A guest on Antiques Roadshow left expert Joanna in awe as she described how she found a special glass treasure box. "The skill of a goldsmith and the skill of an enameler is the same whether they are making jewellery," Joanna commented while inspecting the piece.
Keen to learn more, she asked: "This beautiful box, it is just wonderful, now tell me why did it catch your attention and how did it catch your attention?". "I think they described it as being glass, a glass box and I knew it had something unusual about it, with the designs on it and things like that," the guest explained, reports the Express.
She went on, her excitement palpable, "I couldn't really see much of the silver, I had a sneaky feeling it might be that so we actually polished it all to reveal the beautiful enamel on the surface and the lovely colours.". The item picked up for only £32, genuinely surprised Joanna, who enlightened the guest by revealing, "Well, this is rock crystal, which is of the quartz family," and noted the distinctive, bubble-free inclusions that signified its authenticity.
"And you can see the inclusions inside the stone, which are their natural inclusions; there are no bubbles; if you saw bubbles, then you would know it would be glass.". Joanna didn't stop there; she traced the piece's history to the mid-19th-century Viennese goldsmiths known for their exquisite enamelling work.
