BBC Antiques Roadshow expert blown away by show first as she delivers five-figure value on rare jewel

Antiques Roadshow’s Joanna Hardy was left blown away when she realised her guest’s treasure had a rare history, marking a show first for the long-running TV show.

During Sunday’s rerun of a classic episode, Fiona Bruce and the team of experts saw items come to the tables which included a jeweled locket that was a gift from Queen Victoria, an ashtray that was designed by Picasso, a collection of nearly 1,000 keys, and a box of silver gambling tokens used for making debt demands.

However, it was one guest’s jewel that left her stunned over the history and the estimated valuation price if she were to sell it.

Welcoming her to the show, Hardy immediately noted: “When I wear jewellery, I like it to reflect my personality, this jewel must reflect your personality.”

The guest defensively exclaimed: “No! Not mine at all but it definitely reflects the woman I inherited it from.”

Shocked, Hardy asked: “Oh really! That is so interesting because it is so bold and sumptuous and structural and it’s screaming out individuality here. Who was the person?”

The woman explained: “The person was a dear friend of the family and she was a very, very wealthy woman from the Rothschild family.

“She was an old friend of my grandmothers and she was wonderful, theatrical, she lived a very luxurious life in this wonderful apartment, and yes it fits her perfectly.”

Impressed with the journey of the jewel, Hardy went on to reveal the history and stated: “It is stunning. It’s striking, but also what is interesting is when I turned it over we can see that on the back it has Seaman Schepps.

“Seaman Schepps, I don’t think we have had on the show before, so this is a first,” Hardy revealed. “Seaman Schepps was born in New York and was a travelling salesman. He had a shop in New York but during the Wall Street crash in 1929, he lost everything.

“So he had to rethink and he went off on a world trip and he went to Asia and he went to Hong Kong, he loved all the colours and all the magical qualities of their objects.

“When he came back to New York, he then developed this whole new style and he’s used these wonderful and sumptuous jewels, not necessarily the best quality at all but it is the way that he has put them all together, the rubies, sapphires, emeralds.”

Before Hardy could continue, the woman was left stunned that she was the owner of emeralds but was still adamant: “I still might not wear it…”

On a mission to get the woman to like the jewel, Hardy continued: “That is very typical of the ’40s they used diamonds to highlight the design, it wasn’t about the diamonds, it was about the look.”

So this was such a wonderful look in the ’40s and that has continued to this day, Seaman Schepps is still in business to this day. But this is one of the originals.

“I think a bit later, maybe ’50s. I think it is a wonderful jewel and at auction, I would say that you would be looking in the region of about £8,000 to £10,000.”

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Left stunned, the woman exclaimed: “Really? Oh my goodness. Wow. Oh my goodness, okay. Huh… that’s nice. Now after the story it just makes me wonder whether I should (sell).

“I was determined I was going to sell it but I never got around to it.”

Before the woman set off home with her treasure, Hardy said: “Before you think about selling it will you promise you will wear it a few times and then decide.”

The woman reluctantly agreed: “Okay! Deal.”