0:00:03 > 0:00:06Our location today is on a 200-metre high bank of the river Wye.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Behind me, the Severn Bridge and Bristol.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12In front of me, the undulating hills of Monmouthshire.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13What a view!
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow from Chepstow Racecourse in Cymru.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Our location today brings us to the beautiful Wye Valley
0:01:00 > 0:01:02on the Welsh borders.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Downstream from Tintern Abbey is a setting with such stunning views,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09a grand house was built here.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Today, Piercefield House on the outskirts of Chepstow
0:01:15 > 0:01:16in Monmouthshire is a ruin.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Once the home of wealthy sugar plantation owners,
0:01:20 > 0:01:24today the grounds are the site of a very different attraction.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28And what a way for me to make my arrival -
0:01:28 > 0:01:31on this magnificent horse, Aragon!
0:01:32 > 0:01:36In 1921, the Chepstow Racecourse Company acquired the estate
0:01:36 > 0:01:41and there's been racing in the grounds of Piercefield since 1926.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Chepstow is a dual-purpose racecourse.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50It holds 28 races every year, 14 over the flat
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and 14 over these terrifying-looking jumps.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58I'm told they used to race between two church steeples,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00hence the name "steeplechasing",
0:02:00 > 0:02:03but there'll be no jumps today
0:02:03 > 0:02:05as we prepare for another Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Of course, this is a perfect item for the Antiques Roadshow
0:02:14 > 0:02:18on a sunny day like today because it's an umbrella and a hat stand.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Do you use it at home? No. No, we don't, no.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23My mum used it. She had a lovely hall
0:02:23 > 0:02:27that it could be displayed in, so it looked really nice there.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31So you don't use it for umbrellas and hats at all?
0:02:31 > 0:02:33No. We had it in the garage.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35In the garage?! In the garage.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Do you know anything about it at all?
0:02:38 > 0:02:41I understood that it came from the Black Forest
0:02:41 > 0:02:43and it's carved out of one tree.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Oh, right... Is that right?
0:02:45 > 0:02:47One tree, no. It's not one tree,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50but it is a large lump of wood that's been used.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54I think it's very good carving. It's brilliant.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55It's a school of carving.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59I want to get rid of this myth that it's Black Forest. OK.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Black Forest is lovely cakes with cherries and cream.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Everyone's always called them Black Forest,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10but we now know that they're made in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12not in the Black Forest area,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14in a little town called Brienz.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18The way this carving school came about in the early 19th century -
0:03:18 > 0:03:20so let's say 1800, 1810 -
0:03:20 > 0:03:26was that in the Swiss mountains, they were snowed in one winter
0:03:26 > 0:03:30and a man called Christian Fischer started carving little objects
0:03:30 > 0:03:34and this developed over the years into this whole school of carving.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37These things were handmade out of linden wood
0:03:37 > 0:03:41and so they realised they could make money during the winter by carving
0:03:41 > 0:03:44when they were snowed in. I see. OK.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48There's still a school of carving. There's a four-year apprenticeship.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52You can learn to make this sort of thing today. Are they still made?
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Not like this. This is a bit elaborate. Any idea how old this is?
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Not really. I haven't got any idea. That's no help to me at all(!)
0:04:00 > 0:04:04I thought you were going to tell ME that.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07They were made generally in the latter part of the 19th century.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09You often see them with bears.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12This is lovely with doggie here.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15It's been quite well rubbed and scuffed. I think children
0:04:15 > 0:04:17have been playing with him.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20But also I think children have been very naughty.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24I can imagine a toddler boy, seeing this wonderful shotgun.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Somebody's been playing with the trigger. Did you break that?
0:04:28 > 0:04:29No, it was already broken.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33What do you think about the dead animal hanging from your hat stand?
0:04:33 > 0:04:37That's what I don't like. I don't like the theme at all.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40I don't like the hunting theme. I don't like guns much.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43It doesn't appeal to you as an object? No.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45To a lot of people, it does though.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49The condition isn't brilliant. There are one or two chips and scratches,
0:04:49 > 0:04:50but it is unusual and rare.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55I'm going to say an auction figure between ?2,000 and ?3,000.
0:04:55 > 0:04:562,000 and 3,000?
0:04:56 > 0:05:01Between 2,000 and 3,000. Gosh, that's more than I thought, anyway!
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Howell James Co, Regent Street, watchmaker to the Queen.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Good company. VERY good company.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Excellent. Tell me what it is.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14It's a carriage clock that was always on my grandmother's mantelpiece
0:05:14 > 0:05:18when I was a child. I was always fascinated by it
0:05:18 > 0:05:22and my grandmother actually promised that she'd leave it to me
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and in due course, in 1988, when she passed away, she did,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28a lot of which time it's sat in the case
0:05:28 > 0:05:32and only recently, I thought it's too nice to sit in the case,
0:05:32 > 0:05:33so it's been out on display.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38It still looks a little bit unloved and it deserves far more.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It does. The difficulty is knowing what you can do with such things
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and who to trust them to. OK.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49It is, in fact, superb gilt brass
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and it is English through and through.
