A WOMAN is searching for the real owner of a gold bracelet she found in a second-hand dress – but members of the public have filled her inbox pretending to have lost it.

Louise Ní Ríain is looking to reunite the bracelet, which she found in a dress from the Jack and Jill Boutique charity shop in Arklow, Co Wicklow, with its rightful owner but has had to endure constant messages from “dishonest” frauds pretending to have lost it.

The Dublin woman said that along with a description of ‘from Daddy’, there is a name etched into the bracelet, but despite constant messages, no one has yet guessed the correct name.

“It wasn’t until Monday morning I had the dress on in work that I put my hand in my pocket and found the bracelet. There’s an inscription on in ‘from Daddy’ and there’s a name on it as well,” Ms Ní Ríain said.

“I put the post up on Monday straight away looking for the owner and it’s been shared hundreds of times and I contacted the charity as well. I’ve had probably ten or 15 people emailing me every single day saying that it’s 100pc theirs but nobody so far has got the name.

“It’s unbelievable. Every single day there are so many people doing it. It’s so dishonest. Maybe some of them are genuine and they have lost something similar but there couldn’t be that many and they say that they’re 100pc sure it’s theirs.”

Louise said that the name inscribed is old fashioned, leading to the lack of correct guesses. It also implies that the owner may be old and the ‘Daddy’ who gifted her the bracelet might not still be alive.

Having lost family heirlooms in the past, Louise said she knows the sentimental value that can be attached to certain items and so never felt like keeping the piece of ornamental jewelerry.

“It’s an old fashioned name, and the dress I bought – I’m in my 30s – but it’s not a young person’s dress as such so I’d say ‘Daddy’ might be gone.

“I’ve lost stuff as well from my family, and I know what it’s like to lose it, so I’d absolutely love to find the owner of this. I think maybe someone hasn’t even realised that it’s missing yet. As soon as I saw the name who it was from there was no way I was going to keep it, not a chance.

“It says 9ct rolled gold on it and on the outside of it there is decorative detail as well. It was found in a short black and gray dress with a tartan design on it.”

Louise, who now lives between Arklow and Gorey, said that it’s not her first time finding jewelry in second-hand clothes and returning it. The fact that the charity involved shares any donations of clothes out to all of its stores, however, makes finding the owner a lot more difficult.

“Nobody expects to find things like that. I have found stuff in clothes before from the Inch Market. I found pearl earrings in a jacket once. I love charity shops, what can I say? I’m a bargain hunter.

“There’s no way they (Jack and Jill) can tell where the bag came from though because, seemingly, all the clothes that are taken in are shared around to all of the shops, so there’s no way of knowing who the owner is.”

If you think that you may be the owner of the bracelet, you can find Louise on Facebook or contact the Jack and Jill Boutique charity shop in Arklow on 0402 91250 – but you’ll have to guess the inscribed name first.

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