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My husband mocked me for buying a little enameled egg at the flea market, but he was in for a big surprise.<\/p>\n
First off, I have to tell you I\u2019m a flea market junkie. I can\u2019t help it, I just love the idea of browsing through the flotsam and jetsom of a hundred lives, and among the discarded trash find a lost treasure.<\/p>\n
It all started when I was just eleven and would spend the summers with my grandmother in New England. On the weekends she and I would haunt every flea market or street fair for a hundred miles around, looking for \u2018preloved jewels,\u2019 which is what she called her finds.<\/p>\n
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For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash<\/p>\n
Let me tell you that even today as a mother and grandmother nothing gets my heart pumping like scrounging through a tray of bits and pieces and finding a glint of something that tells me I\u2019ve struck gold.<\/p>\n
My husband doesn\u2019t understand it at all. Sam is a lovely man, sweet, hardworking, but my need to find treasure in the trash is something he just doesn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the one thing we clash over, my bringing home \u2018preloved jewels,\u2019 or as he calls them, hoarder junk. I suppose it would be easier for me to just give up my little hobby, but I honestly don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n
Nothing gives me as much pleasure as heading for a flea market on the weekend with $20 in my pocket determined to find a Van Goh for 50 cents. So no matter how much Sam rails at me for wasting money and hoarding junk, I won\u2019t give it up.<\/p>\n
Not that he has complained about it lately, in fact, this weekend he\u2019s asked if he can come along with me, so let me tell you how this miracle came about<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3d1309476a353f4069bd66709f185f1e.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash<\/p>\n
About a month ago I headed off to a nearby town for its street fair on a Saturday morning. I was tingling with anticipation, and my bargain-hound senses led me to a modest display where a man was selling knickknacks.<\/p>\n
There, among the porcelain cups and bisque shepherdesses was a little porcelain and enamel egg, about the size of a real egg. I admit it wasn\u2019t a particularly pretty or unusual piece, but I wanted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much for the egg?\u201d I asked the man. He sussed me out with beady eyes. I could feel him taking in my sensible clothes, my handbag, and wondering how much I\u2019d pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust $25, lady, and let me tell you it\u2019s a bargain!\u201d he said. I know how the game is played so I gasped in horror and shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201c$25 for a bargain-basement china egg?\u201d I asked, \u201cI\u2019ll give you $5.\u201d<\/p>\n
One man\u2019s trash is another man\u2019s treasure.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/3ba647ef3fb769361b6ca07a6bddfa1d.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash<\/p>\n
\u201cFIVE DOLLARS!\u201d It was the man\u2019s turn to gasp. \u201cFor this piece of history? For this tiny treasure? Lady this is French porcelain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight!\u201d I shook my head, \u201cSo if I turn it over I won\u2019t see \u2018made in China\u2019 stamped on the bottom?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man hesitated, which told me he wasn\u2019t sure, so I pressed my advantage. \u201cI tell you what, I\u2019ll take it, without touching it, for $10.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man grumbled a bit under his breath but he wrapped up the egg in a bit of newspaper and took my ten dollars. I was delighted! I had a feeling about the egg! I browsed the rest of the fair but my heart wasn\u2019t in it. I had my treasure so I headed home.<\/p>\n
I walked in smiling and gave Sam a kiss. He was sitting on the sofa reading his newspaper. \u201cHey hun,\u201d he said, \u201cFound any trash?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey! Yes, as a matter of fact\u2026\u201d I fished the wrapped egg out of my handbag and carefully unveiled it.<\/p>\n
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\nFor illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash<\/p>\n
Sam eyed it skeptically. \u201cThat\u2019s it? That\u2019s what you found?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes!\u201d I cried, \u201cisn\u2019t it pretty?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s it for?\u201d he asked turning the egg over in his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was a jewelry box,\u201d I replied, \u201cDo you see the little metal latch and the hinges?\u201d I took the egg and tried to open it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s rusted shut,\u201d Sam said, and then he turned the egg over. \u201cNo wonder, look! Made in Hong Kong! How much did you pay for it?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nFor illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash<\/p>\n
I felt myself blushing and retrieved the egg. \u201cTen dollars,\u201d I admitted defensively, \u201cBut the man wanted $25.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam laughed at me scornfully. \u201cYou were taken for a ride, AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt tears come into my eyes. \u201cWell, I like it!\u201d I shook the little egg and heard something shift inside. \u201cThere\u2019s something inside!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam sneered: \u201cOh I\u2019m sure it\u2019s a diamond,\u201d he mocked me, and he took the egg from my hand. With a deft twist of his powerful fingers, he pried the egg open. Nestled inside was a tiny bundle of red silk.<\/p>\n
I took out the little bundle and carefully unwrapped it. Glittering in the folds of the red silk was a pair of earrings. They were exquisite! Of course, they were faux, I thought, but beautiful copies.<\/p>\n
Sam took one of the earrings and looked at it closely. The clear center stone was surrounded by a halo of green gems, and Sam breathed on it. He looked at the earing and he gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cJen,\u201d he said, \u201cI think these are real!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw this documentary about diamonds a while back, and they said a real diamond won\u2019t fog up with your breath. Look!\u201d and he breathed on the big clear stone again.<\/p>\n
I peered at it. No fog. I looked at Sam, then shook my head. \u201cHun look at the size of those stones. They\u2019d be worth millions! They\u2019re just good fakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sam was excited. \u201cLet\u2019s go to that jeweler at the mall, ask him to appraise them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSam,\u201d I told him, \u201cHe\u2019ll charge us for that!\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nFor illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash<\/p>\n
But Sam didn\u2019t care, so we drove down to the mall and waited with bated breath while the man muttered over the earings and tested them. \u201cThese are diamonds, all right,\u201d he said, \u201cAnd 18-carat white gold.<\/p>\n
These look to me to be emeralds. Old cut, all of it. These earrings are probably Art Deco, from the style and the workmanship. You\u2019re probably looking at about three hundred, depending on the quality of the stones it could be more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree hundred dollars?\u201d Sam asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree hundred thousand, minimum,\u201d the jeweler replied. I felt the ground sway under my feet and had to clutch at Sam for support. I\u2019d found a REAL treasure!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/a4cc438733f2138efcd873837458e1f7-1024x683.jpg\")
\nFor illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash<\/p>\n
As it turned out, the jeweler was wrong. The earrings sold for three million dollars at auction. The result is that we now have a lovely little nest egg in the bank, and the porcelain egg has pride of place on the mantel of our new house.<\/p>\n
As for Sam, he is now an avid antique hound, and he accompanies me to every single flea market and antique fair. We haven\u2019t found that Van Gogh yet, but we have hope!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My husband mocked me for buying a little enameled egg at the flea market, but he was in for a big surprise. First off, I have to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n