Antiques Roadshow guest left ‘speechless’ by the eye-watering value of brooch

An Antiques Roadshow guest was shocked after discovering an inherited brooch was worth an eye-watering sum.

On the Easter Sunday episode of the BBC show, the woman presented the heirloom, which was encrusted with diamonds and rubies.

Expert Geoffrey Munn couldn’t believe his eyes when he assessed its value, much to the astonishment of the public.

The guest explained, “It’s a brooch I inherited from my great-aunt through my mother.

‘They come from Silesia, present-day southern Poland, and had to flee from the Russians at the end of the war and reached West Germany.

‘She was the cook and housekeeper of Prince Ernst August of Hanover for 37 years.’

The jeweler said, “This is a very typical gift from a royal character, no doubt about it.”

It was clear the hopeful had done her homework, as she continued, “It’s Russian and it has a 56 kokoshnik mark, I believe, which is 14 karat gold.”

“And it has a hallmark of Ivan Lebetkin in Moscow between 1899 and 1908.”

The appraiser identified the brooch as typical of ‘pre-revolutionary Russian style’, but neither was sure whose design it was.

Suspecting it might have been made by Karl Faberge, he determined it was produced by a competitor, as it had no maker’s mark.

After admitting that this would make the heirloom “not so nice financially”, he estimated its value at between £7,000 and £8,000.

The guest gasped in shock and covered her mouth as she confessed to being “speechless.”

She asked, “I never believed that. Wow! Oh thanks! No really?’ before the expert confirmed, “Yes, really!”