When I can afford it, I like to buy jewellery joblots on ebay. Mostly to sell off the nicer pieces individually – they offer a small but often vital profit for me near the end of the month when I’m down to mere pennies in the bank. I enjoy sorting through them. I also like to look for anything I could add to me own collection of second hand or upcycled jewellery. I’ve found some cute little pieces I love to wear. It’s win-win.

Of course, my third reason is that I hope to find something of actual value, a piece of fine jewellery. In their own way I think they all have value, but uncovering a treasure is a nice thought, fun to imagine when times are tough and imagination is all I have.

Most lots are largely broken: missing pieces, pendants needing a chain etc. Nothing hugely striking. But to someone they had a value once. They were worn with pride. I wonder about their stories. Was this small gold ring a wedding ring, a humble gesture of love? I’ll never know. I suppose I can write my own little tales for them.

But back to the subject of buried treasure: I finally found a piece of fine jewellery. Nothing extravagant or life changing, but finding it was exciting. It was good news for the first time in a long time. I’ve spent most of today smiling, content. It’s been a long time since I could just sit back and not be consumed by worry and doom.

It was a little thing, but it made a huge difference.