AN ANTIQUES Roadshow guest admitted she was ‘terrified’ by the staggering value of a rare opal necklace.
A recent episode of the BBC show saw the lady bring in the stunning item of jewellery, which belonged to her grandmother, for expert Susan Rumfitt to value.
Alongside the necklace was a picture of the lady’s grandparents and she said: “This image is of my grandfather and grandmother on my mother’s side, my grandfather was from Fife, and my grandmother was Australian, an international tennis player.
“But they actually got married not far from here in Edinburgh, my grandmother was very keen on jewellery, I think, and my grandfather, I believe, bought her this because it’s from Edinburgh.”
Susan replied: “The reason you think that it was purchased in Edinburgh was because the box is indicating Edinburgh jeweller, but the box isn’t exactly fitting the pendant correctly.”
She then explained how the lady’s grandmother may have brought the opal over from Australia and then had it set into the necklace once in Scotland.
Susan continued: “That’s always quite possible because obviously, opals do come from Australia.
“They are unbelievable, they are really highly sought after at the moment and particularly this colour of opal which is referred to as a black opal.”
Susan then admired all the bright colours in the necklace, before telling the guest it was “absolutely extraordinary”.
She said: “The market is extraordinary at the moment for opals. There is a shortage out there anyway at this particular time, and the market for Edwardian jewellery is doing extremely well too.”
She then came to the valuation, and said: “So, value-wise, at auction, if it were to come up in my opinion in the current market, I would put £20,000 on it.”
The lady looked shocked and did her best to gather herself before saying: “Yeah, that’s slightly terrifying.”
Antiques Roadshow is available on BBC iPlayer.
