An Antiques Roadshow guest discovered the eye-opening value of a mysterious brooch that she stumbled upon.
BBC‘s jewellery specialist Joanna Hardy was ready to assess visitors’ treasures at Cromford Mills, Derbyshire, during the show’s filming.
Among the attendees was a lady who presented a gorgeous brooch, eliciting excitement from Joanna, who exclaimed: “When I see this, I just think it’s magical, it’s a beautiful piece of jewellery”. Intrigued, she probed, “Please tell me how did you get this brooch?”.
With humour, the guest recounted: “I found this in my husband’s sock drawer. He keeps all sorts of things in there.”
Joanna quipped: “Maybe we don’t want to know them all!”, leading to an agreement from the guest: “No no! And I think it’s really beautiful and it does sparkle a lot when it’s out in the sun which it’s not seen for a while.”
When asked if the brooch was a family heirloom, the woman detailed: “I don’t think so, no. Because I did ask him and he just couldn’t remember.”
With keen interest, Joanna declared her intent to examine the exquisite brooch further: “Well it has certainly given me a ray of sunshine to have a look at it, because it is quintessentially 1900.
“This is the era when jewellers began experimenting with platinum, signalling a revolutionary moment as they could refine platinum thoroughly. You’ve noticed it’s like lacework, isn’t it?”
The owner exclaimed, clearly nervous about its delicacy: “It’s so fine, it’s really delicate, I think that’s why I’m a little scared to wear it perhaps, because I wouldn’t want to break it.”
Expert Joanna quickly offered reassurance, noting, “platinum is really strong”, and highlighted the piece’s exquisite feature: “cluster of cushion-shaped diamonds in the centre”.
When queried if the item had previously been evaluated, the guest confessed with a smile: “It’s been in the sock drawer so no, I couldn’t even hazard a guess, no.”
Joanna then dropped a valuation bombshell: “Well, at auction, I think this would go in the region for about £3,000.”
The revelation drew an astonished reaction from the owner who gasped: “Wow! Oh OK, that’s amazing! Thank you so much!”
With a hint of mischief, Joanna suggested: “Maybe it’s going to come out of the sock drawer a little more.”
The owner replied: “I think it might be, special occasions definitely. And I’ll try and put it somewhere safe so I don’t keep losing it. That’s amazing, better ring the husband now!”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
