Antiques Roadshow guest stunned over 'incredible' value of 'piece of old tat'

A husband and wife could not believe their ears when they heard the value of two precious items that had passed down through the family over the years

Two guests on the Antiques Roadshow could not believe their luck when they learned the true value of a precious family heirloom.

The couple brought along two items of jewellery to the latest edition of the hit BBC show as the production visited Cromford Hills in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. With Fiona Bruce hosting, Harrogate jewellery specialist Susan Rumfitt - who has worked in the industry for 25 years - joined the line-up to share her expertise.

Analysing a bracelet and a pendant brought in by the husband and wife, the wife explained that her husband had called one of the items a "bit of tat" when he gave them to her. She said: "My husband said, 'my mum had a lovely Opal bracelet. You might like it'. So we dug it out, and that was that.

"But in this big box was loads of stuff, and I dug to the bottom and found that. And my husband says, 'you don't want that, it's a load of tat, just a piece of glass.' I like it."

The husband noted that he didn't think the pendant held much value because: "It's very big for a sort of precious stone." Susan then began her valuation: "Okay, so start with the bangle first, which you know, are opals. So that's really, really beautiful.

"Well, as we can see, there are these wonderful opals all graduating in size, which have got diamonds in between, which really help to bring out the beautiful play of colour, the greens, the blues, flashes of oranges that we see around each of the stones.

"It really is totally magnificent. And the added bonus, of course, with any piece of jewellery, is having the original fitted box." She added that the bracelet had come from Wartski's in London, a "hugely important" business that sold Faberge items. "I'll put you straight now. This isn't a piece of Faberge so that will calm things down just a little bit!," she quipped.

Susan added: "But it really is a superb example of jewellery from the late 19th century. We're talking round about the 1880s / 1890s." She then moved on to the pendant as she continued her detailed valuation.

She said: "So this dates from the Edwardian period. What we do have are diamonds, which are set at the top here, and they are set into platinum at the front to give that likeness and delicacy and to give strength to the design. And you need strength when you are supporting a big stone, as we have here. It's actually aquamarine, right?

"It's got a really good strength of colour, and the colours even all the way through the stone as well. So all in all, it's moved quite a way on from tat, which is, which is really good."

Susan then left the couple gobsmacked as she revealed that the pendant was worth between £3,000 and £5,000. She added: "The opal bangle, of course, it's a magnificent piece. As I say, it's got the beautiful clay of colours in the Opal. The opals are in good condition. They haven't been worn.

"They've had the lovely box to keep them in. If that came up to auction, we would be looking at an estimate of £8,000 to £10,000." The man's mouth dropped open as he admitted: "I didn't expect that... That's incredible."

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTubeand Threads.