ANTIQUES Roadshow guests were shocked to learn that their family heirlooms were worth a small fortune.
Expert Lars Tharp was in awe of the 'amazing' Jade items brought in by the couple.
On the latest episode of the BBC's Antiques Roadshow hosted by Fiona Bruce, a couple brought in three precious items of jade, including a set of Chinese jade lovebirds, a kidney-shaped item and a bracelet.
Even though their beautiful beloved items were worth up to £60,000, ultimately, the guests decided not to sell any of them.
The pair's choice to keep the items must have left some viewers confused and unable to work out why they'd pass up the opportunity to make thousands of pounds.
During the episode, Lars introduced the items and said: "Now this is slightly different, the colour scheme here, this black brown band.
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"This was very, very popular. A kind of jade very popular in the Ming Dynasty. I cannot guarantee that this is Ming Dynasty.
"It's very difficult to date jade because, after all, all you have to do is to find a piece of this very popular jade and then carve it to make it look like that.
"But having said that, if you look at the detail of the very flat carving here, these are all very archaic scholarly motifs."
The woman then admitted that the bracelet was "not very comfortable" after trying it on and revealed that she only wears the precious item at home.
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An intrigued Lars then quizzed: "It's very smooth anyway. Oh, but it looks so good, doesn't it? It's a very powerful piece of jade that.
"So you've got two pieces quite different. Could this be the Christmas present?"
He continued: "A pair of Chinese lovebirds. It's got its own little stand. Very delicate. And there they are.
"They're sitting back to back, and they're swinging away in this little perch.
"That is amazing. And each piece, a moving part or as well as the link. So, these links were originally part of the whole piece of jade.
"But the carver has had to hollow up each link individually without breaking it.
"This is the amazing thing. This twig the birds are sitting on is like a swing. And you can actually see that rocking. Now that is very, very clever."
The historian then went on to value the items as he added: "I think the pebble bird sits so beautifully is probably between five and eight thousand. The bangle probably about the same."
Surprised gasps were heard among the audience, with the duo looking gob-smacked at what was just revealed to them.
Addressing the final piece, Lars mentioned: "This piece would appeal to a lot of modern collectors. I would say that's probably in the region of 20 to 40,000 pounds."
The couple were confident that they weren't going to sell any of the items.
They finalised by saying: "What? Wow. It is our favourite so it's not for sale. Thank you very much. My dad will be very pleased."
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Elsewhere on the show, expert Richard Price left a family astounded after he valued their watch, which had the inscription of William Tomlinson's name at an eye-watering £3,000.
Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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