Joanna Hardy

Joanna Hardy (born 9 November 1961) is a British jewellery consultant and broadcaster who is a regular on BBC Antiques Roadshow and on the board of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain.

Life
Hardy was born in 1961 and she had a father and a godparent who were influences. Her father's expertise was with devices like juke boxes and slot machines and he had a number of businesses. Hardy learned to love making things in his workshop and every vacation she was employed in one of her father's businesses. She went to school in the village of Liphook where she had a blow to her confidence when she failed her 11+ examination. Her parents enrolled her at Bedales School. She was not a natural academic, but she took a strong interest in the life of the school. She left after her first year in the sixth form because she was keen to learn more.

Hardy initially trained as a goldsmith at Sir John Cass College before she worked grading rough diamonds for the De Beers company. She worked in a number of countries including Israel, Belgium and the USA. The diamonds were then all cut by hand and she could look at a gem and tell where it had been cut by the angles of the cuts.

She went through a rigorous process to appreciate the authenticity and value of a pink diamond gem that was finally auctioned by Phillips and sold at $6 million in 1995.

She joined the BBC's television's Antiques Roadshow in 2007 when she was working for the auctioneers Sotheby's.

In 2014 she was cautioning collectors as it was observed that coloured gemstones were the fashion rather than diamonds. Some of the value and interest was due to fashion, but Hardy noted that the gems were rare and that was the underlying reason why they achieved high prices. However many gems were heatreated to give an unoriginal colour.

Hardy was a member of the board of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain in 2024.