0:05:52 > 0:05:58The green, which is all the way round the clock, is malachite,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02which is a semi-precious stone mined in various parts of Africa.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07But the contrast between this lovely, lovely, wavy malachite
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and the gilt brass
0:06:09 > 0:06:12is quite extraordinary. It's a lovely-looking thing.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15The case itself, in the Gothic Revival taste,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18is beautifully engraved throughout.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21And then side panels as well.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26The back door is again superbly engraved
0:06:26 > 0:06:31and I hope that we'll see that retailer's name on the back.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Just inside the back door it says it all again,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36so they would have been...
0:06:36 > 0:06:40I won't say the maker, but they would have been the retailer of it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43It is a lovely, lovely thing.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45What sort of date would it have been made?
0:06:45 > 0:06:50Well, this one, I'm going to put a date on, with the Gothic Revival,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I'd like to say just prior to 1850.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Would it predominantly have been kept in the case?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58The case has a removable front.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03Remember, it's a travelling clock, a carriage clock, and it would,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05when put into luggage, have had this,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09but if somebody wanted to see the time on the journey,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11they literally would have had it
0:07:11 > 0:07:14with that slipped into the back of the case there.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Did you know it went there? No.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18That's its little reserve thing,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21then it would have been carted around like that,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23so you could see the time.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28It would have been a very expensive thing new, really expensive,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32and now, although there are one or two cracks in the malachite,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36I'm going to say that at auction, in that current condition,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38it's still going to fetch...
0:07:38 > 0:07:41probably ?5,000, maybe ?6,000.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Good heavens! I'm really rather jealous. Thank you very much indeed.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49I have seen lots of things in bottles -
0:07:49 > 0:07:51ships in bottles,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54scenes in bottles - but I have to say
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I haven't seen anything in a light bulb.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01This is an extraordinary object because there's a cathedral in it.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Where did it come from?
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Is it something that you sit up at night doing?
0:08:06 > 0:08:11Is this a little known skill of the area? No, not me at all.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15It is a model of Lincoln Cathedral. It's got the three towers.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Yes, of course. So you're a Lincoln girl? I'm from Lincoln, yes.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24We emigrated down here to get away from the cold winds. Yes.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28It was made by a German prisoner of war at the end of the war.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Right. And he used to come to our house.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35They were allowed to do odd jobs, so he did a bit of gardening.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And he used to come for Sunday lunch occasionally.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44And when he was due for repatriation, he gave that to my father.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48It was quite appropriate because we were in the electrical trade as well,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52so I should think the electric light bulb came from us
0:08:52 > 0:08:55and that's as much as I know, really.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57It's a great story.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02The only other examples of things in light bulbs in a public collection
0:09:02 > 0:09:04is in a museum in Whitby,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08and there I know they've got lots of different things in light bulbs.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10How do they get it in? I know!
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Ships with bottles, they do pieces of string, don't they?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Yes, they do the rigging and pull it upright.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19We've never known how that was done.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22The secret, I think, is that there is a little cut made
0:09:22 > 0:09:24behind the metal casing here
0:09:24 > 0:09:26which gives an opening,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29which means when this is all taken to pieces,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31and it would have been assembled in pieces,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33you can, with a pair of tweezers,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37get those pieces down into the body of the light bulb
0:09:37 > 0:09:39and get them set into the plaster.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Yeah. That would just be ordinary plaster of Paris, wouldn't it?
0:09:43 > 0:09:48That's ordinary plaster of Paris and each piece would have been painted
0:09:48 > 0:09:49before it was put in.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53All the trees and things. Exactly. And all the little windows.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57I think we've given the secret away now. Yeah. Lovely.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01As a girl, did you ever leap up to the top of those towers?
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Yes, many times. This was wartime, wasn't it? Yes.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08We used to take, you know, airmen and that
0:10:08 > 0:10:12and say, did they want to look round the cathedral?
0:10:12 > 0:10:15But I've been many times since. It's a lovely building.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20It's a wonderful piece of, I suppose, prisoner-of-war work,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24first of all, but more modern prisoner-of-war work.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I also think it's great that it's in a light bulb,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30relating to your father's business,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33and I think that it has a sort of quirky value.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37I would put the value at around ?300... Oh, goodness! Maybe ?350.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40When would you ever see another one?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43No, that's true. Putting it into that context, it's a real curiosity.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48I'm afraid I don't know anything about it, Andy.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52It's been hanging around for years. Yeah, it's been hanging around,
0:10:52 > 0:10:56in fact, since about 1797.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59You know, this was a disposable object.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01You used it and you bunged it
0:11:01 > 0:11:04or maybe you returned it to the vintner.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08The whole original purpose of sealing a bottle was because,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11that way, you got your bottle back.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14You organised for your bottles to be made and sealed.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19We've got Samuel Pepys writing about how he went down to the Mitre Tavern
0:11:19 > 0:11:25100 years earlier to see "my bottles filled with my name wrote on them".
