Hand-Me-Down Ring Worth $150,000
September 02, 24
(IDEX Online) - A guest who brought her great-great-grandmother's ring to a TV recording of the Antiques Roadshow was stunned to have it valued at up to $150,000.
The hand-me-down Edwardian platinum ring, set with an oval-cut large sapphire, flanked by two European-cut diamonds, had been in the family for over a century, she said.
Appraiser Lucy Edwards told her the sapphire was likely from Kashmir, India - although only a lab test could confirm its origin - in which case the stone alone could be worth up to $60,000.
"I don't think it was an engagement ring because back in those days - she died in 1912 - they weren't given engagement rings," said the unnamed guest.
"I have a portrait of her and she has her wedding ring on, but this ring is not there."
Edwards said: "When I saw that sapphire my eyes lit up. 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.
"Oh wow," the guest responds. "That's quite something."
Screengrabs courtesy PBS.