An Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned when he discovered the true worth of a ring left to him by a late friend.
The episode, filmed at The Royal Hall in Harrogate, saw expert Geoffrey Munn examine a beautiful ring with a fascinating backstory. “One tiny ring, one blue stone. Tell me about it with you”, he asked. The guest explained: “It was left to me by a very dear friend who I’d known for many years and he passed [away] quite recently.”
He added that he hadn’t seen his friend for nearly two years before receiving a letter out of the blue informing him he’d been left several items in the will. “He was a great man. He collected everything, artwork, jewellery, he loved jewellery,” the guest said.
He also shared memories of visiting his friend’s shop as a child, where he would often knock things over and occasionally get chased out, reports the Express.
Munn confirmed the ring was indeed a sapphire piece featuring a carved design of Julius Caesar, likely originating from Italy. He noted: “We should just say that sapphires are the second hardest material known to man so to carve it in what we call intaglio, which means to cut in, it’s a tour de force.”
When asked if he had noticed anything else about the ring, the owner mentioned a small signature on the bottom.
Munn chuckled as he explained: “No but actually it’s more than a niggle because its back-to-back c’s and the back-to-back c’s are the monogram of possibly the most famous jeweller working in 19th century Europe. It’s the monogram of the Castellani in Rome.”
Join the Daily Record’s WhatsApp community hereand get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
He went on to say that Castellani was a renowned jeweller situated near the iconic Trevi Fountain in Rome, which seemed to render the guest speechless. Upon being questioned if he had visited the place, the guest could only utter: “Go on, please.”
“It operated between 1860 and even as late as 1930 but everybody went there, it was a sort of honeypot for the elite of Europe without a shadow of doubt,” the expert explained. “You have a near classic head of Julius Cesar, carved by the Castellani in a tiny signet ring.”
“So tell me what it means to you,” they pressed the guest. Visibly moved, the guest confessed: “I wouldn’t replace it if you told me it was worth £1,000.”
To which Munn responded: “And you couldn’t replace it, because it’s a token of your friendship and I have a funny feeling that he might have just known some part of this and perhaps wanted you to discover it.”
“His words were ‘never let it go'”, the owner revealed, visibly swallowing his emotions. Munn then concluded: “Well that’s pretty good isn’t it? And these things are very touching but unfortunately you have to make a choice about something else. Because it’s not worth £1,000, it’s worth £5,000.”
The guest was astounded by the valuation: “Oh my God. Wow. That’s amazing.” Munn remarked: “I’m very affected by it and I think you are too, aren’t you?”, to which the guest concurred: “I am. I’m stunned, honestly. Wow.”
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.