Joining us to marvel at the Chelengk coming back to life was Joanna Hardy, fine jewellery expert. She’s an ‘Antiques Roadshow’ regular, either (gently) dashing the hopes of inquisitive jewellery owners, or leaving them and the crowds around them gasping. One of her recent valuations: £30,000 or more at auction. Joanna’s particular interest in the Nelson project was to study what the Chelengk project could reveal about how jewels were made 300 years or so ago. One difference is that the diamonds at that time were mainly sourced from India – the great South African diamond fields had yet to be discovered. These 18th century sparklers were also cut differently from modern jewels. The extra sparkle Joanna brought to our film was an infectious enthusiasm, bringing the story to life even for those without much interest in “a girl’s best friend!”
ENTHUSIASM OF AN EXPERT
04 December 2017
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About Rob
Rob is a TV producer, reporter and camera operator with 30 years’ experience at the BBC, Channel 4 and ITN, in news, factual and documentary production. He is a four times award winner, whose awards include a coveted Royal Television Society award for his work on Channel 4 News. His association with The Maritime Foundation goes back to 1995, when he won the first Desmond Wettern Maritime Media Award for a series of reports that led to a major documentary on the loss of the bulk carrier Derbyshire.