Fans were loving Sunday night's episode of Antiques Roadshow, which saw antique collectors gather to have their items valued by experts. The show kicked off with expert Cristian Beadman examining a stunning music box which featured an animatronic bird.
Examining the music box while the gathered crowd gasped in astonishment at the quality of the item, Cristian said: "This is certainly one of the most exquisite things I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow in my ten years. Glistening in the sun, like a jewel… Utterly exquisite."
The guest explained that he collects music boxes, with Cristian adding that the music box is Swiss, and made in the early 19th century by the Rochat brothers.
With the bird in mint condition with "not a feather out of place," despite being over 200 years old, Cristian continued: "This one, I can see, is made of Hawksbill Turtle shell. It's been protected since the 1970s but this is of course much older."
The man revealed that he paid £9,000 for it at auction nearly 19 year ago, with Cristian confirming that these particular types of music boxes have only gone up in price over the years, praising him for his sound investment. He explained: "There have been fluctuance in the market for all sorts of things, for all sorts of reasons… Even though it seems like a lot of money to have spent nearly 20 years ago, funnily enough, that was a good investment.
"I think that you could realistically expect that, the best example possibly ever to come on the market, to go in at something between £20,0000 to £40,000."
The man seemed pleased, but of course has no plans to sell it! He said: "Very good, thank you. It'll get passed through my family because they love it. It's not just the money, it's quite special to me."
Cristian replied: "I'll never see one of those again, that's a thing of wonder, thank you so much."
Discussing the beautiful item on X, one person wrote: "amazing music box, i love it. Music boxes must have been such a thing for folk in the past, " while another person was less impressed, writing: "Who in their right mind would pay £40k for that? I simply don’t understand."
