BBC Antiques Roadshow expert leaves guest in tears after delivering staggering value on sentimental item

"I came with this brooch because I wanted to know whether it was glass or whether it was real," the guest explained, alluding to two brooches she'd brought with her.

"And this one?" Hardy asked, pointing to the second jewel before the owner responded: "And that one - was that also costume jewellery?"

After asking how she came by the items, the guest detailed to Hardy: "When my husband passed away... He used to collect lots of little trinketty things.

"He was a carpenter and he just had this bag above the wardrobe and in this tobacco tin were several little bits, these were amongst them."

"I just thought, 'They're not worth nothing,' I didn't think it was worth any money," she went on to admit.

Laughing, the guest continued: "And then when I heard you were coming, I just said to my sister, 'Oh, come on then - if we can find somewhere to park!'"

"Well, I'm very pleased that you came today," Hardy replied, adding: "I am more than very pleased. I'm absolutely gobsmacked."

Pointing to the jewels, she commented: "So you thought this one was glass? And you think this one's glass? You're right. One of them is glass. It's this one... And this one is a 12-carat sapphire."

She went on to beam: "But not only that, it is absolutely superb. The colour, the cut of it, and when I first saw that it just absolutely popped out at me.

"And I just thought, 'wow, this is a wonderful, wonderful stone.'" The expert went on to predict the stone was from Sri Lanka.

Clearly impressed, she continued: "But it is the colour that has to speak to you, because you can get dark kind of sapphires that are actually quite dull and they and they don't have much life.

"This has a lot of light. So this is in a setting with diamonds all around - and I think this would have been a ring."

"Well it's funny because I kept thinking if that was real, I'd have it like the royals have got, you know like Diana's old ring - I was going to take it to a jeweller," the owner shared.

"Do you know, I think I know where that's going to go after this show!" Hardy laughed before getting around to the valuation.

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"So it's about a 12-carater, it's a beautiful colour," she enthused. "And I think at auction you'd be looking around £15,000."

The guest quickly put her hands to her face and was clearly overcome with emotion. "Oh... Oh dear, that makes feel quite... Well, thank you very much," she managed.

"It's gone to a good home," Hardy comforted her, adding: "And if you change it and make it into a ring, I think it will be a wonderful end to its journey, for you to be able to wear it."

"I'd be too frightened to wear it now!" she confessed in response before Hardy urged: "No, you must wear it, it's beautiful - it's stunning."

"OK. I'm glad I've come," the guest smiled, to which Hardy replied: "So am I!"