Antiques fair visitors devastated as heirloom halves in value due to minor damage

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left devastated when the family heirloom plummeted in value after experts discovered some minor damage on it.

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Antiques roadshow: Expert examines a Faberge box

One visitor to the Antiques Roadshow was left devastated as their heirloom immediately halved in value when an expert discovered some damage.

BBC One is back tonight, where a small number of guests have gathered at Forty Hall in Enfield, north London to evaluate their items and find out what they can expect if the item is sold. That’s for a collector.

Expert John Benjamin was tasked with examining the ‘quite sketchy’ cigarette case, but they soon realized it was more than that, when he revealed it was actually a box of Fabergé cigarettes and worth thousands of pounds. Brother.

“Well, we’re looking at a fairly simple rectangular cigarette case that looks quite serious. But it has a lot of hidden extras,” John revealed when the guest shared it was nan’s. Olga, who passed away in 1993 and has passed away. like an heirloom.

They said: “It belongs to my nan Olga, she passed away in 1993, and it has been passed on to my mother and father”, while they later explained that someone had randomly knocked on the door. home a long time ago and said they wanted to buy. items for £1000.

Explaining its true meaning, the expert then shared why it was such a sought-after item, adding: “It was a box of Fabergé cigarettes, and that’s it. That’s why someone is so enthusiastic about it when they knock on the door.”

However, the guest was shocked when John pointed out some serious damage to the box that caused its value to plummet.

Pointing to a “fracture to the rock crystal” in the corner, expert John concedes: “If it’s in perfect condition, I think it’s worth £8,000 to £10,000. Now I’d be a little careful and say £5,000 to £5,000 8,000 with the damage it suffered.”

Despite initial disappointment, the guest was delighted with the final sum, despite the drop in value.

Describing the importance behind the piece, John linked the Olga name to Russia, and while the owners thought it had clear glass panels, they said it was actually “solid natural rock crystal” like he warned “this is certainly not a humble work”.

He notes that there is one “interesting thing about it” – the monogram G, is “surrounded by a wreath” on the plaque, while he also points out the foil around the box and a “natural ruby”. ” on the cigarette box. too.