0:11:25 > 0:11:28So there's a long history, 100 years at least,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32of bottle sealing and the point was that you got yours back.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37You didn't get any riff-raff's bottles. "I want MY bottles!"
0:11:37 > 0:11:41The bottle comes in a variety of seals and non-seals.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Non-seals, the least desirable.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Date seal, going up in the world.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Similarly, initials, go up in the world.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54But this is the all-singing, all-dancing version.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58So, early bottles are worth more than later bottles.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01This is a later bottle, 1797.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Nonetheless, it's interesting that wine bottles, disposable objects,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08have become extremely collectable
0:12:08 > 0:12:11with the surge in demand for the finest wines.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16So, this niche market for high quality wine in America,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20amongst the super-wealthy, and China has gone really strong.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25A couple of years ago, this would have been worth 200, 300, 400 quid,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27but by adding the letters...
0:12:27 > 0:12:31If you work the letters out at between 25 and 50 quid a letter,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35I think you'll get to an auction value today of about ?700 to ?800.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Goodness me! For a bottle? That's incredible.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Now you've got to find out who he was. I will.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47You've brought us along today a collection of sporting medals
0:12:47 > 0:12:52and contemporary photographs, all relating to a member of your family?
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Our great-uncle Frederick Humphreys who took part in three Olympic Games
0:12:56 > 0:12:59in '08, '12 and '20,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04tug-of-war, police team, City of London Police teams.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08So that's... That's our great-uncle. The guy here on the left? Yes.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13With two of his brothers who were also in the City of London Police.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17That's him again? That's him again. Previous to that, he was a wrestler.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20He did demonstrations all over Europe and the country.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24It's sad that, today, the Olympics doesn't have the tug-of-war.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27It does not. I think it finished in 1920. It did.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32And in '08, they competed against the Metropolitan Police team
0:13:32 > 0:13:36and then in 1912, they amalgamated.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38So, in 1908, how did he do?
0:13:38 > 0:13:42He got gold. Oh, wow! Which we haven't got, unfortunately.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46That one is the REAL gold one and we don't know what happened to that.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49So, 1908 was London. 1908 was London.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54And then the whole team went over to Stockholm for 1912?
0:13:54 > 0:13:56That's right. How did they do then?
0:13:56 > 0:13:59They got silver, which is this one over here.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01And also my husband's family,
0:14:01 > 0:14:05his great-uncle, was also in that team, so they were both winners.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Then in 1920, they went to Antwerp where they got the gold,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12which, unfortunately, is not really gold.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14And we do know that.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16After 1912, sadly,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20gold medals and silver medals were not made of gold and silver.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24I assume it was because of the number of competitors there were
0:14:24 > 0:14:27and the new races that were happening,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31it just got too expensive and maybe the austerity after the war.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34But even the gold medals today that are given out,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36they have no gold in them. No.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It's sad you lost the 1908 one
0:14:38 > 0:14:41because that is the first London Games,
0:14:41 > 0:14:46so that has a particular association to collectors and it's very early.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50I remember my uncle as an older man. I did meet him when I was a child.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54He was big. The whole family were quite big, six foot-plus.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58They had to be for that type of sport. They look big, beefy guys.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01You don't want to mess with them, do you? No.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04You know, collecting Olympic memorabilia
0:15:04 > 0:15:07is relatively a new sort of collecting field,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10so the market is not that sophisticated yet.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14There hasn't been a lot on the market to compare like for like.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16However, I love the story behind it
0:15:16 > 0:15:20and the idea that not only have you got the Olympic medals,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22but all his other medals that he won.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25I'm going to lot the collection together,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27rather than pull them out individually.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Should you ever have to sell them,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33I would see a collection like this fetching between ?5,000 and ?8,000.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Good heavens!
0:15:35 > 0:15:38That does surprise me. I was thinking hundreds.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42No, I'm quite flabbergasted with that.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45We're just very proud. Thank you very much.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54If I were to tell you that one of these nutcrackers
0:15:54 > 0:15:55is worth over ?6,000,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59you'd think I was, well, crackers. Boom-boom!
0:15:59 > 0:16:03But one of them is and it's this week's Basic, Better, Best challenge
0:16:03 > 0:16:07set by Adam Schoon. Three nutcrackers, one worth ?300,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10one worth ?3,500
0:16:10 > 0:16:14and then one worth ?6,500.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Just... Exactly, gosh! Just for a nutcracker.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19We'll ask our visitors this week
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and you at home if you can work out which is basic, better, best.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Do you want to come round and have a look?
