The chair was purchased at auction and sat in their attic for six years

A Scottish couple who purchased a chair at auction 10 years ago for $7 found that the chair contained three pieces of diamond jewelry that, with the chair, were valued at $6,500.

The Telegraph reports that Angela Milner-Brown and her husband Angus of Biggar, South Lanarkshire in Scotland bought the chair 10 years ago and kept it in their attic for six years before getting it reupholstered. The husband found the jewelry (a flower brooch, stud earrings, and a ring) at the time and kept it a secret from his wife.

“My husband was taking off the cushioning material of the chair to have it reupholstered,” Milner-Brown told the Telegraph. “There were about three or four layers that he had to rip off, and that was when he found the jewelry hidden under the final layer of material. My husband is very romantic, so he decided to keep the items secret and surprise me with them over the next few celebratory occasions for us. It was a really lovely thing to do.”

The couple attended an Antiques Roadshow taping on July 28 and had the pieces and the chair appraised. The earrings and ring were found to be from 1900, and the flower brooch was found to be from 1890. Together with the chair, the items were valued at $6,500.

“It was an amazing, wonderful discovery for us,” she said. “You just never know what you’ll find in an old piece of furniture, I suppose.”

(Photo by Thinkstock)

JCK