Antiques Roadshow guest claims ‘never taking it off’ after diamond rings staggering value | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV
Antiques Roadshow expert Joanna Hardy left her guest speechless when she valued her mother’s diamond ring, which was rolled up in a sock, at a staggering amount.
As the show came to an end, the guest and her daughter caught up with Joanna where she noted: “You weren’t going to come to my table, were you?”
The guest confessed: “We weren’t actually. We passed by you and realised there was no queue.
“We thought, well actually, my daughter said ‘That’s a jewellery place, shall we show her the ring?’ I said ‘Why not?’.”
Joanna asked: “So tell me the story behind this,” to which the guest revealed: “The ring was my mums, we’re pretty sure it was given to her by my late grandfather.
“We were helping her, we were clearing out stuff, and in the sock drawer we stumbled upon this ring that was wrapped in a sock.”
Gasping in shock, Joanna quipped: “No, I don’t believe that,” leaving the guest to confirm: “Yes, it really was.”
Thinking of the worst-case scenario, Joanna added: “I mean it could have gone in the washing machine.”
The guest went on: “It could have, we could have bundled everything up. When I said ‘Mum, is this your ring?’ and she said ‘Oh yeah, I kept it in there so I didn’t lose it’.”
Joanna began to take a closer look at the ring and revealed: “It is absolutely superb, made in platinum, it’s about 1915, the diamond is what we call a transitional cut.
“It’s softer… really soft look about it. You’ve got the facets but nothing is sharp, the modern brilliant cut, to me, is quite brash but this has such an air of sophistication.
“It is nearly a full carat, so it’s a really large size. The clarity,