexiglass pieces. Smith found her creations to be awfully similar to her necklace so she decided to look into it further. 

Gruber was a famous artist in Pittsburgh, known for her abstract paintings, sculptures, and photography. As per Daily Mail, her work featured in several prominent institutes, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Butler Institute of American Art the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, and more. 

Smith then turned to Instagram and reached out to the page for the Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation, a group dedicated to preserving and sharing late artist's work. She soon got a reply from the foundation's director, Brittany Reilly, who asked to give her a call. 

Reilly explained to her that she could tell it was an original from Gruber without looking at it in person. She added that it was a really special piece as each of Gruber's necklaces features a unique color palette and form. She further told her that the necklace could be worth between $2,800 and $3,200 given its high quality and condition.

Smith documented her findings on social media, sharing videos on TikTok and Instagram. 

Eventually, she had to make a decision about what to do with the necklace, but she wasn't sure. Thus, she ended up lending the necklace to the foundation for a year, so that it could be on display for enthusiasts and followers of the artist to see.

In an update on TikTok, she shared that she got the necklace back after the loan term, and she still isn't sure what she is going to do with it.

She had told BI that after learning its true value, even the thought of wearing it someday felt like a big decision for her. She said she would never sell the historical piece of art.

For more updates, follow Jess Smith @thehappygravedigger on TikTok.