Antiques Roadshow guest breaks down in tears as she learns eye-watering value of glass box bought online for just £32
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An Antiques Roadshow guest was moved to tears when she heard the enormous value of a glass box she bought online for just £32.
The treasured item left expert Joanna Hardy shocked after she inspected it during a repeat episode filmed at Edinburgh’s Scottish Gallery of Modern Art.
The Scottish guest and the appraiser were both shocked by the intricate and detailed box, with Joanna commenting: ‘The skill of a goldsmith and the skill of an enameler are the same when they make jewellery.’
She then asked the guest the story behind the intriguing piece and the woman explained that she had come across it at an online auction in England and was so impressed with the crystal that she immediately picked it up.
She further confessed that she enjoyed browsing online auctions, before noticing that the box was no longer in perfect condition, but was still beautiful.
She said: ‘I think they described it as glass, a glass box, and I knew there was something unusual about it, with the designs on it and things like that.
An Antiques Roadshow guest was moved to tears after learning the true value of a glass box she bought online for just £32 during a repeat episode filmed at Edinburgh’s Scottish Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish guest and appraiser were both shocked by the intricate and detailed box, with Joanna commenting: ‘The skill of a goldsmith and the skill of an enameler are the same when they make jewellery’
Joanna traced the history of the piece to the Viennese goldsmiths of the mid-19th century, who were famous for their beautiful enamel work
‘I couldn’t really see much of the silver, I had a sneaking feeling it might be that, so we polished it all to reveal the beautiful enamel on the surface and the lovely colours’.
The guest then revealed she originally bought the piece for just £32 and expert Joanna was stunned.
The BBC appraiser then explained why she was so surprised and told the guest and the assembled audience that it was a very special piece.
She said, “This is rock crystal, which belongs to the quartz family,” and commented on its beautiful, bubble-free surface, indicating its authenticity.
She added, “And you can see the inclusions in the stone, which are their natural inclusions; there are no bubbles; if you saw bubbles, you knew it was glass.’
Joanna then traced the history of the piece to the Viennese goldsmiths of the mid-19th century, who were famous for their beautiful enamel work.
She added, “Now, about 1850, there was a group of goldsmiths in Vienna in Austria who also did a lot of enamel work in a kind of Renaissance style, and this is in the Neo-Renaissance style.”
the guest was stunned, burst into tears and told the auctioneer she couldn’t believe her £32 investment could now be worth as much as £6,000
Joanna then concluded that the impressive item was made between 1860 and 1870 and was created by an expert enameler.
She said to the excited guest, “This dates this from about 1860 to 1870, but there was one person who was really the head of this, he was the main enameler in Vienna at the time and he did the Neo-Renaissance work. ‘
And it was then that the BBC pundit revealed what the £32 crystal jar was really worth, revealing it could fetch up to £6,000.
She said: ‘If that was in the right auction I think you’re looking at between £4,000 and £6,000.’
And the guest was left stunned, bursting into tears and telling the auctioneer she couldn’t believe her £32 investment could now be worth so much.