HOST: The next guest always thought her colorful family heirloom looked like pirates treasure.

But little did she know just how precious her jewel-encrusted cuff really was, until she met collectibles expert Laura Woolley in Middletown, Connecticut.

APPRAISER (voiceover): I will never forget 2021, Wadsworth Mansion in Connecticut, cause I think this is my favorite piece that I've ever looked at on ROADSHOW.

GUEST: Well, my mother gave it to me as a wedding present about 20 years ago.

It had been a gift to my mother from her great aunt Helen Hayes.

APPRAISER: And there's this wonderful gift card, I guess, that she put with it.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: Why-why don't you read how she...

GUEST: So my mother's name is Anni, and she says, "Darling Anni, your Uncle Charlie picked this as a gift for me years ago.

I want you to have it, sort of as a gift of love from both of us.

Devotedly, Aunt Helen."

APPRAISER: What do you know about it?

GUEST: I know almost nothing about it.

I had a friend who sort of intimated that it was costume jewelry, and stones were glass.

And then I showed someone a photograph of it, and they said, "Well, you know, those stones, I think they're real, and I'll give you $1,000 for it."

And I said, "It's a family heirloom.

I don't think I'd sell it for $1,000."

APPRAISER: So I'm not a gemologist, and I don't normally handle jewelry on the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

But it was sent over to me because the background of this piece was really interesting and had a Hollywood connection, which is normally the kind of stuff that I'd be doing.

The guest inherited it from her great aunt, Helen Hayes, who is the grande dame of the American stage and has had a long, storied career.

I think she did her first play in 1905, and she was working through the '80s on television.

So she just had one of the most historic careers in Hollywood.

Our guest actually was in touch with us and told us that she found a photograph of Helen Hayes wearing the cuff.

We already knew, based on the provenance and her story, that it was who she said it was.

But to find the photo is kind of the icing on the cake.

APPRAISER: This is a design that was quite famous in the '30s, because-- this is a very long name-- Fulco Santostefano della Cerda, Duke of Verdura, was the designer who started working with Chanel...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...in 1927 as a textile designer.

And she liked his, his look and his, uh, designs, and Chanel put him to work to help her redesign her jewelry line.

And so he famously-- one of the first pieces he made for her was a pair of Maltese cross bracelets...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

...that look just like this.

APPRAISER: Kind of the birth of Chanel's jewelry really starts with Verdura.

She first tasked him with taking some jewels from other pieces of her jewelry to create something new, and this is how he repurposed.

He created the Maltese crosses.

While I understood the background and the history of this piece, I knew that we needed to pull in some friends.

And so we pulled in Kevin Zavian, who is a gemologist, and I will never forget.

He sat down, got his little kit out, and he had his loupe, and he was very quiet, and he was kind of writing tons of notes on a little pad.

All of a sudden, he stood up, and he looked at me, and he went, "It's all real!"

And our eyes both lit up, and I went, "Oh, my-- this-this is a big deal.

This is gonna be a big deal."

And he goes, "It's beautiful."

(laughs) To say that this is a rare piece is an understatement.

We think a very conservative auction estimate would be at least $100,000 to $150,000.

GUEST: (clicks tongue) Goodness.

Oh, my word.

What a treasure, what a treasure.

And to think it's been to my third grade show-and-tell class.

(laughs) When I was a little girl, it was-- my mother would take it out, and it was as if I were handling something from a pirate's treasure chest, and... you brought that feeling back to me today.

APPRAISER (voiceover): And the next thing I know, in 2023, someone told me that Bonhams in New York City had sold the, the bracelet on, uh,... their jewelry auction December 4th.

AUCTIONEER: Attributed to Chanel for Vedura, a gem set, an enamel Maltese cross cuff, circa 1930, in France.

And coming from the collection of such an iconic Hollywood name, Helen Hayes, I am going to open this up at... $100,000.

APPRAISER: We never thought that this was worth $100,000 to $150,000 only.

That's the starting point.

And everyone can line up and start getting their paddles ready to compete for it.

AUCTIONEER: The bid is with you at $340,000.

I'm selling, everyone, $340,000.

Say no more.

Last chance.

$340,000.

(hammer bangs) Sold.

APPRAISER: I wasn't surprised at all.

It's the, the kind of piece that, um... will probably come up once in my lifetime.