An Antiques Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked after finding out the necklace she snagged for less than £5 at a charity shop had its value skyrocket on the show, leading her to declare it the “best day ever”.
The fortunate shopper revealed she had managed to negotiate down to the astonishingly low price for the exquisite piece.
A Reddit user took to the PBS programme in 2023, showing off a necklace adorned with emeralds and diamonds set in 18 karat gold. The necklace, which dated back to 1895, was evaluated by specialist Lourdes Winnick.
Keen to share her narrative, the guest first shared her stroke of luck on Reddit in 2021, posting: “My best thrift find ever, 18k gold necklace with 82 diamonds. It was in the showcase for £5 ($6.10 plus tax). I had all the best anxiety watching him test the gold, look at the diamonds, then retest the gold and stare at the diamonds more.”
She went on to say: “He was just as perplexed as me. We didn’t even know how to open the clasp for a solid five minutes. We are not sure if the green stones are emeralds or something else yet but I am excited to get more information!”
Initially, a local jeweller quoted the piece at $10,000 (£8,000), but its valuation soared once the stones were verified as Colombian emeralds.
The tension was palpable on Antiques Roadshow when the owner presented jewellery that was valued at a breathtaking £40,000 to £48,000 – a tremendous mark-up from the initial purchase price of around five pounds, reports the Express.
The owner couldn’t hide their excitement during the appraisal, exclaiming: “Great, that’s excellent. After a while it does get a little heavy on the neck, but I’m going to wear it anyway.”
Antiques aficionado Lourdes lavished praise on the necklace, admiring its “Victorian inspired” design and distinct “Indian Mogul style motif”.
She pointed out an intriguing detail – an owl import mark, indicating it was crafted expressly for the French market.
In a similar vein, another individual on the US edition of Antiques Roadshow was astonished to discover that three vases bought at a garage sale were actually worth a staggering $15,000 (£11,642), far beyond what he could have imagined.
Arlie Sulka, the expert appraiser, was astounded at the guest’s knack for sniffing out a bargain, remarking: “It’s remarkable. You’re really good at finding good bargains.”
Having acquired the vases for merely $150 (£116), the guest was visibly thrilled as the true value was revealed.
Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
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