AN Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless by the value of an ‘exquisite’ brooch – and it’s all thanks to one tiny detail.
Sunday’s edition of the BBC One show saw expert John Benjamin examine a piece of jewellery that had been in the family of a female guest for years.
The item was a brooch in the shape of three ducks in flight, and John was impressed from the very beginning.
He said as he opened the box it was in: “When you open up the lid it reveals this absolutely elegant brooch, fashioned as three ducks in flight.
“Well, it seems a bit unfair to call them ducks, we will call them stylised mallards in flight.
“Now, this for me, is an elegant, beautiful and well-constructed piece of jewellery but before I tell you a little bit about it, you must tell me what you know about it?”
The lady revealed she had been given the brooch by her father-in-law in the 1970s after it had been passed down to him by his aunt.
She added: “Everything he did or said or loved, it was done with great style.
“As a result of loving him so much, it means an enormous amount to me this brooch.”
John replied: “Well, he did have exquisite taste, he had great knowledge I think as he’s given you something that is not just a brooch, it is a representative of the time it was made, which with this naturalistic design it was probably made around about 1910.
“You can see it’s got these three large blue stones which I am sure you know are sapphires.
“The wings and the body are set with little colourless stones and then the winged tips and the head are enamelled in blue and translucent green.
“There’s one feature about this brooch which sets it apart from just another novelty piece and that is, of course, the name. It is in this case by the name Lacloche.”
He explained how Lacloche was a highly sought after French manufacturer, and said: “I don’t know whether you know this, but when you lift up the box and have a look, can you just see on the edge of the frame there’s a little tiny inscription, Paris, Lacloche Freres.
“It’s minute but that is absolutely crucial because if it was only in a Lacloche case without being signed, the value would be significantly less.”
With this in mind, he said: “I think the appeal of this would be universal,” before revealing it could fetch between £6,000 and £8,000.
The lady appeared stunned, and took a moment to speak before saying: “Thank you”.
Antiques Roadshow airs on Sundays on BBC One.
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