When asked how she conducted her research, the guest replied: “Internet. I just typed in dog’s head, hallmark, and that’s what came up, that France started using the dog head hallmark in about 1912.”
She then added that she paid just $30 for the ring when it was sold to her, two or three years ago.
“I was wondering why would someone put cubic zirconia in possibly a platinum setting.”
It was then expert Mark Schafter’s turn to give a more thorough explanation of what the ring was actually made of.
“Perhaps it’s a very good question and you make a very good point that the setting can actually reveal something about the piece.
“We tested this and tested it again and the reason that it’s confusing is that it’s not one stone.
“Interestingly, it looks like one stone with multiple facets but once you start looking quite closely, there’s a central stone. It’s an unusual setting.
“There are small trapezoidal stones in a step fashion set all around the central stone.
“And it builds up like one big large stone but the play of light is a little odd, because it’s multiple stones, not a single stone.
“We tested it, we looked at it, we put it under the loupe, we used the diamond tester just to be sure.”
He continued: “But in fact, it does test as a diamond, not as CZ.
“What you have is a ring that looks like it’s sort of eight to 10 carats from the top as a diamond.
“In fact, in the centre is a stone that’s about 1.5, let’s say a carat-and-a-half, and a few more carats in the surrounding stones in a platinum mount.
“It’s a style of ring that could be as early as 1920s, 1930s.
“Altogether, given the carat weight, in a retail setting, I would say a conservative selling price would be in the $25,000 to $30,000 price range.”
The guest’s eyes widened as she stated: “Amazing. Amazing. I am shocked and happy. This is great.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on PBS.
