Antiques Roadshow guest in disbelief as she learns true whopping value of 'plastic' ring

An guest couldn't stop laughin when she discovered the "plastic" ring she had was actually worth a fortune.

Expert Geoffrey Munn couldn't hide his excitement at Eastbourne Bandstand as he examined a brooch and two rings, one ingeniously adapted from the other, brought in by a guest.

The lady revealed: "It was left to my daughter by my mother-in-law and she's got very narrow, very small beautiful fingers and she couldn't wear that one.

"So we thought it's better to use it so she could wear it. We haven't damaged anything, we've just taken out very carefully and made it into a ring to fit her.

"And then I put that one [another jewel] in, just to have something. And I kept the original box."

Munn, intrigued by the pieces' histories, said: "They've both got very, very interesting histories, I think I want to deal with this one first," pointing to the green ring nestled in its original box.

The owner added: "That belonged to my other daughter from my mother-in-law again."

When quizzed about the ring's origins, she explained: "I don't know. My mother-in-law was born and brought up in France, by Greek origin, and then she married my father-in-law in 1925 and she came to England.

"So they often went to Paris so it could have been my father-in-law or her father, I don't know."

The expert was impressed as he assessed a woman's Boucheron jewellery, saying: "I think it probably dates from her time in Paris and she was clearly a very discriminating buyer, because Boucheron is one of the most famous firms in the world for making jewellery, in tandem with Cartier and Faberge.

"So it's the highest possible level of craftsmanship and here we see it.

"This is a plaque of jade isn't it, mounted in platinum, with a sort of stylised ribbon behind it in sapphires and diamonds.

"But this is superbly tight work, very meticulous, very shrill picture of perfection indeed.

"And the disc of jade, it actually anticipates the art deco period where there was a whiff of the Orient brought in to the rather geometric style.

"I suspect this is just a hint before that breaks out, maybe [in] 1920 this was made and then by 1925, 1927, things have got much more geometric and robust."

Turning his attention to another exquisite piece on display, Munn discussed a ring that epitomised the art deco era.

He explained: "It's made of rock crystal which is nothing to do with glass at all. And it's a stone and its lapidary work and it almost looks like a machine-made object."

Upon hearing the guest laughingly suggest it resembled "plastic", Munn assured her: "Well it most definitely isn't, it's ice-cold, water white, rock crystal -", only for the guest to once again quip that it "looks plastic".

Munn shared that the piece had been retailed by French jeweller Rene Boivin but was actually crafted by Suzanne Belperron, a manufacturer of his.

"So you'd have a water white rock crystal art deco ring with a water white diamond in the middle, an older cut diamond, and it's a sort of essay in colourlessness, isn't it? And the return of light and scintillation," Munn remarked.

"Two stones, one valuable, one perhaps not valuable but decorative.

"And these are stunning evocations of Parisian glamour, aren't they? It's exactly what people want today and with want comes dizzy value."

Starting his appraisal, Munn declared: "I think for this Boucheron brooch here, made of actually tiny, tiny sapphires and diamonds and jade of no particular value, is nudging £18,000."

Upon hearing this staggering figure, the guest was left speechless, pulling a face as she exclaimed: "What? Ooh", looking around bewildered.

He continued: "But that's not the end of it. Because the diamond here, intrinsically it's worth another dazzling £15,000.

"And it was jolly fortunate you kept the original context of this and you were very careful to have done that.

"I'm going to sigh a breath of relief, because this is a very, very exciting moment indeed. You do have something that's at the centre of jewellery collecting at the moment.

"People want this jewellery, this colourless art deco statement, more than you can ever imagine.

"So I think if you were to put that diamond back in there, a value of £55,000 to £60,000 would be appropriate."

The guest reacted with surprise and amusement at the impressive valuation, exclaiming: "Yes. Ouch."

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.