'Keep It Forever': Treasure Hunter Finds 'Bridgerton'-Era Ring in a River

Bridgerton fever is at an all-time high after the hotly anticipated second season of the Netflix show dropped in March.

The period drama, set in the Regency era, follows high society in London's affluent neighborhoods, the Ton, as they vie for influence and favor and attempt to secure the love match of the season.

The Georgian drama is set amongst opulent town houses, sprawling grounds, and a distinctive wardrobe boasting top hats and coattails, empire-line dresses, gloves, fans and sparkling jewels.

While the actors are undoubtedly wearing replicas, one treasure hunter stumbled across what they've claimed is a real 18th-century ring.

Claire was mudlarking in the Thames river, in London, when she made the incredible find, admitting she was so taken with the piece she's been wearing it.

She posted a clip of the incredible find to TikTok, under @muddlarks, last week, where footage of the discovery has amassed more than 400,000 views alone, and can be seen here.

Claire also shared photos of the ring to Instagram, @muddlarks, after she cleaned it up, and she raved about the incredible find.

She wrote: "Sticking with the Georgian/Regency era, we were fortunate enough to spot this dazzling delight, just waiting around in the sandy stone wings for some modern day limelight!

"So how can we tell it's Georgian/Regency? The stone—It is a rose cut foil backed paste, very popular in the Georgian era and utterly fabulous, being prized just like a diamond would've been. So coupled with the rose cut stone it was designed for maximum sparkle and we imagine pretty hypnotic by candle light.

"Also, the inside has a closed back which you can see in the video, the stone is encased, again very common in the Georgian period whereas Victorian jewellery would have been open.

"So is it gold? At first we didn't think so because of the tarnish marks but they used to use a lot of lead solder which does turn black so we now have to take it to a jobbing jeweller and have it thoroughly checked."

And she added: "I (Claire) have to admit I wore it all day that day and it was a sheer delight to finally bring it back to life."

The clip showed the riverbank of the Thames with a gold circle visible in the mud. After digging it out the silt, the new owner washed it off in the water and showed it off to the camera.

TikTokers were envious of the incredible find, as Evilsnowflakes commented: "Someone's heart broke the day they lost it. Amazing find."

LoveyLoveisLovley wrote: "I'd keep it forever."

Amnee commented: "What a tangible link to the past."

GhostOut420 raved: "That's a find of a lifetime right there."

Hannahbackwards mused: "Imagine who threw that in there heartbroken, I'm sure."

While Zombienaps added: "I'd pretend I was in Bridgerton."

And revealing what she does with her other finds, Claire added: "We have turned our home into a mini museum, displaying all sorts of weird and wonderful oddities from our past."

The Netflix show is surely the diamond of the streamer's catalog, with the Shondaland production among its most watched series.

A blog post on the Netflix website revealed the romantic drama shot to the top spot in 83 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, France, India and South Africa, following its release.

Dubbing the show its "biggest series ever," the site said: "A record 82 million households around the world chose to watch Bridgerton in its first 28 days. And the show has made the top 10 in every country except Japan...

"The success of Bridgerton propelled the books into The New York Times best seller lists for the first time, and 18 years after they were first published.

The Netflix show, based on Julia Quinn's novels, first debuted on our screens in 2020, and last year it was confirmed the series would return for seasons 3 and 4.

Newsweek reached out to Claire for comment.