WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow. Antiques Roadshow guests were in disbelief when they discovered just how much their ballerina brooch was worth. In a previous episode of the BBC daytime show, expert Joanna Hardy met with a mother and daughter duo at Beaumaris Castle in north Wales who presented her with a ballerina brooch.
Hardy believed that it could have been made by world renowned French jewellers Van Cleef and Arpels but couldn’t quite put her finger on its origins. Sharing a clip from that original appraisal, Hardy said: “It can’t be true, is it true? This is made with turquoise, rubies, 18 carat gold and diamonds. It’s a fabulous jewel.
“It has all the properties, all the wonderful skills of a company called Van Cleef And Arpels. “They made ballerina brooches from the 1940s but not that many. “I cannot find the signature of Van Cleef and Arpels. I want to find one, I can assure you.
“If it is right, it is tens and tens of thousands of pounds.”. The daughter quietly exclaimed “Gosh” as her mum was more on the pessimistic side and stated “can’t be”. Since filming that episode, the BBC expert contacted an archivist in Paris and took the brooch with her for further inspection.
She then invited the brooch’s owners to delve further into the truth behind the piece of jewellery. Hardy began: “This lovely ballerina has been on quite a journey since I last saw you. “As you know, I went to Paris with this tucked in my handbag. I met Catherine Cariou who was the former heritage director for Van Cleef and Arpels for 20 years.