0:16:26 > 0:16:30You think it's this one? You've all come up with a different one.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31That's not helping me at all.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38You know, I love Second World War binoculars
0:16:38 > 0:16:42because, in my view, they're some of the best binoculars ever built.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46What do you know about these and why have you got them?
0:16:46 > 0:16:49My father was a submarine CO during the war
0:16:49 > 0:16:52and on the 10th of May, 1945,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55all the German U-boats were told to surrender.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And the U-249,
0:16:58 > 0:17:03which was the first German U-boat to arrive in UK waters,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06came into Weymouth Bay and surrendered
0:17:06 > 0:17:10and Dad was sent down to be the prize crew.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12And he went on board with his crew
0:17:12 > 0:17:15and, um...took command.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20The first thing Dad liberated was this lovely pair of binoculars
0:17:20 > 0:17:24and then, amongst the other things he brought home,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26was the visitors' book of the U-249
0:17:26 > 0:17:29which is this book here. That's this?
0:17:29 > 0:17:35That's the official visitors' book for the submarine. That's amazing. Let's have a quick look inside.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Now, here you've got a photograph. This is your father here?
0:17:39 > 0:17:43This is my father there. With the tin hat on? With the tin hat on.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45And these binoculars...
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Those are the binoculars? ..round his neck already. Good grief!
0:17:48 > 0:17:53And there standing alongside him is Lieutenant-Commander Koch
0:17:53 > 0:17:56who was the German commanding officer
0:17:56 > 0:17:59of the submarine up until the point that Dad took it over.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02And the previous owner of the binoculars? Yes.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05We've got some other photographs and he's got a smile on his face.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07He doesn't look very happy there.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10I don't blame him. I wouldn't either.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15These binoculars, in my view, are probably the best ever built.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Yes. They're fantastic. I believe so.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22They've got the most incredible optics. They're incredibly bright.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28They're a fixed focus, so you can't focus them. There is an adjustment for each eye. There is indeed.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30I can show you, in fact. Show me.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32OK, if we look at the binoculars,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35they've got a rubber bumper round them.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40Yes. And then you take this rubber off.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44That looks a bit stiff. It's quite tight. Pretty tight. Yes.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47I guess with going up and down the conning tower,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49they would have been bashed about.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50You can see...
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Dad used these binoculars the rest of his submarine career.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57He used them himself? Yes, and then he gave them to me.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01I used them when I was a captain of submarines
0:19:01 > 0:19:03in the '70s and '80s.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07There's the adjusting screw there. Yes, plus and minus.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09These are your binoculars
0:19:09 > 0:19:13once you're issued with them and you set your own focus on them. Right.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Then put the rubber bumper back on.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20"BLC", those are the code letters of the manufacturer? That's right.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22These are Zeiss binoculars.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25That's the code letter for Zeiss, you're quite right, yes.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29These are certainly superb binoculars.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Now, on their own, these binoculars have sold
0:19:33 > 0:19:39for, recently, ?1,200, ?1,400. On their own.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43However, because you've got the U-boat visitors' book
0:19:43 > 0:19:45and the provenance surrounding them
0:19:45 > 0:19:48and you've got photographs and you've got, presumably,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50all sorts of other things... Yes.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53..it makes it a very important lot.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57You could certainly double that, in my view,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59to ?2,500 to ?3,000,
0:19:59 > 0:20:03and it wouldn't surprise me if somebody paid even more
0:20:03 > 0:20:06on the day at auction.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08It's very unusual to find. Yeah.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Very unusual. Well, fantastic.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17I was given it, when I got married, by my husband,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21so, 1981, and he had inherited it from his uncle.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25He believes that it was probably bought by his great-uncle
0:20:25 > 0:20:27when he was out in South Africa in the Boer War.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29That's about all I know.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Right at the tail end of the 19th century. Yeah.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37It's made in round about 1900, so that would be the right period.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39It's a very simple pendant
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and you could be forgiven, when you look at it,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44for thinking it isn't very inspiring,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48not the most demonstrative piece of jewellery, which it's not,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51but there's something rather unusual about it.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Now, the stone in the middle is a sapphire.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00It's polished in the cabochon, in the domed form of the sapphire.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04And this was a feature of stones, particularly in round about 1900,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08when quite a lot of specimen stones were coming on to the market
0:21:08 > 0:21:10that were a bit unusual
0:21:10 > 0:21:13and collectors would buy these sorts of stones
0:21:13 > 0:21:16because they were a little bit different. Right.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18In direct sunlight, or when light pours down
0:21:18 > 0:21:20on top of the surface of the stone,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23it reveals a rather unusual characteristic
0:21:23 > 0:21:28and that is a six-rayed crossing star effect.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34OK. In other words, we call these star sapphires
0:21:34 > 0:21:39and the star in this particular piece is a very, very fine one.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44It's very sharp, it's very prominent and it's very central.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48And this is how we value sapphires.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52It's this typical, characteristic chalk-blue colour,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55but because of the fact that the star is so central
0:21:55 > 0:21:58and because it's so sharp, it's a collector's gem.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Now, the frame is prosaic,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04it's four little diamonds set in quatrefoil cluster formation
0:22:04 > 0:22:07and I just want to mention that
0:22:07 > 0:22:10because that's the brooch pin that you can screw
0:22:10 > 0:22:11into the back of the frame
0:22:11 > 0:22:15to convert it, if you so desired, into a separate brooch.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Do you wear it as a brooch?
