Antiques Roadshow expert John Benjamin was on hand to deliver a valuation on a pair of drop earrings and a sapphire ring
On Sunday’s Antiques Roadshow, expert John Benjamin gave two hopeful guests some disappointing news at the stunning Wollaton Hall in Nottingham.
The episode featured locals bringing in their treasures, with a pair of guests presenting family Art Deco jewellery for valuation. At first glance inside an old tin, John discovered exquisite platinum drop earrings and a sapphire ring.
One of the guests related the tale of his mother receiving the jewels from a friend, who was acquainted with a man with connections to France.
John, upon closer inspection, found a significant alteration: “Someone who has owned these in their history has taken them to a jeweller and said: ‘I’m not sure if I like the fittings!’
Antiques Roadshow expert, John Benjamin, delivered some ‘bad news’ to two guests on Sunday’s episode of the show(Image: BBC)
“So what they’ve done is they’ve removed the original fittings from the back and they’ve soldered on these long gold sort of posts with nine carat gold screw fittings at the end”, reports Edinburgh Live.
→ Swipe to see more articles
While examining the ring, John revealed a surprising fact about its authenticity, revealing: “Here’s an interesting point, in the 1920s, when that was made, synthetic rubies and sapphires were beginning to appear on the market.”
He delivered the blow when he declared: “The sapphires on the shoulders in the ring are actually synthetic. They’re not real. So, there we are.”
During the valuation, he revealed: “Here’s the bad news, those drops, today, if they were having the original fittings on them. I think would be worth between £4,000 and £5,000.
He found a spectacular pair of drop earrings set in platinum and a sapphire ring(Image: BBC)
“But because the fittings have been changed, I think we’ve got to now drop that price to probably £2,500 to £3,000 simply because of a clumsy conversion.”
Regarding the sapphire ring, he estimated: “The ring about £1500.”
This led to one of the guests quipping: “How much is the box worth?” which prompted John to respond with a chuckle: “Priceless, absolutely priceless the box!”
In another segment, art expert Rupert Maas appraised a monochrome painting of Princess Daisy of Pless, an icon of Edwardian high society.
One of the guests explained that it was given to his mother by a friend of hers who had met a guy who spent a lot of time in France(Image: BBC)
The owner explained how her father had found the artwork in a Watford junk shop for a mere £13.50.
Rupert encouraged her to keep it on display, especially after revealing its surprising value of £2,000 to £3,000.
The owner was shocked, saying: “Really? Gosh! I was thinking you were going to say a couple of hundred,” to which Rupert acknowledged it wasn’t a huge sum but definitely a significant increase from what was paid.
