An Antiques Roadshow expert was left “heart-broken” after making a shock value-slashing discovery while inspecting a rare Fabergé cigarette box.
Fans of the BBC show watched with bated breath as expert John Benjamin examined the rare case at Forty Hall in Enfield, north London.
The show returned to screens on Sunday night, with viewers delighted as they were once again taken on an emotional roller-coaster as members of the public had their family treasures valued.
The case was brought in by a mother and son duo. It was the later who explained it had belonged to his grandmother Olga.
She had died in 1993 and passed onto them as a family heirloom.
He said: "It was owned by my nan Olga, she passed away 1993, and it was passed onto my mum and dad."
They then explained how someone had knocked on their door and offered to buy the case for £1000 many years ago.
Following this, they took it to be valued, only to be told it was “possibly Russian” but had no real value.
They luckily decided to hang only the heirloom and took their treasured item to the Antiques Roadshow.
Jewellery historian John calmly talked the audience through the valuation of the “rather plain” box, before excitedly revealing it was actually a Fabergé cigarette case and was worth thousands of pounds.
The House of Fabergé was a jewellery firm founded in 1842 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, by Gustav Faberge.
The jewellers was famous for designing elaborate jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs for the Russian Tsars, and for their high quality and intricately detailed creations.
John told the cigarette box’s owners: "Well, we are looking at a rather plain, rather severe-looking rectangle cigarette box.
"But it has a lot of hidden extra features."
Pointing out a special mark and a P56 stamp meaning it was Russian 14-carat gold, John explained the box was in fact a real Carl Fabergé.
He added: "It's a Fabergé cigarette box, and that is why someone was so enthusiastic about it."
The expert linked the guest’s nan’s name Olga to Russia and noted that what the guests thought were clear glass panels on the sides of the box, were actually "solid natural rock crystal".
The jewellery historian also pointed out a leaf panel around the outside of the box, and revealed the red dot on the design was a "natural ruby".
“This is certainly not a modest piece," John remarked.
But then John dealt the guests a devastating blow as he pointed out some damage to the corner of the box, meaning the value plummeted.
"One problem with his exquisite box, and I am going to show this to you because it really breaks my heart," John explained and drew attention to a a small "fracture to the rock crystal" in the corner of the case.
John revealed: "If it were in perfect condition, I think it is worth £8,000 to £10,000."
"Let me be a little careful now and say £5,000 to £8,000 with damage that it has sustained."
The guests initially looked gutted by the revelation that the damage would cause the value to plummet, but quickly recovered when they realised it was still worth a very good amount.
Antiques Roadshow airs on Sunday at 7pm on BBC One.
