Antiques Roadshow guest left stunned by the eye-watering value of ‘unusual’ and ‘stunning’ diamond brooch

An Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned by the value of her beloved diamond brooch which she brought to the BBC show at Brodie Castle in Morayshire.

Expert Susan Rumfitt was delighted to take a look at the ‘unusual’ and ‘stunning’ diamond brooch, which the expert revealed was from the Art Deco period of the 1930s.

She said, “That’s a beautiful brooch. I hope you wear it every day,” to which the owner confirmed she wore it in the “evenings” when “going out.”

Explaining how she first came across the article, the guest explained, “It just came to my grandmother’s family,”

Susan went on to explain, “The brooch is from the 1930s, which is the height of the Art Deco period, which was really about having a good time as far as fashion jewelry, the party was concerned.

‘So I can imagine your grandma really having fun putting that brooch on. There’s kind of a sense of drama about it, isn’t there? He’s kind of playing on his own with these beautiful diamonds and everything.

Susan added: “When we come to the 1930s the style of jewelry was very similar to the 20s in terms of the boldness and the awe-inspiring like we see here, but we moved away from the color and we are also focused on diamonds. , which is quite extraordinary considering that in 1929 we had the Wall Street Crash and the Depression.

“Well, one of the biggest designers that started the love for diamonds was Chanel, of course, and they partnered with DeBeers to promote the diamond industry.

“And they were basically saying diamonds are portable, you can show the greatest value in the smallest volumes, it’s not a gem by any means but it’s portable, so it’s no wonder so many people are turning to diamond jewelry if the likes of Chanel said that’s the thing you should do.

‘It’s pretty mind-blowing, isn’t it? It makes a statement in white gold, it has a yellow gold back. That white gold at the top again helps really reflect those diamonds. It’s absolutely wonderful.

Susan then asked, “Have you ever thought about the number of carats in the weight of diamonds?

The guest guessed three before the expert revealed the weight was 14 carats and its value was £20,000.

She joked, “Oh my God. It took my breath away. Oh the crumbs, it brings tears to my eyes.

“A very big surprise, I’m still shaking right now,” she added later before the expert remarked, “It was wonderful.” Fantastic to find it and please someone when they have no idea it would be worth so much it was just beautiful, fantastic.

Stunning: Expert Susan Rumfitt was delighted to take a look at the ‘unusual’ and ‘stunning’ diamond brooch, which the expert revealed was from the Art Deco period of the 1930s

The expert said, “It’s a beautiful brooch. I hope you wear it every day”, to which the owner confirmed that she wore it in the “evenings” while “going out”.

Wow! The expert revealed the weight was 14 carats and its value was £20,000

It comes after a man who is a huge fan of the Antiques Roadshow visited the set for the day and revealed what really happens behind the scenes on the show.

Stephen Fugill, 50, is a longtime fan of the hit BBC show and was delighted when his daughter Megan told him she was filming in her native Derry.

He applied for free tickets through their lottery and was thrilled when he found he got them, and took Megan with him to the event.

Giving insight into the shoot, Stephen revealed disgruntled attendees threw objects after the assessments, said a family was shocked by their huge profit and told how he hunted an expert for a photo.

Speaking of his joy at being selected, he told MailOnline: ‘I’ve been watching the Antiques Roadshow for years and always wanted to be on the show as I’ve been collecting antiques for a long time.

“I like to think I’m a bit of a Del Boy or a wheel dealer, so I was abuzz to get on the show.”

“When my daughter told me the show was coming to Derry I was so excited. The tickets were free but you had to enter the ticket lottery so I didn’t think I’d get one.

“I was over the moon when I found out we had tickets and knew right away which antiques I wanted appraised.”

Stephen gave a glimpse of what really goes on behind the scenes of the program after spending the day having his own antiques appraised by the experts.

The eager fan arrived at the event almost two hours early to make the most of the day, queuing from 9.30am before the 11am start with daughter Megan.

“I went there with my daughter, who was not happy because we started queuing at 9:30 a.m.,” he explained.

“When you enter the Roadshow, you check in, check in your items, and then you are assigned to a booth where there is an expert appraiser in the type of antique you own.”

Stephen took two of his own antiques to appraise and discovered that one of his items was worth £28 more than the £2 he had paid, while another was unfortunately worth less than he had hoped.

He said: ‘I brought 2 items, a hand painted vase which I had bought years ago for £2, I didn’t think it was of much value but I was interested in discover its history.

Exciting: Stephen Fugill (pictured), who is a huge Antiques Roadshow fan, visited the set for the day and revealed what really happens behind the scenes of the show

Fan: He got free tickets and took his daughter Megan with him to the event, telling how his highlight was meeting glass expert Andy McConnell

“The ceramic expert was very knowledgeable and was able to tell me it was made between the 1920s and 1930s, hand painted by two different people and was worth around £30.

“The other item was a sweet tray which I thought was hand painted and worth around £100 but was disappointed to find it was a print and was worth less than a ten .”

Stephen revealed the highlight of the day was meeting glass expert Andy McConnell, confessing he chased him around the square to take a picture with him.

“All of the experts were really friendly and helpful, my favorite was glass expert Andy McConnell,” he shared.

“He was the expert I was most looking forward to meeting, when I spotted him I ended up almost chasing him around the place so I could take a picture with him which really embarrassed my girl.”

“He was so well versed and equally witty in person, he really brought the craic to the show.”

At one point he spotted the camera crew filming an appraisal and was quick to rush in, but unfortunately fell on his ankle in his excitement and nearly dropped his own vase.

Stephen also tiptoed through the crowd to ensure he had the best view of the television while soaking up the busy atmosphere of the day.

As he explored the site, Stephen visited a range of stalls and listened to the history and appraisals of other people’s items, while taking his antiques with him.

He told how crowds were ‘shocked’ when a Chinese turtle vase passed down from generation to generation by one family was impressively valued at between £6,000 and £9,000.

However, not everyone was so lucky, as Stephen shared that two disappointed women threw their antiques in the bin after discovering they were worth less than £5.

Ravi: At one point he spotted the camera crew filming an assessment and was quick to rush in, but unfortunately fell on his ankle in his excitement

He said: “There were two older ladies who were quite characters and were very serious – one had a ceramic pig and the other had a painted jug.

“They thought these items were worth thousands of dollars, but were told they were worth less than a five, so they ended up throwing them in the trash before leaving.”

Revealing some filming secrets, Stephen said he was surprised to hear that none of the ratings had been made as he explained how visiting the show was a dream come true.

“It was interesting to see how the show works behind the scenes and I was surprised that none of the ratings are set and they’re all completely candid,” he said.

“It was a really good day, I really enjoyed it more than watching the show. I was on cloud nine and felt like a kid in a candy store.