*All valuations were correct at the time of broadcast.* This lady brought in a box of gold jewellery for the Antiques Roadshow expert to look at, but it was actually the necklace she was wearing that intrigued the expert most. Dating from about 1840, it has a surprising valuation that shocks the owner. Hugh Scully and the experts from Antiques Roadshow take a look at some fantastic antiques and the history and stories surrounding them. This clip was filmed in Lyme Park in 1999.
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Surprised? – Yes. – Good. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Look at the gleaming and the gleam of gold there. – This is actually a brooch but it broke, so I use it as a necklace. But I will have it repaired one day. It’s worth it, I think. They’re rather fascinating, aren’t they?
Were they your great-grandmother’s? They were my great-grandmother’s, yes… – Yes. ..and came down to me. – From Germany? – From Germany, yes. – Mm-hmm. But I think what’s significant about this jewellery is that it’s made of filigree and granulations. – Ja. – Which is typical of all types of folk jewellery,
From the Mediterranean up to the north countries and Denmark and Scandinavia. The bracelet itself is a later addition because the colour of the gold is different and the phrasing of the metal. That is, ja. I wondered why. – So…
And yet, there are holes here, for stitching or at least some kind of textile. And it’s my idea that this was once a hair bracelet, that there was a tightly woven lock of hair supporting this bracelet. Around it? Around it. And this is what we very often find,
That of course this is perishable and wears out. And yet, a gold clasp remains. – Yes. And so, they string it on to – perfectly sensibly – a later gold bracelet. But hair I’m pretty certain that it was, actually. – Oh, that’s interesting.
– It’s an idea we’re totally at odds with in the 20th century but… It must have been strong hair. Well, I think it was, I think it really was. Well, good Teutonic hair, you see, that’s what we want. – (Laughs) But anyway. They’re a marvellous survival.
But oddly enough, having opened your little Pandora’s box of jewellery here, it’s not the jewellery that you have in the case that’s interested me, but it’s the necklace you’ve got round your neck. Can you take that off? – Yes. Let’s have a really good look. I thought it belongs to one.
You thought it belonged… it became part of it? – Yes. Yes, I think it’s not actually part. Because it’s similar. The clasp, if you look at it, it’s similar to… Yeah, yeah. Well, it’s decorated, again, with these tiny granules of gold, which… Gold is the most mysterious commodity because you can solder granules
Of the tiniest, tiniest, dust-like proportions to the surface of gold and give it this very interesting texture. And that’s been going on since very ancient times. And these have erroneously been called muff chains. – Muff chains? They’re not muff chains. Because they were long, it was assumed that a muff
Would hang on it and you put your hands through it… – Oh, I see. ..and it’s quite nice to be able to sort of demolish that terminology, once and for all. Because they simply are not muff chains. They’re simply there for decoration. It dates from about 1840.
And it’s this one that’s really disproportionately valuable. – Oh! Because complicated gold jewellery, not easy to wear in the 20th century. And these two, fascinating as they are, they’re worth low hundreds of pounds. Say £350, £450 for the clasp alone and with the bracelet, £500.
But this one, put it down on your little inventory for £2,000. Surprised? – Yes. – Good.
46 Comments
Such an enjoyable show❤
If it was cleaned and polished it would be stunning
Not as high as I thought
Is that all? 🥱
€2500 for the lot there I saved you 3 minutes
But, what is the current value of the British pound? I think it's about 1/10,000 of a quid.
So that’s where the Jews gold went to
That is darn cheap. I hope she didnt sell it
I love Geoffrey Munn. He's just a delight.
Geoffrey Munn, class act. Very young here.
Beautifully man soooooo interesting
Adjectives used by GM. Surprised gleaming fascinating significant filigree granulations phrasing woven perishable sensibly oddly complicated disproportionately demolish erroneously ancient dustlike mysterious decorated pandora marvellous…..my wordle scores have improved. 🤣
Ya my great grandmothers… ripped off an unfortunate Jewish woman
I just love when that happens:)❤
Wow that necklace is to die for😊
The price of gold is 8 times higher than in 1999. That 2000 pound necklace is probably closer to 20 000 pounds now
It’s not a muff chain, ok!?
And she casually wears it like a junk chain… 🤦🏼
You have filigree gold as well in Portugal and Spain
That lady in back wearing black looks like she’s about to leap out and claim they were stolen from her mother on her deathbed.
Surprised? Yes ! Good .
I am very glad that you took the time to define muff chains.
My god look at the appalling clothing of the onlookers…really, since the end of the 1950s the Brits have had no sense of fashion or style.
wow = just the weight of the gold would be at least 5,000 pounds = i just do not understand low balling valuable jewellery = are they not SWORN valuers ! i smell a rat and a fishy one at that !
Very nice
0:05 "Look at the gleaming…"
Ricky Gervais' response to shiny gold "The gleam! The gleam!!!" whilst laughing because he found the word "gleam" funny.
Edit: Just for a bit of context: Stephen Merchant's father was showing off a new golden watch and said to each person at a gathering "look at the gleam on that" (in a working class/Del-Boy type of way ahah).
Not gonna lie that was a huge anticlimax when he said 2k. That's like the price of a small LV bag.
✔️
2K is the highest value item?
Teutonic hair lol
The definition for muff has obviously changed.
Seems a really nice person
I call bullshit. The gold itself is worth more than he estimated each PC for
Hilarious she was actually wearing the most interesting piece. And what's with all the down votes? Sheesh.
Muff chains, heh
That was deflating, due to the hype in the video description I was expecting some interesting context and associated value.
When was that aired, 1972? 2000 pounds, hahahahah
Hope she kept it a bit – as the gold has so much risen in value since then
Good name for a band “The Jesus and Muff Chain”.
Only 2k. (Yawn)
Muff Chains? lol
This video is from the 20th century… wonder what it's worth now
What? That is a tiny fraction of what I expected to hear.
Great pieces of jewelry. Although I thought they’d cost more
I am going to assume "muff" means something else in the UK.
No doubt from Treblinka or Sobibor.