Latest news with #gems
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Antiques Roadshow guest sobs 'I don't believe it's true!' as expert reveals staggering real value of gems she thought were 'costume jewellery'
An Antiques Roadshow guest sobbed when an expert revealed the staggering real value of gems she thought were 'costume jewellery'. Sunday's instalment of the popular BBC show saw expert Susan Rumfitt presented with a selection of pieces of jewellery. The guest brought along two necklaces, one came with matching brooch and a pair of earrings which had been gifted to her by her grandmother when she was 18 years old. 'How wonderful, that's quite a present, isn't it?' Susan remarked. The guest explained how she thought they were 'just costume jewellery, that's what she told me'. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The other necklace belonged to her mother, 'I think she inherited it, possibly, I can't really remember,' the guest explained. Susan examined the items and noted that one of the the necklaces contained amethysts and topaz, while the matching set was made from garnet. The expert dated the amethyst necklace to the 1880s to 1890s, 'amethysts are absolutely gorgeous, lovely saturation of colour and obviously mounted in yellow gold'. She described it as a 'beautiful piece of jewellery, with a case, which is what everybody loves at the moment.' Susan then explained the garnet necklace set dated to the 1800s. Revealing the value of the pieces, the expert said: 'The amethyst and white topaz necklace, if this came up for auction, an auction estimate of between £1,000 and £1,500.' 'As for the garnet parure, a set of jewellery, absolutely lovely. At auction because of the popularity of Georgian jewellery at the moment, auction estimate of £3,000 to £5,000,' she went on. The guest was visibly shocked and exclaimed: 'Oh my goodness, I didn't think I was wearing anything like that.' She added: 'Am I in a dream here, I don't believe it's true!' During another instalment, a guest on Antiques Roadshow was left floored by the whopping value of a 'grotty' item that had been abandoned in her garage for 20 years. Expert Marc Allum was presented with a designer piece of luggage at Beaumaris Castle. 'It's a pretty kind of grotty looking old piece of luggage this, it looks like it's had a really hard life,' Marc commented. The guest had acquired the Louis Vuitton chest after a family friend passed away and didn't originally realise the possible value of it. The guest's cousin who lives in Texas owns the item and she is the 'custodian' of it. 'We opened it and it said Louis Vuitton and I've actually had it in my garage for the past 20 years covered up,' she revealed. The expert explained how the trunk featured an 'unpickable lock' and inspected the inside details of the luggage box. He dated it to around 1890 and noted that though it needed 'quite a bit of work' he still gave an impressive valuation. 'As this stands, it's worth in the region of £2,500 to £3,500 at auction. It's a really nice thing,' Marc explained. 'Wow, wow,' the guest remarked.
Malay Mail
07-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Under pressure from India, Sotheby's halts auction of purported Buddha relics in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, May 7 — Sotheby's in Hong Kong postponed an auction of gems with ties to early Buddhism today after opposition from India, which said the jewels were the country's religious and cultural heritage. The Piprahwa gems, which the auction house said dated back to around 200 BC and were unearthed in 1898 by Englishman William Claxton Peppe in northern India, were scheduled to go under the hammer in Hong Kong today. The Indian Ministry of Culture issued a legal notice on Monday calling the jewels 'inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community' and said the sale violated Indian and international law. It asked for the auction to be cancelled and the jewels repatriated to India, as well as an apology and full disclosure of provenance documents, according to the notice posted on X. Sotheby's said this morning that the auction has been postponed 'in light of the matters raised by the Government of India and with the agreement of the consignors'. 'This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate,' the auction house said in a statement. Sotheby's said the night before that the auction would 'proceed as planned'. The Indian Ministry of Culture wrote on X that it was 'pleased to inform' readers that the auction was postponed following its intervention. The gems in the Hong Kong auction were part of a collection of close to 1,800 gems and precious metal sheets — including amethysts, pearls and gold pieces worked into small beads. They were excavated at the Piprahwa village near the Buddha's birthplace and have been attributed to a clan linked to the religious figure. Indian authorities said an inscription on one of the caskets confirms the contents — which include bone fragments — as 'relics of the Buddha, deposited by the Sakya clan'. In an article written for Sotheby's, Chris Peppe said his ancestor 'gave the gems, the relics and the reliquaries to the Indian government' and that his family kept 'a small portion' of the discovery. — AFP