0:22:17 > 0:22:20No, it's too heavy and it droops. Does it drop forward? Yeah.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23So you wear it as a pendant? Yeah.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24It might be pleasing to hear
0:22:24 > 0:22:28that it's worth something in the region of ?4,000.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31GASPS OK. Thank you very much.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37This is a rather bawdy picture, isn't it?
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Well, it is a bit fruity, yes.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Fruity in more ways than one!
0:22:42 > 0:22:44It's wonderful.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46So where did you get it from?
0:22:46 > 0:22:49I've known it all my life.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53It was in a house that my parents bought in 1949.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57It was left behind by the previous owners above the fireplace.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02I don't think my father paid anything for it. I was one at the time.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06So, we moved in and I've known it all the time.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08What a great thing to get with a house!
0:23:08 > 0:23:11This picture is in wonderful, original condition.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15You can see this panel has been made up of three pieces of wood.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Then you can see the flaking on the right-hand side.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22That's due to dampness getting into the ground.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26We've got it in a Victorian frame, but it's on an old panel. Yeah.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30In fact, this subject matter is 16th century.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Is it as old as that? Yeah.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35And that's what it is. Now, when was it painted?
0:23:35 > 0:23:39I think fairly close to that because looking at the panel,
0:23:39 > 0:23:40it's got that age. I love it.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44In my eyes, that's a very commercial picture. Brilliant.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47There's an artist called Joachim Beuckelaer
0:23:47 > 0:23:50who is 1500s, Flemish.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54It's quite in his style, but it's not good enough, because if it was,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56it would be worth a lot of money.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Right. But I think this is still quite valuable. Yes.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Even with a split and flaking,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04I think a lot of people will like this
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and I think it will make certainly ?5,000 to ?7,000...
0:24:07 > 0:24:10That's interesting. If not 6 to 8.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13It's very nice. It's got everything. Right. Brilliant.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17These appear to be really stunning vases in Sevres porcelain,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21but I get the impression that at one time, they looked very different.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Do you know much about them? Not really, no.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26We've had them, what, 55 years.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32We bought them off my brother-in-law who used to trawl antique...
0:24:32 > 0:24:36well, second-hand shops as they were 50-odd years ago in Bristol,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38buying up things that he fancied.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40I don't even know what we gave for them.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Let's go back to the 1830s
0:24:42 > 0:24:45when Sevres porcelain from the 18th century
0:24:45 > 0:24:47was worth a huge amount of money.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Vases were worth a fortune then and there weren't enough to go around,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55so there became quite an interesting industry creating vases
0:24:55 > 0:24:57for collectors at that time.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59When I look at the shape of this,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03I get the impression there's two different shapes here.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05We've got the...
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Can you imagine that perhaps as a teacup? A teacup, yes.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11And that as a teapot lid? Yes.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Because these are part of a different tea set.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Oh, right.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20The Sevres porcelain factory produced a lot of simple designs,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24little patterns of flowers and bugs and rather simple patterns,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28and what collectors wanted were the coloured grounds,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32the richly painted birds, the turquoise grounds with the gilding,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34and specially made as vases.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36And decorators came along
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and bought up these cheap tea sets with no decoration
0:25:39 > 0:25:42and changed them and they made them into vases.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46If we look around the back of this vase, on this side,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49there's a little mark. You probably won't have noticed this.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53A little scar. Can you see it under there? Yes.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Imagine a handle coming out there. Yes. That was a teacup.
0:25:57 > 0:26:03Goodness! But they knocked the handle off, ground it down, and ended up
0:26:03 > 0:26:07with a nice, plain shape to put rather better decoration on,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10so they added the best style of Sevres painting
0:26:10 > 0:26:13from what would have been done in the 1750s
0:26:13 > 0:26:16and they made a pair of fakes in a way,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18creating copies of the real thing.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Goodness me!
0:26:20 > 0:26:23But there's good news as well as bad
0:26:23 > 0:26:27because although they're fakes, they're jolly good quality.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31I love the ormolu. This is really good quality, gilded bronze.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Mounts on both of them.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36That one's lost... Do you have the handle? Yes, I do.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39It's just come off, has it? Yes.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41I never got round to replacing it.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44That can be mended. It can be put back together again.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46This ormolu is good quality.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50It's wonderfully-done Rococo revival. That was made in the 1830s,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52probably in London.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Probably these are British rather than, say, French.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00Adding the decoration to them to create what would have been then
0:27:00 > 0:27:03the equivalent of many thousands of pounds today.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06They're probably worth, even with damage,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08?1,000. Goodness me!
