High roller: Joanna once valued a £6 million pink diamond.
Antiques Roadshow expert Joanna Hardy has never forgotten the occasion she was asked to value one of the rarest diamonds in the world.
But the 62-year-old jewellery specialist – and self-confessed petrolhead – tells Donna Ferguson she prefers to buy contemporary jewellery and splash her cash on motorbikes and classic cars rather than expensive antiques.
She lives in London with her Australian husband Craig, 56, and fox red labrador, Merlot. They have two children Scott, 25, and Chloe, 23.
What did your parents teach you about money?
That money only comes with hard work. My father was a self-made man and a hard taskmaster. He had a petrol station and also rented out and serviced jukeboxes. I used to work as a petrol pump attendant for him and collect money for the jukeboxes that were in clubs and pubs around London. As a bonus, I was given the singles when they went out of the charts.
My mother was a yoga teacher and in true 1970s-style, she used to wear matching leotards and tights. Both my parents came from nothing and my father would never spend money frivolously. He would get really cross if my mother was on the phone talking for too long and, if we went out to eat, it would either be at the golf club or the local pub. But we were definitely comfortable.
My younger sister and I went to Bedales, a private school, and I’m thankful I did, because they saw the arts in the same light as academic subjects. That was my saving grace.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
Yes, when I was about 20 and working full-time in Hatton Garden as a sales assistant, while also working in a hamburger joint at weekends. I shared a house with three others in Clapton Pond in East London and we’d put 50p in the meter for electricity. It was rough but my father thought I should stand on my own two feet – he felt I’d had a good education, and the rest was up to me. I did a course in the evenings, where I learned to be a gemologist. A year later, that enabled me to get what I see as my first proper job, with De Beers, valuing and grading rough diamonds.
What is the most expensive jewel you have ever valued?
A pink diamond. When I was in my late 20s, I was a diamond specialist at an auction house. A lady came in with a large ruby and said she wanted to sell it to split the family fortune. I looked at it and saw it was synthetic. I sat her down in a quiet room, gave her a glass of water and said, ‘I’m really sorry, it’s only worth £50, if that’.
She replied, ‘Oh I know that, I was just testing you’. Then she packed her bags and left. A week later, she came back with two big diamonds. I said they were worth £50,000 each. She said, ‘OK, fine,’ and left again. And I thought, ‘What is going on?’ Then I got a phone call from her, inviting me to afternoon tea at Brown’s in Mayfair. When I got there, she told me she wanted me to see her vaults in Geneva.
I went, with no idea as to why I was going. And there she showed me this real ruby ring, a pair of fantastic emerald drop Cartier 1925 art deco ear pendants, a beautiful ruby and diamond bracelet and this single-stone diamond ring in a Cartier mount, which was the size of my thumbnail. And it was bright, candy floss pink.
I’d never seen a pink diamond before in my life. They are extremely rare. Still, to this day, it’s the best diamond I’ve ever seen for colour. It turned out the lady was an Indian princess. Her diamond – which had been in that vault for maybe 50 years – was a similar pink to the Williamson Pink in the Queen’s Cartier flower brooch. At auction, we sold it for £6 million, breaking a world record for pink diamonds at the time. It was amazing.
What was the best year of your financial life?
The best year was in 2009 when I left Sotheby’s and started working for myself. It was incredibly scary – I’d been at Sotheby’s for 14 years. But some jewellery owners feel more comfortable going to an independent valuer who isn’t attached to an auction house, so financially, it worked out in the end. And I gained the freedom to choose the projects I want to work on.
What is the most expensive thing you have bought for fun?
My mimosa yellow Triumph Stag, which I bought for about £4,000 in 2006. It’s a classic car. When I worked at the petrol pump, a very handsome chap would drive one with the roof down and I thought it just looked so cool.
What is your biggest money mistake?
When I was a polished diamond dealer in my 20s, living in Antwerp, I was buying a parcel of diamonds for a client and I got the currency wrong. I paid them in pounds when I should have paid in dollars. It was a big error of several thousand pounds. So I didn’t get my bonus that month. And I never made that mistake again.
The best money decision you have made?
Buying my motorbike. I’m a bit of a petrolhead and I’ve got a Honda CB 500. It’s so cheap to run – a tank of fuel goes on forever – and I don’t have to worry about Tube or train strikes. I don’t like being restricted or told what I can and can’t do. When I ride it, I feel like I’m beating the system.
Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?
Not any more. I used to save into a pension, when I was at Sotheby’s. I started contributing to it in 1995, when I was 34. I also used to own a rental flat, which I had originally bought in 1984 to live in. Until recently, I saw that property as my pension. But I have sold it now. I do save into Isas, but I don’t invest in the stock market. My father always told me: ‘Never invest in anything you don’t understand.’
Star quality: Joanna showing off her expertise on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow
Do you own any property?
Yes, I own my home: a four-bedroom detached house in London, which I bought 20 years ago. I imagine it’s gone up in value.
If you were Chancellor what is the first thing you would do?
It’s very important for young people to be able to express themselves in a creative way and, in this digital age, I think you gain a special satisfaction when you make something yourself, something tangible. So I would allocate more funding for education so that every school has arts facilities where people can learn skills and crafts.
Do you donate money to charity?
Since 2004 I’ve been a freeman of the livery company, the Goldsmiths’ Company, which supports the Goldsmiths’ Centre, the UK’s leading charity for the professional training of goldsmiths. I trained as a goldsmith and wasn’t any good at it, so I can really appreciate the skill that goes into making a piece of gold jewellery.
I donate to the company’s charitable fund, the 1327 fund, and give an awful lot of time and energy to help the company achieve its aims. Every year, there’s a Goldsmiths’ fair where 170 craftspeople sell items containing silver or gold that they have made. The craftsmanship is superb. I always buy a contemporary piece of jewellery there and I get a lot of pleasure wearing it, especially on the Antiques Roadshow.
What is your number one financial priority?
To pass on my work ethic to my children, who are in their early 20s, so they have independence and purpose. If you can earn your own money by working hard, you’re free.
- Joanna will be a guest speaker at the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for Disabled People’s Ladies’ Autumn Lunch on October 19. See qef.org.uk/events/ladies-autumn-lunch-2023/
