Rare Indian Necklace With Hidden Diamonds Stuns Owner | Antiques Roadshow UK

Well, I've come to Dundee, but this has come from the other side of the world, hasn't it? Tell me about it. Yeah, my husband bought it for me about 15 years ago. He used to work in India and he came back one time with this necklace. So a heart-shaped jewel. Have you worn it? No, I've worn it once since he bought it for me. Once? Wow. Well, actually, it's almost an object of curiosity. It's gone beyond wearing, hasn't it? Because it's full of technique and full of colour and it's very exotic. And what do you think these funny little mirror-like stones in the middle are? Well, I didn't know. That's why I brought it, to find out. I don't know anything about it. Well, I think that's very reasonable, but they are diamonds. Yeah. And they don't look like diamonds at all, do they? No. They're very flat cut, which is very typical of Indian jewellery. Right. And then the use of enamel is so stunning. When we turn it round like this, we can see what's characteristic of this is that the back is often just as richly decorated as the front. Right. This is a jewel not only to be worn, but also enjoyed. We often describe it as Jaipur enamel, but I think it's not always from that part of India. OK. The problem with Indian jewels of this sort is that they're completely traditional. They were made exactly like this in the 17th century in the Mughal dynasty. And then they're made exactly like that in the 19th century. So the problem to me is to react to it almost instinctively and say that I think that this is 19th century. And nonetheless, it has all the charm of its predecessors. But a very exotic thing doing all kinds of different messages because gold is from the natural world. Diamonds are from the natural world. And they've been brought together with human ingenuity and skill to make a very colourful, almost hypnotic thing. Are you hypnotised? I am. Yeah, definitely. By it or by me? You, I think. Good. When something's working, anyway. But no, brilliant. And I think it's a lovely, lovely piece. There are tiny emeralds hanging from it here. Emerald beads. Yeah. Which are something very Indian too. Entirely redolent of India. Lovely. And what's this made for? Well, this is traditional. And I think actually it's very important to refer to that, that it is actually silver wire on silk. And it's extremely rare to find the conjunction of the two. And so with all of that comes a nice value, something exotic, something wearable. So I'm going to say, I think £1,500 today. Fabulous. Thank you. Well, that's a surprise.