Sifting through a treasure trove of valuable heirlooms left by her late great-aunt, a woman uncovered a jewelry collection worth more than she could have imagined.
Back in 1998, the collection received a valuation during an episode of the renowned PBS television series Antiques Roadshow. The assortment included three eye-catching Burmese ruby designs – a bracelet, pendant, and a diamond-ruby ring – that were once gifted to the great-aunt by her husband, a noted former U.S. congressman.
Featuring in-depth analysis by appraiser Berj Zavian, the pendant and the ring were identified as products of the Art Deco period dating back to the mid-1920s. Both of these exceptional pieces, with rubies set in platinum, were assigned significant values – ,000 for the pendant and a whopping ,000 for the ring.
Turning his attention to the bracelet, Zavian noted the impressive 3.5-carat Burmese ruby at its center, and the bevy of precious stones surrounding it, including 30 smaller rubies, 70 baguette diamonds, and 144 round diamonds. With these details in mind, the bracelet was assigned a value of ,000.
In 1998, the entire collection was given a combined appraisal of approximately ,000. However, by 2013, the value of this exquisite set of jewels had grown substantially, reaching around ,000. Now, with U.S. inflation rates taken into consideration, this inherited treasure could be worth close to a staggering ,765.
Another collector, Flora Steel, had a similar experience when watching an Antiques Roadshow episode from 2011. She recognized a brooch identical to one she owned, which was valued at ,000 on the show.
It's not just women who have stumbled upon such riches in their family possessions. A man on Reddit revealed how he discovered a Rolex that his father had passed down to him, which turned out to be worth about ,000.
Beyond jewelry and timepieces, Antiques Roadshow has been the site for other remarkable valuations as well. These include a baseball card collection that was insured for million and an astonishing 400-year-old attic find estimated to be worth at least million.