Antiques Roadshow expert sends guest AWAY after spotting 'crucial' detail missing from diamond bracelet linked to Hollywood star

Daily Mail​

04-06-2025

An Antiques Roadshow expert sent a guest away after spotting a 'crucial' detail missing from their diamond bracelet, which was linked to a Hollywood star.
A resurfaced episode of the BBC show, which sees specialist appraisers value heirlooms and heritage items, went to the Baddesley Clinton manor in Warwickshire.
Expert Geoffrey Munn was asked to assess a stunning diamond bracelet, said to have once belonged to iconic Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth.
He admired the beautiful jewellery: 'Diamonds sparkling in the sunshine here. This is almost Hollywood sunshine, isn't it?'
The owner replied, revealing the item's Tinseltown origins: 'It is indeed and that is exactly where this was bought.'
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She purchased the bracelet from an antique and jewellery store on Hollywood.
The woman was introduced to the owner and they soon developed a close friendship, which lasted 24 years until the shopkeeper passed away.
She added: 'It's always nice to have a jeweller as a friend.
'And I had inheritance so I thought I would put it into something tangible and also pretty and also probably a better investment than the bank.'
With this origin story about diamonds and best friends, Geoffrey could not resist a couple of obvious jokes: 'Your best friend, a girl's best friend, all these cliches are tumbling out onto the table!'
The owner said she bought the bracelet for $23,000, which is around £13,500 - but it was her mention of its previous owner that got Geoffrey really excited.
'But in fact it had belonged to Rita Hayworth', she said, to which the expert responded enthusiastically: 'Oh, how marvelous! That's very good to know.'
The jewellery was a gift to the actress and pin-up girl, who was one of the top stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, best known for her turn in 1946 noir film Gilda.
It was given to her by her third husband of a total five - Aly Khan, whose father was the former President of the Assembly of the League of Nations.
The current owner of the bracelet, which she described as '1940s, American, fabulous Hollywood glitz', was clearly a big fan of Rita: 'She was an amazing star and a real Hollywood A-lister.
'She acted with absolutely everybody in Hollywood at the time - Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles.'
Geoffrey agreed, pointing to her many fans: 'She was much adored and much loved.'
But the owner, despite her best efforts, had not been able to find a picture of Rita wearing the bracelet so far.
The specialist recommended she go away and keep trying to find such an image: 'Well, I will send you home to look for those photographs and maybe even her will would be interesting too, wouldn't it?
'And you've got to go in for a bit of open cast archaeology here because the provenance of these pieces have to be crucial in every sense of the word.'
'Because they're heirlooms, they're talismans and when you can associate them with somebody famous, someone utterly glamorous in lifestyle and in looks, then this adds hugely to your investment in some regard.'
His recommendation informed his eventual estimate of how much the jewellery would go under the hammer for.
Geoffrey said: 'Maybe if you go home and do your Rita Hayworth thing, find a photograph of her wearing it under the most spectacular circumstances with somebody famous, well, then £80,000.'
The owner was absolutely delighted by this estimate: 'That's good! That was really quite a buy!'
But the expert was quick to add: 'But if we can't find that and never do, then it's not so much fun. It might only be a mere £45,000.'
The woman was not at all put off by that: 'It's still good! It's still lovely! I'm delighted!'
It comes after guests on another more recent episode of Antiques Roadshow were stunned into silence after learning the eye-watering value of a watch purchased for just £21.
Sunday's instalment of the popular BBC show saw expert Ben Wright presented with a pair of Rolex watches.
One of them, the watch that cost only £21 originally, belonged to the guest's great-great-grandfather and was identified as the Rolex Prince.
Sunday's instalment of the popular BBC show saw expert Ben Wright (pictured) presented with a pair of Rolex watches
The other, more recent one, meanwhile, was his father's, who had accompanied the guest to appear on the programme.
Of the older watch, Ben said, also looking at the paperwork accompanying it: 'I notice there's a little bit of wear and tear on the dial and we've got a later winder on the case.'
Ben then went on to comment on the Rolex Submariner, which belongs to the father.
'I was a merchant navy cadet in 1976 and I saved up my pittance to buy that in Singapore. It was £250 I think,' he revealed.
The specialist then revealed his valuation: 'At auction the Rolex Prince is going to be between £3,000 and £4,000.
'The Submariner, it's in great condition, all in all, the full ensemble at auction easily £8,000 to £12,000.'
The father and son duo smiled and nodded silently at the whopping values, utterly stunned, before thanking Ben.