An Antiques Roadshow guest clapped her hand to her mouth in shock and gasped: “I don’t want to swear!” after discovering the astonishing value of her grandmother’s brooch.
The guest struggled to contain her shock and excitement upon discovering the price of her record-breaking brooch, which she had thought was just a piece of clothing.
In the episode, which aired at Piece Hall in Halifax, one of the guests received life-changing news.
The BBC show’s resident expert, John Benjamin, was drawn to her striking blue brooch, which the guest revealed was a family heirloom.
The guest explained: ‘I inherited it from my grandmother, who gave it to my father, who gave it to me to wear on my wedding day, which I did. Something blue.
An Antiques Roadshow guest clapped her hand to her mouth in shock and gasped: “I don’t want to swear!” after discovering the value of her grandmother’s brooch.
The stunned guest had previously taken the piece to several jewellers for an appraisal but had had no luck, she said: “They said it was costume jewellery, they didn’t believe us.”
The BBC show’s resident expert John Benjamin revealed that the beautiful piece of jewellery was in fact over a century old and could be worth up to £50,000 due to its massive sapphire.
“And I just wanted to bring him here to learn more about it.”
She had previously taken the piece to several jewelers for appraisal, but had had no luck.
She said: ‘They said it was costume jewellery, they didn’t believe us.
‘They were quite rude to me and my husband, they just said, ‘I don’t know why you brought this in for evaluation.’
‘Some people said they weren’t real diamonds, other people said they were real diamonds but they weren’t good quality, so they told us all kinds of things.’
The appraiser then explained that he had been drawn to the brooch, which looked like a “blue spot.”
She then revealed that the beautiful piece of jewelry was, in fact, over a century old.
He told the shocked woman that the family heirloom was at least 140 years old and far from ordinary.
An Antiques Roadshow teenager was left speechless after learning the life-changing value of a box wrapped in a tablecloth by a housekeeper in an archived episode of the hit daytime show.
He joked: “Wow. It’s a shame it’s not mine. I can’t believe it travelled in our car and spent the night in our living room.”
Expert John Foster was handed a “stunning” stump-carved wooden box dating from around 1675.
He explained: ‘So if I said that whoever these jewelers were, they were talking nonsense, would you be happy to hear that?
“Because this is not a worthless piece of jewelry.”
‘It’s a very important piece because the blue stone in the middle is an absolutely huge sapphire.’
The guest could only let out a silent “wow” when Benjamin revealed that it was a “brilliant corn blue” sapphire from Sri Lanka, weighing between 25 and 30 carats.
Benjamin continued: ‘It’s gold-mounted and silver-set and it’s in its original box and it’s a real stunner, it really is.
“We then move on to the question of value.”
He began: ‘Now I have to be honest with you, I’ve been at this show for so long, (and) I’ve never seen a sapphire of this size at the Antiques Roadshow. This is a real first for me.
“If I were to take such a piece of jewellery to auction, I would expect to get between £40,000 and £50,000.”
The crowd gasped as the guest looked on in shock while trying to contain herself.
She told the expert: “Oh my God! I don’t want to swear!” and was clearly overwhelmed by the news, whispering “damn” as she took in the true value of her family heirloom.
Benjamin jokingly encouraged her, “Are you okay? I swear!” before agreeing that it was a fabulous brooch.
He said: “It’s a marvel, really. It’s an absolute beauty. What more can I say about it? It’s fabulous.”
This is not the first life-changing revelation on the BBC show.
A guest was left speechless during an archived episode of the hit BBC show.
In one episode hosted by Caversham, a teenager struggled to get his words out after discovering a box that had been wrapped in “brown paper and a tablecloth” was worth a five-figure sum.
Expert John Foster was presented with an “impressive” box of stumps as he explained:
‘Over the years we’ve seen a lot of embossed and embroidered work on the Roadshow, with the embossed work being the raised panel sections of this box.’
He continued: ‘It can easily be dated to the reign of Charles II, i.e. around 1675, because his image is at the top.
He then revealed the incredible sum the piece was worth, exclaiming: “It’s amazing to look at. I mean, it’s a museum piece at its finest… So the value, at auction, is easily £50,000 to £70,000.”
