BBC Antiques Roadshow jewellery expert Geoffry Munn made a plea to the owners of a “very beautiful” family heirloom after giving it a huge valuation during this weekend’s newest instalment.
The Roadshow travelled to the Firstsite museum in Colchester, Essex to appraise a variety of treasures brought by guests.
Munn’s eyes were drawn to a spectacular diamond and sapphire brooch brought in by two guests.
“Sapphires and diamonds doing their stuff… Very beautiful,” the expert mused as he gazed at the piece before inquiring about its history.
“I was given it by cousins of my father a week or so before my wedding,” one of the guests said.
Referencing the brilliant colour of the brooch, the expert quipped to titters from the guests: “It was something borrowed, something blue for you.”
The “very beautiful” sapphire and diamond brooch
BBC
Eyebrows were raised when the guest added that her relatives had been raised on the royal Balmoral estate.
Munn nodded along, agreeing the brooch had “a very strong flavour of Balmoral”.
He explained that such ornate accessories were commonplace at the numerous balls and receptions held there during the 1900s.
“Everyone would wear the most spectacular clothes they could afford and the most spectacular jewellery… a bit show-off to say the least,” the expert continued.
Munn called the brooch “the highest level of English craftmanship”
BBC
Returning to the piece, Munn praised it as “the highest level of English craftmanship” as he continued: “The diamonds here are used to draw the eye in to this very beautiful sapphire.”
He also explained that the brooch adhered to traditional jewellery conventions, with the stunning sapphire set in yellow gold while white metal surrounded the diamonds.
“This is a very covetable thing, isn’t it?” Munn asked with a smirk as the guests giggled.
One of the guests said she found the brooch terrifying because of how ornate and delicate it was.
Munn agreed and added: “What a wonderful thing, redolent of a very glamorous past. But that could be revived by somebody with the solid knowledge that it is valuable.”
That comment led to the inevitable question of what the piece was worth which Munn confirmed could be between £8,000 to £10,000.
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The guests were stunned by the value
BBC
Both guests gasped upon hearing the brooch’s astonishing value as Munn demanded they give the piece the exposure it deserves.
“You must wear it when you can,” he urged before saying his goodbyes to the BBC guests.
Elsewhere, there was another brooch that caught the eye during Sunday’s show after one guest received a staggering valuation – despite admitting the item was almost chucked in the bin.
Expert Siobhan Tyrrell revealed one brooch was worth hundreds of pounds, much to the delight of the owners who’d deemed it worthless.