Heart Shaped Bridesmaid Gifts

OAP finds out that dusty brooch she wanted to sell for £10 was actually worth ...

When Jill Cousins decided to sell her dusty old brooch she didn't expect to get more than £10 at a market stall.

But she was thanking her luck stars she forgot to take it, after an expert identified it as a highly rare piece by a feted 19th century architect.

Now the shocked pensioner is expecting a £10,000 windfall from the sale of the pin - a one-off which collectors were not even sure existed.

Mrs Cousins, 67, was watching Antiques Roadshow when jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn produced sketches of his 'most wanted' rare jewels.

She immediately recognised the highly sought-after brooch, which had been gathering dust at the bottom of her jewellery box for 40 years.

After she showed the decorative pin to Mr Munn, he revealed it was one of the most 'important art historical objects' the television show has ever seen.

But just days earlier Jill had planned to sell the silver brooch, set with a heart-shaped cabochon garnet and four turquoises, for £10 at market.

The one inch-wide 1860s design by famed Victorian architect and designer William Burges is now going under the hammer for £10,000.

Mrs Cousins said: 'I rushed upstairs and compared it to the one on the television. It is such a distinctive design.

'It was a tremendous surprise to be told the potential value. I had decided to sell it for £10 to a stall in Market Harborough.

'But I forgot to take it on the Friday, and it was two days later I saw the design on television.

'My mother did not like it either and it spent 20 years in the bottom of her jewellery box until she gave it to me.

'Now I know more about it, I think it is wonderful. On close examination you can see the high level of craftsmanship.'

Although it had been in her family for 40 years Jill, of Harborough, Leics., had never worn the brooch.

Burges created a series of water colour sketches of six silver brooches he planned to make in the 1860s but there was no evidence they ever existed.

It was believed Burges designed it to be a bridesmaid's brooch or wedding gift for the marriage of architect John Pollard Seddon and his wife Margaret.

Mrs Cousins was given the brooch by her mum who inherited it from an elderly lady who taught three generations of the owners' family.

Sterling Silver Necklaces Are a Great Bridesmaid Gift ...

When I got married, I wanted to get something special for my sister and the three good friends who were standing up with me at my wedding. I settled on Sterling Silver Necklaces . Sterling silver has a simple, timeless quality, and I knew it was something all four of them would appreciate and wear over the years. To make the gift more personal, I gave each of them a sterling silver charm that reflected their personality and symbolized something special. One friend got a cross, another a tiny heart-shaped locket, and the third a tiny silver butterfly. For my sister, I got her birthstone and my birthstone in a silver setting. I presented he gifts at our rehearsal dinner, so that they could wear the necklaces at the wedding. I like that they can wear the charms when they want to, but also use the necklace alone or with other charms. And yes, I got myself a necklace, too, which was my “something new”, with a rose-shaped charm to match my bouquet.

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