Antiques Roadshow guest gobsmacked at five-figure necklace almost lost in fire
An Antiques Roadshow guest's jaw dropped as she exclaimed "oh my goodness" after learning the staggering worth of her friend's necklace, which narrowly escaped destruction in a house blaze.
The BBC programme found itself at Chatham Historic Dockyard, where expert Geoffrey Munn was visibly taken aback by the extraordinary and rare piece.
A glint of excitement shone from Munn as he observed: "A beautifully made wooden presentation box, probably of Hollywood, and for me, there are no prizes for guessing what is within," before delving deeper into conversation.
"There are three pretty little enamel blue eggs. Tell me about them with you."
The guest shared how her friend had inherited the necklace, under the impression it was of Russian origin.
Munn replied: "Well I think she probably guessed that they were Russian from the lid satin and it is written in cyrillic but it's clearly eligible to enthusiasts of this subject, that it actually says the name of an important Russian jeweller.
"But I'd just like to discuss this in a back to front way and tell you about the eggs which are sky blue enamelled Easter eggs on a necklace.
"And they are mounted by tiny, tiny diamond laurels and that's quite important in a way, because in the tradition of jewellery, the colour blue is for love and it's something borrowed, something blue."
The expert delved into the symbolism of the necklace, explaining that the small diamond laurels symbolised the Latin phrase "the triumph of love over all".
He elaborated: "So here are the triumphal laurels surmounting the colour blue but there's another message coming across here, because they are Easter eggs.
"This is a gift from somebody at Easter in holy Russia, presenting to someone that they love and it's the triumph of love over everything.
"I think it is a triumph, because it's survived in absolutely pristine condition which is wonderful for all kinds of good reasons but let's return to the lid satin once again."
Munn then revealed that the jewellery was actually a Faberge piece, prompting the guest to exclaim: "Oh gracious. Oh wonderful."
He noted: "And we don't need any explanation beyond that to know that this is by far the most famous goldsmiths workshop that's ever existed, so it's very, very exciting stuff."
Munn further explained that the blue "eggs" were crafted from a silver core, engraved and filled with blue enamel.
He added: "And there's a great tradition in Russia to give Easter eggs. In the country, you'd have painted white chicken's eggs to give and in the towns they'd be wooden eggs, perhaps ceramic eggs.
"But in this curious, claustrophobic world of the Romanov court and its orbit, only Faberge would do. It's a whiff of pre-Revolutionary Russia.
"And in 1917, catastrophe struck when the Russian Revolution decimated Faberge's empire, leaving it completely destroyed forever," recounted the antiques expert, highlighting the historical impact on the treasured objects.
"And so when we see these things coming through, the excitement mounts enormously and mercifully your friend has taken enormous care of it because it's in almost perfect condition and it's kept in this box which signs it like a picture frame."
The specialist then stunned the owner with the valuation: "Your friend has an object which is undoubtedly worth £12,000."
Taken aback by the necklace's hefty value, the guest conveyed its sentimental worth after surviving a devastating event: "Oh my goodness! Oh she'd be thrilled to pieces.
"Because quite recently she had a big fire at her house and there was quite a lot of things lost and this is one thing that survived."
Munn responded with understanding, hinting at some solace: "Well that's wonderful and maybe it's some small compensation. But how exciting it is to see it here today."
Overjoyed by the discovery, the woman reiterated: "It is absolutely wonderful, she'd be thrilled to pieces."
The exchange concluded with the expert light-heartedly expressing his own exhilaration: "I'm thrilled to pieces! I'm exhausted now, I don't know about you! Wonderful."
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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