An Antiques Roadshow guest was left declaring “oh my goodness” after learning the true value of jewellery she bought from a charity shop. The beloved BBC show returned to screens on Sunday (June 14) with host Fiona Bruce back at the helm. For this week’s instalment, the programme paid a visit to Thirlestane Castle in the Scottish Borders.
Plenty of members of the public were quick to show off their prized possessions to be valued by the programme’s experts. But things took a dramatic turn when a guest brought in a brooch she had bought at a charity shop. The guest revealed to expert Susan Rumfitt that she came across the brooch in a box with a lot of other costume jewellery. But according to the guest, the brooch “didn’t feel like costume jewellery.”
Sharing her knowledge, Susan explained, “The style of this brooch really does show a lot of hidden meaning within it. So you’ve got sapphires, the blue stones, which represent devotion in the language of gemstones, and diamonds represent everlasting, eternal love. So you’ve got a very devotional and romantic piece of jewellery.”
Susan added, “Date-wise, we’re looking around 1870,” to which the guest replied, “Oh wow!” The expert continued: “Yeah, maybe 1880. It’s mounted in gold at the back. The brooch pin is gold. That gives it nice strength, and around the top you’ve got silver to give some brightness to the stones as well.” Susan went on: “I’ve had a good look at the brooch, and unfortunately, there isn’t a maker’s mark on it. But during the 19th century, it wasn’t essential to mark jewellery.”
Susan quizzed the guest: “It was in a box of costume jewellery and how much did you pay for that?” The guest replied: “£2.50.” Susan then spoke about its value and said: “So as far as value’s concerned, it’s got everything going for it. If it came up for auction, I think we’d be looking at an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000.”
The guest was left in shock by the value, and she declared: “Oh my goodness! Oh!” as she covered her mouth with her hand. Utterly stunned, she added: “Oh my goodness!” Talking to the camera later, the guest admitted, “I just wasn’t expecting that. Not at all. Maybe £100, £200 because I’ve had it a while, but never in the thousands!”
Antiques Roadshow airs every Sunday on BBC One.
