I imagine he had to take it out of his pocket to send it through the xray machine. I would think if it were crowded, that would be a nail biting experience as I have heard of people stealing things before the rightful owner made it through the walkthrough detector.
I just heard about this on the news. I'd be a nervous wreck and sweating bullets the whole time, but what else can you do? I once flew with some valuable coins and it was a nerve-wracking experience, but nothing like this! haha. That price tag is so ridiculous!