0:27:10 > 0:27:12I can't believe that.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17We just put them in the cabinet and forgot about them.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Remember these three nutcrackers I was discussing earlier on
0:27:30 > 0:27:34as part of our Basic, Better, Best challenge? One worth ?300,
0:27:34 > 0:27:38one worth ?3,500 and one worth ?6,500.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Well, look, I have decided
0:27:40 > 0:27:44that I'm going to order them in preference.
0:27:44 > 0:27:50This is best because I like it the most. Now, Adam,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53before you tell me, these are all known as treen.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Just explain what that is.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59It's a lovely word. It covers a massive range of objects.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Simply small objects made of wood.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Made out of tree. Just add an N and you've got the word.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Looking at these nutcrackers,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12certainly a couple of them have got astonishing values.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14What should we be looking at?
0:28:14 > 0:28:19Firstly, you should look for style, the style of the carving.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23You should also be looking at the type of wood and also the build-up
0:28:23 > 0:28:25of a patination through use.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30And there's nothing more earthy than a nutcracker. It's held in the hand,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33it has to exert a bit of pressure to crack the nut.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38A well-made nutcracker should last an awful long time.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Go on, talk us through it.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44How do we work out the respective values of these?
0:28:44 > 0:28:47It's not easy, but here we go.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49This one you've got down as Basic.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53I'm delighted to say you've got off to a good start.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57This is the basic one. Notice the flat features,
0:28:57 > 0:29:01very typical of a 17th-century English nutcracker.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03It has this stylised headgear
0:29:03 > 0:29:07and it finishes with a substantial spherical knob,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10which is obviously good for strength, but...
0:29:10 > 0:29:14the big "but" is that nutcrackers of an early period
0:29:14 > 0:29:18were reproduced in the 19th and early 20th century
0:29:18 > 0:29:22and that's exactly what this is. Oh, I see.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26It's basic from the point of view that it's an Arts and Crafts copy
0:29:26 > 0:29:28of a much earlier one.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30So, thus, ?300-worth.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35So the better one worth ?3,500, a massive leap... A big jump.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40I'm going to go - because you've got these the wrong way round -
0:29:40 > 0:29:42this is the better. Oh.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45I'm going to just demonstrate...
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Oh! Do you know, I thought it might be
0:29:48 > 0:29:53because this is so ornate, but it was so charming. It is charming.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57It is the primitive style of them that I love. This is unusual.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58It's a flat-face lady.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02Again, if you have a raised nose and features sticking out,
0:30:02 > 0:30:06when you use it they're more likely to get broken,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09so the British standard is flat features, nothing sticking out.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13And this is made of boxwood, one of the hardest timbers.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17So how old is this? This one, early 18th century.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19About 1720.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21But it's the face of a woman.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25Normally, they're men, so this is quite scarce from that angle.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29This one is in astonishingly good condition.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33?3,500 would probably be about the price you'd pay. Gosh.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35For something like this.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39Because of its fabulous condition, it could even be worth more.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42So there we are.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44This brings us to the best.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48Quite a few people thought so because it's so beautifully carved.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52I thought there might be a counterintuitive thing going on,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54but it is fantastically ornate.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58I actually chose one that had a very old repair.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00At the sides are these metal plates.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Yes. Which themselves could be 200-year-old repairs.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08Believe it or not, this piece is late-16th century. Gosh.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12That has been cracking nuts for centuries.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17It's probably French, could be Italian. It's boxwood again,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21so it's given it that hardness, but it's like melted toffee.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23It's just gorgeous. Handled so much.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27And one delight of treen is that it's so beautiful to handle.
0:31:27 > 0:31:32It's light, it's crisp, you can touch the decoration.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36And it's got this bearded fellow with this wonderful swag of hair,
0:31:36 > 0:31:41a lovely acanthus scroll for the front lever. It's got everything.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44?6,500.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Gosh. Well, they're absolutely beautiful.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52I didn't know anything about nutcrackers until you came along.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57I don't know how well-versed you were. I'd better put these in order.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59So Basic...
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Better...and Best.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07There's nothing that I could imagine
0:32:07 > 0:32:10that would brighten up a day more than this.
0:32:10 > 0:32:16It's a psychedelic, decorated cart. Tell me about it.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Well, it's a Sicilian farm cart.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22It's in festive harness.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Otherwise, they use them as everyday...or they did.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28In Sicily? In Sicily, yes.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31So they would use it for transporting wine, wood...
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Farm stuff, anything.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37But nothing too heavy. It's quite small.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Were they used in the rural landscape or the towns?
