Bergum then continued: “The designer happens to be a gentleman by the name of David Webb.
“For starters, you are right, there are rubies in the centre of the ring, they are surrounded by lovely, lovely diamonds. Bright white stones.
“Then, we see the gold which has this amazing haystack sort of appeal to it.
“Along with the gold, the diamonds themselves are actually set in platinum so you have rubies, diamonds, platinum and 18-carat gold.”
She went on to state how there were three levels to the ring’s value, with each stage bringing up its price.
“If we looked at this just as a ring, with those components, a reasonable auction estimate on it should you ever be interested in that sort of pricing, would realistically be about $3,000 to $5,000”, Bergum first stated.
From this, she said if they were to look at it in a “different context”, the ring would be worth even more, given that it came from designer David Webb, “a prominent jeweller in New York City”.
“This particular piece with his name and being an item that would have been made between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, this would increase the value definitely.
“So the value jumps up then and becomes a $5,000 to $7,000 ring, but we’re not done.”
The guest smiled and “ooh’d” at this value but Bergum wasn’t quite done yet.
“We’re going to take this up one more level. Because in studying the rubies that you have here, there’s something that’s very special about them.
“These rubies, the other experts and I have conferred and we have a sneaking suspicion that these could be Burma rubies.
“In order to qualify that so that if you ever were looking to sell a piece like this, they would need specific certification.
“But with that certification and being labelled Burmese rubies that are unheated in a David Webb ring from the late 1950s and the 1960s, this type of item at auction would have an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000.”
Clearly, the guest wasn’t expecting this valuation and asked “Really?”, prompting Bergum to add: “Yes, so it’s a wonderful piece, it’s in phenomenal condition and it’s been an absolute treat to see.”
The guest went on to say: “Thank you Jill, you’ve blown my socks off.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on PBS.