An Antiques Roadshow expert was left astonished after being presented with a never-before-seen piece worth a staggering sum – prompting gasps from the crowd.
During a vintage episode filmed at Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey, North Wales, jewellery specialist Geoffrey Munn was shown two extraordinary items.
One was a pendant and the other was an aquamarine brooch, both crafted by the famed Russian jeweller Fabergé around 1900.
They had been brought in by a guest on behalf of a friend, who wanted to discover their true value.
‘Well, I’m jolly glad she did because they’re very, very exciting things for me,’ Munn said as he examined the treasures.
The pendant, he explained, was set with diamond initials over a sunburst geocache design and inscribed in Cyrillic with the phrase ‘Maybe it’s better not to wait’.
During a vintage episode of Antiques Roadshow filmed at Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey, North Wales, jewellery specialist Geoffrey Munn (pictured) was shown two extraordinary items
One was a pendant (L) and the other was an aquamarine brooch (R) both crafted by the famed Russian jeweller Fabergé around 1900
Finished with delicate pink enamel, Munn described it as the work of someone who could afford ‘the highest level of elite’ jewellery.
The second piece – a Siberian aquamarine brooch surrounded by diamonds and topped with a true lover’s knot – left him equally dazzled.
‘It’s a remarkably deep stone, and when you turn it up, you can see there’s a gallery beneath which is really quite extravagant,’ he told viewers, adding that the piece represented ‘court jewellery at the highest possible level by Fabergé.’
When it came to valuing the items, the expert did not hold back. ‘This one is an unusual prototype, never seen the like before.
‘I’m going to say £10,000 for this one,’ he revealed of the pendant. ‘And I’m going to go absolutely raving mad for this one, which is sort of predictable, and tell you that I think it ought to be worth £35,000 to £40,000.’
The surrounding crowd erupted with audible gasps, while the guest beamed as she imagined her friend’s delight.
‘Isn’t [my friend] going to be happy!’ she said, before adding: ‘My friend is out of the country, so she asked me to bring them. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to bits to hear about all that I shall tell her.’
It comes as an Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless after discovering the astonishing value of an ‘ugly’ old clock – and following its transformation to its original state, she was so thrilled she planted a kiss on the expert’s cheek.
The pendant, the expert explained, was set with diamond initials over a sunburst geocache design and inscribed in Cyrillic with the phrase ‘Maybe it’s better not to wait’
The surrounding crowd erupted with audible gasps, while the guest beamed as she imagined her friend’s delight
During a recently repeated episode of the BBC show, filmed in Cardiff, expert Richard Price took a closer look at the guest’s 270-year-old clock.
At the start of the segment, Richard asked the guest: ‘Let me ask you then, why is it so dirty? Do you not look after it?’
The guest admitted: ‘No, it lives in a box in the attic because it’s so ugly.’
Richard jokingly replied: ‘Really? Who banished it up there?’, to which the guest revealed it was his wife who had exiled the timepiece.
He explained he inherited the clock from his uncle around five years ago – but it went ‘straight into the attic’.
Despite its grimy appearance, Richard said: ‘Underneath all this filth and mess, we have the most wonderful bronze bull.’
In a separate interview, the guest’s wife was equally candid about her thoughts on the unwanted heirloom.
She admitted: ‘My husband inherited the clock from his uncle and when he brought it home, I wasn’t impressed at all.
‘It was very ugly, very dirty. We didn’t realise how dirty until we were told how dirty it was on the Roadshow. I thought that’s the colour it was supposed to be.’
The guest confessed he hoped it might be worth a couple of thousand pounds because it was pretty old – but Richard soon blew that estimate out of the water.
The expert revealed: ‘Even in this state, I think your initial offer would be in the region of £20,000.’
