I hated my mum’s over the top jewellery but was shaken to my core when I found out it was worth more than a sports car
A BBC Antiques Roadshow guest was in complete disbelief after learning that an old ring and earrings she possessed were worth a fortune.
The items were valued at an eye-watering price by antiques expert John Benjamin, leaving the audience floored.
The Antiques Roadshow episode aired on Sunday and was presented by Fiona Bruce.
It was filmed in Crystal Palace, London and included a signed Paul McCartney cartoon, a portrait of the late Queen made out of Lego bricks and some valuable vintage Vivienne Westwood outfits.
One of the most intriguing items brought to the show was diamond drop earrings and a ring given to a guest by their late mother, which her father had bought for her in the 1940s.
At the end of the episode, the guest discussed the items with expert John, who was stunned to see the precious objects.
She explained what she knew of the items: “The earrings were my mother’s, bought by my father in the 1940s, and she wore them. That’s all I know about them, and she left them to me.”
John studied the ring and earrings, noting that it had no flaws he continued: “As I look at them here, the design of them is very much of the 1940s. These drops are very pretty in their construction.
“You’ve got these principal stones here in a diamond, like a halo surround, diamond top sections, almost like a flame.”
He added the backstory of the items and said: “Moving on to the ring, which had the same back story, John said: “In the middle, we have a massive diamond.
“A brilliant-cut diamond, weighing around four carats in the centre.
“The diamond is almost between tram rails of baguette diamonds, and in a typical, what I would call three-dimensional look, you’ve got a recessed back band, pave diamond set with further brilliant cut diamonds.”
With an unimpressed face, the guest joked: “Over the top!”
John replied: “You think it’s over the top?! Shall I tell you the fact that it is over the top… people like that!”
The guest admitted: “Oh, not me!”
The expert then shared: “I can tell you it’s beautifully made, which means it’s very well cut, and it’s also a very lovely clarity.
“Now, most stones you look at…. if you look at a diamond, it’s got several flaws in it, this is a four-carat diamond that, to all intents and purposes, has no flaws in it at all.”
Addressing the guest, a curious John quizzed: “Your mother had never conveyed this to you?” to which the guest replied: “No, we never discussed it.”
He pressed on: “And you never wondered about it?” with the woman still nodding her head in denial.
The expert then unveiled that the two items could possibly sell together for the “best part” of £27,000 to £30,000.
The audience and guest gasped in utter shock at the incredible price it was valued at.
She replied: “Oh good, good! Thank you very much!”
Antique Roadshow viewers reacted to the episode on X(Twitter) as one person, penned: “I love over the top love… pass it over here!”
A different user wrote: “Ooh la la… I want those earrings.”
Another viewer added: “Those earrings and rings are exquisite.”
A fourth expressed: “Now that’s my kind of jewellery” with heart eyes.
Recently, expert Joanna Hardy left a guest gobsmacked after she revealed that a broken brooch was worth a vast £3,000 to £4,000.
Antiques Roadshow continues on Sunday October 22 at 8pm on BBC One.