BBC Antiques Roadshow expert insists 'I wouldn't lie' after staggering valuation

An Antiques Roadshow adept was near having to reassure a impermanent aft helium gave an bonzer valuation for a penknife connected the BBC programme

An Antiques Roadshow impermanent was astonished to larn the staggering worth of his daughter-in-law's philharmonic penknife.

With a captive ellipse of onlookers from the BBC favourite, adept Jon Baddeley encountered 1 visitant who unveiled a penknife that near him successful awe, promptly branding it "one of the astir beauteous things" helium had ever acceptable eyes connected during the show.

Probed astir its backstory, the older antheral admitted: "Well nary I'm acrophobic not, due to the fact that it really belongs to the household of my son's woman and it was collected, arsenic I gather, hundreds of years agone truthful it volition beryllium absorbing to cognize conscionable however aged it is."

Keen for more, Baddeley asked: "And is determination a past of the household being collectors? ", with the impermanent divulging: "Indeed, seemingly of Elizabethan memorabilia but I stitchery it besides plays a tune astatine 1 extremity but it's hard to really get astatine it."

Unveiling its mysteries, the adept explained: "It's a spot of a secret, isn't it? Now let's look astatine it successful detail.

"It's boasting 2 blades, 1 metallic guild. The decoration is retired of this world - adorned with enamel and delicate oversea pearls dotted throughout.

"And past upon flipping it over, much oversea pearls travel into presumption alongside flowers each meticulously manus enamelled. The craftsmanship is thing little than exquisite.

"Absolutely the pick of the harvest erstwhile it comes to enamel work.

"And past astatine the bottom, you conscionable flip unfastened and arsenic you tin spot there, that's a small keyhole which is wherever you would upwind it up and past it would play a mates of tunes I would expect."

Unfortunately, the cardinal for the item, which dates astir 1810 to 1820, was "slightly broken" truthful the tune couldn't beryllium played by Baddeley said it could beryllium fixed by a watchmaker.

He past queried: "Now, earlier we travel to value, you accidental it belongs to a subordinate of the family, your daughter-in-law. So wherefore isn't she present today?"

To this, the impermanent smiled: "Well she conscionable produced a kid actually, that's why. So she sent maine present successful her place."

Baddeley went connected to tease: "Good, possibly you tin relay this accusation backmost to her and hopefully the worth volition enactment a small grin connected her and her baby's face."

"It is thing that is fantastic quality, highly uncommon and presently precise popular.

"The Russian marketplace is precise beardown successful buying this benignant of antithetic mechanical philharmonic instrumentality changeable object.

"I've shown it to my colleagues here, they've ne'er seen a philharmonic weapon truthful if you're a collector, this has got thing that everybody wants due to the fact that they haven't got one."

"So present I'm connected tenterhooks for what it's worth", the impermanent laughed.

Baddeley past concluded: "We're starring up to that. At auction, I would suggest an estimation of betwixt £60,000 and £80,000."

Collective gasps could beryllium heard astir the assemblage arsenic the impermanent exclaimed: "No? Honestly? Really? You sure?"

Baddeley mildly placed his manus connected the aged guest's shoulder, offering a comforting grin arsenic helium said: "I wouldn't lie."

The pensioner responded successful awe: "Oh that is amazing. That is astonishing, due to the fact that they lone cognize 1 of its kind."

Baddeley continued with enthusiasm, "I've ne'er seen one, I've spoken to different people, we've been successful the concern and added up implicit 100 years and erstwhile nobody's ever seen one, you cognize it's thing genuinely desirable."

The impermanent past quipped with a chuckle, "I amended enactment that backmost successful my pouch quickly!"

Antiques Roadshow is disposable connected BBC One and BBC iPlayer.