'Antiques Roadshow' guest's voice trembles after hearing the value of her grandma's 125-year-old ring
It doesn't take much for any person to figure out that precious gems embedded into jewelry must be worth a good amount of money. But it's only when they arrive on "Antiques Roadshow" that they realise the true value of heirlooms, and they're caught off guard most of the time. One such guest got the shock of her lifetime after finding out that her great-grandmother's sapphire ring was worth over $150,000. The owner of the Edwardian sapphire & diamond ring had no idea that the precious jewel in the middle was a rare Kashmir sapphire. It was the show's expert Lucy Grogan Edwards who revealed the stone's origin, before delivering the staggering six-figure appraisal.
In the episode, the guest shared the story of her family heirloom and its provenance. "It belonged to my great-great-grandmother. I don't think it was an engagement ring, because I think back in those days, and she died in 1912, that they weren't given engagement rings. I have a portrait of her, and she has her wedding ring on, but this ring is not there," she shared.
Edwards then took over to explain the unique and rare materials used in the ring. "So what we have here is a platinum, diamond, and sapphire ring. I would characterize it to be from the Edwardian period," she explained. She further added that since the original owner of the ring passed away in 1912, the ring must have been purchased around 1900.
"We have a beautiful platinum setting characterized by millegrain accents, which are the fine little platinum dots that give the setting an extra bit of sparkle. Surrounded by diamonds centering a beautiful oval-cut sapphire. The sapphire is flanked by two European-cut diamonds, which is the exact cut of diamond you would expect to see during the Edwardian period. The featured aspect of this ring is, of course, the sapphire. And when I saw that sapphire, my eyes lit up," Edwards exclaimed.
She then elaborated that the origin of the sapphire was of great importance in determining its value. "At this period, most sapphires we see came from the Burmese region. So Myanmar or Kashmir, which is the northernmost region of India," she explained. She went on to add that Kashmir sapphires are considered to be "the most beautiful, perfect standard sapphire."
"In 1880, there was a landslide in the Kashmir region of India, and that landslide revealed sapphire deposits. The sapphires that were coming out of this area were the most beautiful in their color depth and their quality. So the Maharaja of India at the time very quickly claimed that region for himself. And from a period of 1882 to 1887, so in a five-year period, that mine in that region was completely depleted of sapphires," Edwards shared.
Edwards went on to share two different appraisals. "If it is a Burmese sapphire, I would say that the value for this at auction today would be somewhere between $40,000 to $60,000," she told the guest. This was enough to shock the guest as she said, "Okay. It kind of shocks me."
Edwards then added, "If it is indeed a Kashmir sapphire, which I feel pretty confident it is, at auction, I think we're looking at somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000." This nearly got the guest choked up as she said, "That's quite something. Thank you so much, I don't know what else to say. I just, I'm..." in a trembling voice.
In the end, the appraiser thanked the guest for bringing in the remarkable piece of jewelry as she very rarely got to see a Kashmir sapphire, in her career.
