Meghan Markle left a jewellery designer "shaking and screaming" after the Duchess's Invictus Games appearance.
A bracelet worn by the Duchess of Sussex during an Invictus Games event in Vancouver earlier this month triggered an 11,000 per cent surge in sales for a small American jewellery brand.
The Valencia Key "Joy" bracelet, priced at $125 (£99), sold out within four hours after Meghan was spotted wearing it at a children's story-time event on February 9.
The brand's website traffic increased by 93 per cent in a single day, whilst nearly 1,000 new Instagram followers were gained within a week.
Meghan Markle left jewellery designer 'shaking and screaming' after Invictus Games appearance
Lia Valencia Key / Getty
The dramatic sales surge exemplifies the "Meghan Markle effect", a phenomenon where products worn by the Duchess experience immediate commercial success.
Founder Lia Valencia Key discovered the royal endorsement when her phone began buzzing incessantly on Super Bowl Sunday.
"I could not believe it," Key told Forbes, describing how she was "shaking and screaming" upon learning the Duchess had worn her piece.
The Pennsylvania-based entrepreneur was particularly moved by the timing, having felt discouraged about her business that very day.
Meghan Markle wore the Valencia Key 'Joy' bracelet during a storytime event
Getty
"My light was flickering," she revealed. "You have purpose and you want to share this message and you want to get it in hearts to inspire, but then the world, the numbers and things may not show [it]."
The bracelet is now on a six-week backorder "due to abundant love of the wonderful Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle," according to the brand's website.
Key's journey to entrepreneurship began in inner-city Philadelphia, where she experienced poverty and homelessness as a child.
Raised by a single mother in a homeless shelter, Key was constantly reminded that "your predicament doesn't determine your destiny."
The Valencia Key website praised the 'wonderful Duchess of Sussex' after she wore their bracelet
Valencia Key website
"She told me I had a light inside of me, and to always consistently choose the light and shine it—and that God will send you the divine blessings to take you to your destiny," Key recalled of her mother's words.
Before her death, Key's mother gifted her a pair of earrings as a symbolic reminder that "the light is within." These earrings would later inspire the creation of Valencia Key in 2016.
The founder now hopes to transform her business into "a global blessing," with plans to give back both in the US and Africa.
The stainless steel "Joy" bracelet, which retails for $125 (£99), is described by the brand as a "visual reminder to check in with yourself, be fully present, and practice gratitude."
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Meghan Markle read during a storytime event at the Invictus Games
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The Duchess discovered the brand through her practice of researching new designers online, as she revealed in an August interview with The New York Times.
"I spend a lot of time just Googling, looking for brands," she explained. "When people are online looking for things or reading things, I'm trying to find great new designers."
Meghan's choice of the "Joy" bracelet appears particularly meaningful, given her declared entry into her "chapter of joy" last summer during a visit to Colombia.
The bracelet is part of a collection that includes "Peace" and "Love" versions, designed to be worn as a stack.
