An Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless when she showed jewellery expert Joanna Hardy a sparkling brooch.
The guest brought a stunning brooch onto the BBC show and had a very special story behind the dazzling item.
Joanna said: “When you came to my table and showed me this, I was about to say, ‘That’s really lovely but it’s costume jewellery.’
“Then I looked at it and thought, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s not costume jewellery because they’re all diamonds!'”
The owner of the brooch explained: “I inherited it. My partner was a jeweller in Hatton Garden and there was a competition, if you look like a Duchess, and this was the prize. He made six in silver.
(Image: BBC)
“However unbeknown to everyone else, he made a real one in his garage in platinum and diamonds.”
Joanna recalled that the original on which the competition prize was based on sold at auction in 1988 for just over $600,000 (£449k) to Elizabeth Taylor.
She said: “When Elizabeth Taylor died, the brooch went for $1.3million (974k).
“I saw that brooch when it was at the Elizabeth Taylor sale and I didn’t think it was very good, the quality, to be honest, and I turned over this and it is fantastic craftsmanship – so much better than the original, it’s superb.”
(Image: BBC)
The owner joked of her partner: “He always told me he was good.”
Joanna then left the woman gobsmacked when she said: “If you asked a goldsmith today to make something like that, I would say you’re looking in the region of £20,000.
“There are very few craftsmen today that can make something as beautiful as this.”
After the segment, the woman spoke to camera about the death of her partner, and how the brooch brought her major joy.
(Image: BBC)
She said: “After my partner died I was miserable for a few years and then I thought, ‘Blow it.’
“I went on a cruise, got myself a couple of evening dresses and wore that and it was a knock out.
“I will certainly look at it differently, but it’s not going anywhere.”
Elsewhere in the episode, one woman was stunned to learn that a plate her husband had bought her 30 years ago was actually by Pablo Picasso.
She discovered that the plate, which featured a drawing of a goat, would go for between £2,000 and £2,500.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