0:32:41 > 0:32:44This came from the foot of Mount Etna.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48It sounds as though there's some personal experience here.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50It started with a stallion donkey
0:32:50 > 0:32:55that was in a field waiting to go for salami.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59And instead of bringing motorcycles old ones, back from Italy,
0:32:59 > 0:33:01which we'd taken the vehicle for,
0:33:01 > 0:33:05we ended up with a stallion donkey of 11 months in the back.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10There was a donkey you found that was going to be used for salami?
0:33:10 > 0:33:15Yes. Is that the usual use for donkeys in Sicily? Really?
0:33:15 > 0:33:17I think it was in those days, yes.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22These days being the '50s, '60s? Em, yes. The '60s.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26And did this become a passion for you, donkey rescuing? Yes.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28What's that?
0:33:28 > 0:33:32I was going to say. That was four that we brought back together.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37One was nearly 16 hands high. This one looks more like a mule.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42Yes. After that it became anything out of the market,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46or any friends that had got some. Amazing.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51This is obviously a donkey cart. It's much too small for a horse.
0:33:51 > 0:33:52This is the thing.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Most of them that are left are the big ones for horses.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Have you got a picture of the cart in its heyday?
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Yes, that's her.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06With the dress and everything. Oh, that's fantastic.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11Is this you dressed up in this outfit? Yes. Many years ago!
0:34:11 > 0:34:15And the name of the donkey? Marisa. Marisa.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20And here's the cart itself. Did you use it for display? Shows?
0:34:20 > 0:34:24With the Donkey Breed Society we mainly collected for charity.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29Amazing. Let's just enjoy the object.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34First, there's the harness itself with the glittering sequins
0:34:34 > 0:34:39and the mirrors that would have caught the sun and really flashed.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42And when one gets into the body of the cart,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45there's a wonderful story going around the side,
0:34:45 > 0:34:47which looks as if it's about Orlando.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51There was this wonderful Italian poem in the 16th century
0:34:51 > 0:34:55called Orlando and it may be that these scenes
0:34:55 > 0:34:57are scenes from that poem.
0:34:57 > 0:35:03But inside there are the colours, obviously, of the Italian flag
0:35:03 > 0:35:07and these decorated spokes - extraordinary with the figures
0:35:07 > 0:35:09with their plumed helmets.
0:35:09 > 0:35:14On the back here is the name Domenico Di Mauro. Yes.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19The man who painted it. That's right. That's where we got it.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24And he is considered to be one of the greatest exponents
0:35:24 > 0:35:26of decorating carrettos
0:35:26 > 0:35:30in the 20th century. So you've got a real masterpiece here.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33I would have said it was new
0:35:33 > 0:35:36at the time you bought it in the 1960s,
0:35:36 > 0:35:40but the actual carcass of the cart is an earlier one.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42It's a tricky thing to value.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45The market for this - who knows where it is?
0:35:45 > 0:35:49All I can say is that it's an incredibly decorative object
0:35:49 > 0:35:52and you could imagine somebody really falling for it,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55whether they own a donkey or not.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00So I would put the value at around ?1,500. Really?
0:36:00 > 0:36:04But it's lovely that you've preserved a piece of...
0:36:04 > 0:36:08The donkeys have all gone now, I'm afraid. The donkeys have gone.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10Age is MY problem, actually!
0:36:10 > 0:36:14Well, you've looked after many donkeys in your time. Yes.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16They've all gone, but the cart survives.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Well done, you, for looking after it. Thank you.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22And keeping it in all its glory.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25I was sitting at my table
0:36:25 > 0:36:28watching this guitar case wending its way
0:36:28 > 0:36:32along the queue, willing it to arrive at my table.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35And I opened this case and what did I see?
0:36:35 > 0:36:39This beautiful Slingerland Maybell guitar.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44Now, tell me a little bit about it from your point of view. Right.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48I always remember it in the house,
0:36:48 > 0:36:53my father playing it, but not as a normal guitar.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55As a slide guitar.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Right. Hawaiian music.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03It's funny you should say that. It has a very high action on it.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07I'm a guitarist and I can't play this guitar.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09It's had a brass bridge put on it,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12which puts the action right up to play slide guitar.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16So he didn't play it like this, he played it like that. On his lap.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Now, that's very interesting. The model is a Nighthawk.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23It's an archtop guitar.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25This dates from the late 1930s.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29I think this model was introduced I'm sure in around about 1936.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32So it's a very, very old guitar.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36At what point did your father acquire it?
0:37:36 > 0:37:391944. We actually got a receipt.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43Would that be what this piece of paper is? That's that. Let's look.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45Arcade Music Shop.
0:37:45 > 0:37:51"Everything in the musical line". In Pontypridd. ?15, 10 shillings.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53Yeah. That was a lot of money.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56He said it was about four weeks' wages at the time.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58So what possessed him to pay that?
