Antiques Roadshow expert issues woman stark warning about gold necklace – but she has the last laugh
AN Antiques Roadshow expert issued a woman with a stark warning about a gold necklace – but she had the last laugh.
In a recent episode of the BBC One show, expert John Benjamin met a guest who had brought in some striking pieces of jewellery.
One was a diamond cross and the other was a gold-chain necklace and John focused on the cross first.
The woman revealed she had bought it an an auction house, saying: “It was probably 16 years ago now.
“I was looking for a friend, he wouldn’t have it but I fell in love.”
John said: “It’s set with lines of white stones. They are diamonds of course. “Are you passionate about it? Do you wear it?”
The guest replied she did and then John turned his attention to the gold necklace.
He said: “When we look at this one, the Garrard’s necklace. You could not get more chalk and cheese, could you?
“This is a series of little graduated hoops, chain-linked going around. The intricacy of the work to me, looking at it from a distance has got to be the 1970s.
“It’s punchy and it’s a confident gold necklace. Now, where did that one come from?”
The guest revealed it had also come from an auction house, this time in Edinburgh, after she spontaneously hopped on a train from London instead of going to the office.
Once at the auction house, she spotted the necklace in a display cabinet and recognised the Garrards name.
John then moved on to the prices of the two items, and said the diamond cross “isn’t everyone’s cup of tea these days”.
The guest had paid £1,200 for it, and because of the diamonds in it, John said: “I’d be disappointed if it made less than £3,000.”
As for the gold necklace, the lady said she paid £2,000 as it was sold for “the weight of the gold”.
John then warned: “Right, now that’s interesting. Because unfortunately, an aspect of much gold jewellery is that it doesn’t actually sell for a substantial amount beyond its gold value.”
He continued: “It’s one of the great names, the Crown Jewellers. You only have to say it and it’s a byword for quality. And it’s hallmarked and the hallmark is 1976.
“As we’re filming it today, gold is really high. This has the gold value of something in the region of £5,000.
“If I was putting into auction, I would be careful, yes in spite of the great name I would put it in for about £5,000 to £6,000.”
Antiques Roadshow airs on Sundays on BBC One and is available on iPlayer.