Joanna Hardy left an Antiques Roadshow guest in shock after taking a look at one of their most prized possessions. Joanna is a Gemmological Association and has over thirty years of experience in the industry.
Standing on the lawns at Alexandra Gardens in Cardiff, Wales, Joanna was presented with a stunning red and black box. She was heard saying on the popular BBC show: “Often boxes give me a bit of a clue what is inside, but the box itself is a work of art.”
“Inside we have this very lovely blue stone,” she continued before asking the woman to tell me the story of how she came to possess it.
The lady said: “It is a tanzanite diamond ring. It was purposely made for me, it was made for my ring size.” The beautiful ring was encased in a stunning gold band.”
Meanwhile, the large sparkling gems sat between two crystal clear diamonds on either side. Joanna went on to discuss the diamonds and how they are a dying out gem.
“Now tanzanite are very rare, they only come from one place, Tanzania,” explained Joanna.
She went into detail about the gem’s heritage and said: “They were discovered in 1976. So, in the gem world discovered very late.”
Joanna described the jewellery piece as “charming” after taking a shine to the stunning timeless piece.
She added that the stone itself is “running out” so it is very precious and will hold its value as there is already a shortage worldwide.
The ring was four and a carat of tanzanite and had a one-carat diamond sitting beside it – meaning that over time it would only increase.
It was well looked after and appeared in an immaculate condition. The guest explained that she had kept it for many years in the box untouched.
Joanna suggested that it would be worth at least a whopping £9,000 today – potentially even more due to the shortage in Tanzania.
The guest was left in utter disbelief as her jaw dropped to the floor and was heard saying: “Wow, oh really. That was a very good investment then.”
Struggling to contain the excitement, she smiled beamed from ear to ear and clenched onto the ring.
Antiques Road Show airs on weekdays at 6pm on BBC One and Iplayer.