If you ever thought working behind the counter at a jewelry store was a cushy, somewhat glamorous gig, you were apparently very, very wrong. It’s the part of your job that involves accepting old pieces of jewelry for maintenance that makes the job tough.

Jezebel posts a disturbing yet fascinating confession of a former jewelry saleswoman. We’ll spare you the most morbid details, but here’s a sample of the narrative:

I once had a Little Old Lady totter into my store. She was perfectly charming, even adorable, in a sort of Old School way. You could tell that every few days, she went to the hairdresser to have her hair set; she would never leave the house without putting on her face. She wore pill box hats and smart little dresses. A right proper Little Old Lady, perfect in every way. When she showed me the ring she wanted to repair, I turned green.

It was a pearl ring: A single white pearl glued onto a post and placed on a gold band. Simple, elegant and beautiful. The stench that emanated from this ring would kill a vulture. It was encrusted, around the pearl and under her finger, with black goo. The pearl itself was pock-marked like the moon… no, it was worse. There was a massive crater on one side that had scraped a third of the pearl clean away.

Click the source link for the rest of the grotesque spectacle.

Jewelry Is A Filthy, Poisonous Business [Jezebel]

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