In the latest episode of Antiques Roadshow, one woman has discovered the eye-watering value of a special diamond brooch handed down from her grandmother.
For decades she wore the spectacular family heirloom, with no idea that it was worth tens of thousands.
She explained that she had “always worn it, adding, “I’ve worn it to dinner dances, I wore it in the back of my dress when Lady Diana used to start that craze.”
The woman referred to the moment when in 1981, Diana famously wore an 18-carat Welsh gold horseshoe brooch, that was sewn into the back of her wedding dress.
Her own brooch contained five separate round brilliant cut diamonds, which Antiques Roadshow expert John Benjamin confirmed was real, with four of them valued at 1.25 carats, while the larger middle one was 1.33 carats.
The four 1.25 carat stones were worth about $5,100, with the 1.33 carat middle stone worth $6,100.
The total value of the brooch was between $26,000 to $32,000, but Benjamin added that it could be worth even more.
“That’s what you can sell it for, and you have to bear in mind that for insurance purposes you’d be looking at the best part of £13,000 to £16,000 [$51,200-$61,400],” Benjamin said.
“Oh my, I better get it insured!” the guest quipped.
“You might consider that. It is a sparkling, spectacular, fabulous diamond line brooch,” Benjamin replied.
The guest believed her grandmother had sourced the diamonds herself, and that according to a family myth, she’d bought the diamonds from landed gentry who had fallen on hard times.
Images: Nine
