Antiques Roadshow guest baffled by huge price tag on 18th century diamonds and ruby jewelery during show stops in Wales
A guest on Sunday’s Antiques Roadshow episode was stunned to learn the value of her 19th-century jewelry collection.
When the Roadshow stopped at Powis Castle in Wales, expert Geoffrey Munn was inspecting a number of ruby and diamond pieces from the 18th century.
The guest explained how the jewelry came into her possession and said, “Well, the two diamond brooches were given to me by my father.
‘(The arch) on my wedding day. And (the flowered one) came a little later and (the ruby bow) was inherited from my grandmother.
‘My father was in the antiques world, I grew up with that.’
Cashing in: A guest on Sunday’s episode of Antiques Roadshow was stunned to learn the value of her 19th-century jewelry collection, as valued by expert Geoffrey Munn (pictured)
On the road: While the Roadshow stopped at Powis Castle in Wales, expert Geoffrey inspected a number of ruby and diamond pieces from the 18th century (guest in photo)
After inspecting the items, Geoffrey told her, “Well, it is the finest jewel set with rubies and diamonds set in silver, probably backed by gold.
“The one on the left is a very sweet little bow tie. The bow is not just a bow, it is a real love knot because the harder it is pulled, the tighter it becomes.
“And then the diamonds are forever, so this little subliminal message for your wedding was perfectly chosen.”
Geoffrey went on to say how he thought the pieces most likely came from Spain or Portugal, while the bow came from Britain.
He continued, “I’d like to think (the floral brooch) was Russian, and that would be very, very exciting.
‘The Russian crown jewels were sold in London after the revolution to raise money for the new regime.
“And it just might be a Russian jewel and wouldn’t it be wonderful if it came from the Russian crown jewels.”
He warned, “We can work on that, but not here right now.
Big money: The antiques expert went on to appraise the collection, pricing the smaller brooch at £8,000, the butterfly brooch at £10,000 and the final item at £15,000
“But what we can work on is that these are very valuable to you because they have sentimental values.”
The antiques expert then appraised the collection and estimated the smaller brooch at £8,000, the butterfly brooch at £10,000 and the final item at £15,000.
Geoffrey told the guest, “They’re great things, they’re not flashy, they’re extremely beautiful expressions of a bygone era and that’s kind of what we’re looking for.”
Antiques Roadshow continues next Sunday at 8pm on BBC One.