0:37:58 > 0:38:03I don't know. He said he liked it, he went into the shop and bought it.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07Gosh, I would have liked to have seen your father playing it.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09I've got a photo of him here.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14That was before he had it altered to Hawaiian style.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19Fantastic. What a brilliant photo. So nice to see him with his guitar.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24What's interesting is that it's an American guitar, from Chicago.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26And they are beautiful.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30This, to me, is a piece of furniture, not just an instrument.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35You can probably tell how passionate I am about old guitars. Yeah.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39I've owned a few in my time. I do love to be able to play them.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42I think it's an absolute beauty.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45I'd love to own it, but to own it
0:38:45 > 0:38:47I'd have to pay ?1,000.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Gosh!
0:38:52 > 0:38:57It's a real beauty. And they're very collectable in America. Wow.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03I'm overwhelmed. Good.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09For hours and hours on every Roadshow day, I get swamped
0:39:09 > 0:39:14with Swiss and American watches, so it's absolutely delightful to see
0:39:14 > 0:39:17a good-quality British watch.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19Oh, right. And I use the word British
0:39:19 > 0:39:23because I want you to tell me where you think it's come from.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27I have no idea. My father inherited it.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30He used to bring it out every now and then and say,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32"This is the family coat of arms."
0:39:32 > 0:39:37And I believe a cousin had a seal with the same coat of arms.
0:39:37 > 0:39:42OK, because we have here, obviously, the crest and the armorial
0:39:42 > 0:39:46and then, south of the border, we have the motto there,
0:39:46 > 0:39:48but the motto on top of the crest
0:39:48 > 0:39:53is very much a Scottish thing, rather than English or Welsh.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56We do have a family tree going right back,
0:39:56 > 0:39:59but I didn't know that any of them are Scottish.
0:39:59 > 0:40:05OK. Now, it's got an extra hand. Right.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10Do you know what that hand does? No! I don't, I'm afraid.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12It is an alarm hand. Right.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16So this very, very unusual pendant,
0:40:16 > 0:40:18I'll demonstrate later,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22but you can move that round and that moves the alarm hand round.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Right. Now this is an early watch
0:40:24 > 0:40:28and it's a very early watch to have an alarm. Oh, right.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32So you've obviously never used it, never really looked at it.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34No, it's been locked away.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39My father had it locked in a cupboard and we've had it locked in a safe.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42Well, first thing is the hallmark,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45which is London, 1809.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Right. So just over 200 years old.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51OK. The case maker's mark up there is LC, which is Louis Comtesse.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53If you've opened the back recently
0:40:53 > 0:40:57you will know that there are two winding squares. Yes.
0:40:57 > 0:41:02The bottom one with the serpent is for the actual watch movement. Yes.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07But up here we have what looks like some sort of cavalry officer
0:41:07 > 0:41:11on a horse and he's blowing a horn.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Right. And that horn, basically,
0:41:13 > 0:41:17is the clue that that is where you wind the alarm. Right.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22The other very intriguing thing, it says Patent 101. Yes.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24And I can shed, at the moment,
0:41:24 > 0:41:28no light on that. That needs further research. OK.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32But I can tell you there is a watch very similar to this
0:41:32 > 0:41:36in a very, very well-known book on pocket watches
0:41:36 > 0:41:38that is five years later than this
0:41:38 > 0:41:40and it is signed by Viner of London.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45Right. Who was an exceptionally fine clock and watchmaker.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47Let us see if it's signed on the inside.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50This is the cuvette, which we lift up.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55There is no signature at all, but again Patent 101
0:41:55 > 0:41:58on the balance cock there.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01It will be a duplex escapement.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Top-grade London movement.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Unsigned, which I just find very, very intriguing. Yes.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11To have an alarm watch like this of that age is very, very unusual.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15I'll just show you how you move it. You get this and you rotate it.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20Right. And it moves round. Now the alarm would go off at 6.30.
0:42:20 > 0:42:21If it worked.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25Super watch in the hand, good size, cracking good weight.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28I really hope I'm going to surprise you on the price.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31It's five years earlier than the only other one.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35It's not signed, but it's got the patent number on it.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37Collectors will die for it.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41I'm going to start off
0:42:41 > 0:42:43at about ?7,000. Right.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47And it wouldn't surprise me at all with the extra research
0:42:47 > 0:42:49if we double that figure. Wow!
0:42:49 > 0:42:51OK! It's going back in the safe!
0:42:51 > 0:42:54What a shame! It is!
0:42:56 > 0:42:59I started cantering down the winning straight,
0:42:59 > 0:43:03so where better to end than the winner's enclosure?
0:43:03 > 0:43:07It's the only chance I'm ever going to get to stand here.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09Thank you to the people of Monmouthshire.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13From the whole Roadshow team, from Chepstow,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15until next time, bye-bye.
0:43:47 > 0:43:48It's Biscuit Week.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Must try not to drop them.
0:43:51 > 0:43:52It's going to be messy.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55First batch in...
0:43:55 > 0:43:56# It's so important