An Antiques Roadshow guest clapped her hand over her mouth in shock and exclaimed: ‘I don’t mean to swear!’ after discovering the staggering value of her grandmother’s pin.
The guest could barely contain her shock and excitement when she heard how much her record-breaking brooch cost, having thought it was just a costume piece.
In the episode, which was hosted at Piece Hall in Halifax, a guest received life-changing news.
BBC pundit John Benjamin was drawn to her striking blue brooch, which the guest said 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 over her mouth in shock and gasped: ‘I don’t want to swear!’ after discovering the value of her grandmother’s pin
The bewildered guest had previously had the piece of jewellery appraised by several jewellers, but without success, she says: ‘They said it was fake jewellery, they didn’t believe us.’
BBC expert John Benjamin revealed that the stunning piece of jewellery was in fact over a century old and could be worth as much as £50,000 due to the enormous sapphire value.
“And I just wanted to bring it here to learn more about it.”
She had previously taken the piece of jewelry to several jewelers to have it appraised, but without success.
She said: ‘They said it was fake jewellery, but they didn’t believe us.
“They were quite rude to me and my husband. They just said, ‘I don’t understand why you’re taking this in to get it appraised.’
‘Some people said they weren’t real diamonds, others said they were real diamonds but the quality wasn’t good. We’ve been told all sorts of things.’
The appraiser then explained that he was drawn to the brooch, which resembled a “blue spot.”
He 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’s jaw dropped when he learned the life-changing value of a box wrapped in a tablecloth by a cleaning lady on an archived episode of the popular daytime show
He joked: ‘Wow. Too bad it’s not mine, I can’t believe it ended up in our car and spent the night in our living room’
Expert John Foster was presented with a ‘stunning’ stumpwork box dating from around 1675
He explained: ‘So if I said that these jewelers, whoever they were, were selling absolute nonsense, would you like to hear that?
‘Because this is no small piece of jewelry.’
“It is a particularly important piece because the blue stone in the middle is a huge sapphire.”
The guest could only manage a soft “wow” sound when Benjamin told him it was a Sri Lankan “bright cornmeal blue” sapphire, weighing approximately 25-30 carats.
Benjamin continues: ‘It’s mounted in gold, set in silver and packaged in its original box. It’s a real beauty.’
‘Then we move on to the question of value.’
He started, ‘I gotta be honest with you, I’ve been doing this show for so long, [and] I have never seen a sapphire of this size on Antiques Roadshow. This is really a first for me.
‘If I were to auction such a piece of jewellery I would expect it to fetch £40,000 to £50,000.’
The crowd was shocked as the guest looked on in amazement and tried to control himself.
She told the expert, “Oh my word. I don’t mean to swear!” and was clearly overwhelmed by the news, whispering “blooming hell” as she took in the true value of her family heirloom.
Benjamin encouraged her with a laugh, “Are you okay? Damn!” before agreeing that it was a fantastic brooch.
He said, ‘Blooming indeed. It’s an absolute beauty. I mean, what else can I say, it’s fantastic.’
This isn’t the first life-changing revelation on the BBC show.
One guest was left speechless during an archived episode of the popular BBC show.
In an episode aired in Caversham, a teenager struggled to get his words out after discovering that a box wrapped in ‘brown paper and a tablecloth’ was worth a five-figure sum.
Expert John Foster was presented with a ‘stunning’ stumpwork kit, as he explained:
‘Over the years we’ve seen a lot of stumpwork and needlework on the Roadshow, with stumpwork being the raised panel sections of this box.’
He continued: ‘You can date it quite easily to the time of Charles II, around 1675, because his image is at the top.
He then revealed the incredible sum the piece was worth, exclaiming: ‘It’s mind-boggling to see. I mean, this is museum quality at its best… So, value, at auction, easily £50,000 to £70,000.’