16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Antiques Roadshow guest says 'granny will eat her words' after 'costume' jewellery valuation
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A guest on BBC's Antiques Roadshow was left speechless, when what was believed to be a piece of costume jewellery turned out to be a rare and valuable emerald ring, fetching far more than anticipated.
The stunning revelation unfolded in an episode that first aired in October 2022 and was rebroadcast on Sunday (June 15).
Filmed at Nottingham's historic Wollaton Hall, the episode featured an array of fascinating items, including Jack Nicholson's Batman mask, poignant poetry, and personal effects brought over by Ugandan Asians fleeing their country in 1972.
Yet, it was the jewellery appraisal by expert John Benjamin that truly astonished one family. Two cousins brought forward a collection of family heirlooms that had been passed down through the generations.
Their eclectic mix included a gold novelty pencil, a brooch with a fly perched on a flower, and the green stone ring that was the subject of much surprise, reports the Express.
(Image: BBC)
The guests shared that many of the pieces came from their great-great-great grandmother, born in 1858, with one particularly interesting item being a pencil shaped like a mountaineer's ice pick, engraved with the names of French mountains.
"One assumes that the person who owned this originally was a mountaineer who went on this pioneering expedition," John explained. "And he climbed all these mountains and thought, right, when I get back to London, I'm going to commission a company - Hunt and Roskell - to make a gold novelty pencil fashioned as an ice pick."
He traced the origins of this distinctive item back to 1879 and estimated its value to be in the range of £1,500 to £2,000. Benjamin was equally captivated by the next article, a Victorian brooch featuring a fly perched on a blossom.
"You can see it's a fly and a flower that looks to me a little bit like, I don't know, it could be a crocus," he commented. The brooch, which was embellished with malachite, jaspers, and lapis lazuli, struck him as "really unusual".
(Image: BBC)
He assigned a date of circa 1845 to the piece and valued it between £1,200 and £1,500. Yet, it was the last object - a green stone ring - that delivered the most astonishing revelation; a piece the family had long dismissed as mere costume jewellery.
Passed down from their great-great aunt and presented to the guest's mother as a birthday gift, one family member speculated when asked about its authenticity: "Um, I think so. Yeah. It doesn't have a lot of weight in it."
In an unanticipated twist, John announced: "It's an emerald! It is a splendid Colombian emerald. From South America, surrounded by old Victorian white brilliant-cut diamonds, set in 18 karat gold, crafted around approximately 1875 to 1880."
The ring was valuated at an impressive £4,000, hiking the overall projected auction worth of the collection to £7,000.
The revelation literally caused the guest's jaw to drop, as the prospective auction value was placed between £5,000 and £10,000. Overwhelmed with joy, the guest exclaimed: "Oh my God. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to tell Granny now. She'll be eating her words."
Antiques Roadshow can be viewed on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
