Margaret’s Guide to Finding Real Jewelry Treasures at Thrift Stores

Somewhere near you, a little bag of tangled jewelry is hanging on a thrift store hook for a few dollars. Most of it is costume. But every so often there's a gold chain nobody recognized, a tarnished sterling bracelet, or a signed vintage brooch.

This large-print guide shows you how to find them.

Inside:

• Your little treasure kit: the few simple tools that fit in your purse

• The 8 places in a thrift store where good pieces hide (most people only check one)

• The ten-second check: what to pick up and what to skip

• How to tell real gold and sterling silver from plated pieces, with a stamp guide

• Stones and pearls: simple signs of glass, rhinestones and imitation pearls

• Costume jewelry collectors look for

• Estate sales and garage sales: how they work and when to go

• Jewelry you shouldn't buy

• A cut-out pocket checklist and a hallmark cheat sheet

47 large-print pages, written by Margaret from Grandma's Jewelry Box.

A friendly guide, not a promise. For anything valuable, the book explains how to get an honest, independent opinion.