Shaw Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the show that rummages around people's homes, finds all the hidden gems

then takes them to auction to raise funds for our families.

We all like getting gifts, but let's be honest, some of them remind us of things that are best

forgotten, a bit like today's lady, who wants to clear out all

that type of clutter and that's why she's called in Cash In The Attic.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic... Some unexpected finds get us all very excited!

Did I hear a magic word just then?

You heard the word "Cartier"...

And some heavy-duty candelabra get a rather hefty price tag...

Very good valuation, James.

Thank you, but can we find something a little lighter next time!

I'm sure we can!

So, will we all be laughing come auction day?

You must be pleased with that!

-I am!

-That is really good, isn't it?

Find out when the final hammer falls.

I'm in the really picturesque village

of Bearsted in Kent to meet Annette.

She's had a lot to deal with in the last few years, but she's decided

it's time to move forward with her personal life and provide some stability for her children.

Annette Shaw has lived in Kent for the last six years, together with

her two children, 12-year-old Charles and 11-year-old Olivia.

Annette is a former baroness, but she lost her title

when her first marriage ended,

but happily she found love a second time around with Adie, who she met

on holiday in Egypt and the couple tied the knot just over a year ago.

Annette suffers from multiple sclerosis and has plans of moving

to a new, more manageable, home,

but having amassed a lifetime of collectables,

she has decided a clear-out is required

and has called in her mum, Anne, and the Cash In The Attic team to help.

James Rylands is our antiques expert today, so whilst he makes a start, I'll meet the girls.

Aah, good morning.

-You must be Annette?

-I am indeed.

Hi, hi, and you're Mum?

-That's right!

-I thought so.

-Lovely to meet you.

-And you.

You've called in Cash In The Attic, haven't you?

Yes. I've got so many things indoors that I no longer use

and, hopefully, some of them are valuable.

They're collectables and I just thought we could make a few pounds.

What do you want to raise the money for, then?

We'd like to put it towards a deposit on a house.

-This is only rented and also because of the MS, I need some adaptations.

-How long have you had that for?

20 years, about 20 years, so really, we need as much money as we can towards this house.

Have you got a figure in mind of how much you'd like to raise?

I think, realistically, £800 would be fantastic.

OK, so we need to raise £800.

We won't get much time for a break today.

Shall we see if James has found any of these lovely items yet?

-Yes.

-Come on, then.

It sounds like today's rummage really could have life-changing consequences for Annette

so let's hope we can uncover plenty of valuables and raise that all-important deposit.

What have you got there?

-Something that's very heavy!

-You're not kidding!

Now that's impressive. Can you impress us with your valuation?

I'll impress you with something else.

It's one of a pair. I've just seen the other one sitting there.

Tell me the story about these candelabra, then?

These were given to me by my ex-husband when we lived

in a very large house, but here, they look slightly out of place!

You could say they are very grand, aren't they?

So we've got this combination of green marble and then what we call "gilt bronze",

or "d'or moulu",

which the "d'or", gold in French, and then "moulu",

which was actually the process of putting it on where they

had the gold leaf and they mixed it up with mercury and once it had been put on,

they then used heat and flames to actually burn the mercury off, leaving the gold...

And die shortly afterwards, presumably!

-That's exactly what happened, that is exactly what happened!

-Oh, no!

They all died of mercury poisoning so it was a hugely expensive process.

And how old are these as a particular example?

I've looked underneath and they've actually got "Made in Italy",

which tells me they were made in the 20th century.

What sort of value could we be talking about, James?

When it comes to value, I guess we're probably looking at

about between £80 and £120. We're talking about decoration

-rather than rarity.

-What do you think of that valuation?

-It's absolutely fine!

-Yes, I thought it was a very good valuation, James.

Thank you, but, Annette, can we find something

-a little lighter next time?!

-I'm sure we can, indeed!

I begin my search upstairs in Annette's bedroom and I find a pair

of his and hers watches that she was given as a wedding present.

They were made by Asprey & Garrard, the London-based jewellers

best-known for their upkeep of the Crown Jewels.

Annette's house may be hiding more than we imagined!

James values the pair at £60 to £100.

Hey, James... What do you think of this?

What have we got here? Ooh, we've got lots of sculpture you've found.

Where did these come from?

I have no idea!

Well, what have we got here?

-Now do you know why I'm doing that, tapping that?

-No.

-Well, if I tap it, that tells me what material it's made out of.

-How clever!

In this case it's made of bronze, so this one here, which is a nice charming group and it's

based on a 19th-century original French piece and there is a bit of a signature in the back,

which is difficult to make out,

-but this one, do you know how old this is?

-I have no idea.

I think that this has probably been made in the last 20 or 30 years

and not in France, actually out in the Far East,

probably in Thailand.

This is very European, isn't it?

-Well, look, I'm tapping her again.

-She's beautiful!

-She is beautiful.

She is actually not bronze, she's actually made of a material that's

a resin, so it's a sort of composition copying bronze.

We've got a little signature here,

who I don't know, but I would think that's probably...

This would have been made in the 1970s

and very much in the style of that great impressionist painter and sculptor, Degas.

The original would have been done at the end of the 19th century

and so this man has copied that, so basically

what we've got here is a real bronze,

albeit it modern, and then two copies of bronzes made in

a resin-based material, but not sort of old or rare or whatever...

They basically have a sort of decorative price.

-I'm going to say I think probably between £50 and £100.

-Well, that's very interesting.

-It's money in the pot, isn't it?

-Yes, it certainly is.

You seem very sure of that, James,

but exactly how much money remains to be seen on auction day.

A bit of interest in the book, straight in at £50, any advance?

Good! It's got a bid of 50.

-Lots of places, now. 52, 55, 58, 60, 62...

-Oh, look!

65, 68, 70, 72...

Find out later in the show.

Back in the rummage, Annette shows James a stunning games table,

which she bought from auction a few years ago.

It's a modern piece, but in an early 19th-century style,

with walnut veneer and detailed marquetry. James hopes it will make

£200-£400.

Anne has been concentrating her efforts in the packed garage

and her hard work pays off when she digs out this rather impressive glass decanter.

It was made by the Czech company Mosa who specialised in producing high-quality Bohemian glassware.

James thinks that £30 to £50 is all we can expect from it today.

While the others rummage, I thought we'd take a little break.

You and your mum seem really close.

We are. We've always been close and I think a good family network

is a very important thing to have.

Obviously, she's your mum and you're her little girl,

so it must have been hard for her when you were diagnosed with MS?

Mmm, I think it was.

Was the fact that you had your mum around vital to helping you keep going?

Everybody needs breathing space, especially going through something like that.

Yes. Mum and Dad are wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

And I think, yeah, family bonds you together and keeps you going

and as much as my children are important to me, my parents are, as well.

Tell me about the family background, because you're all quite musical, aren't you?

My father was a pianist and my mum was a singer and we all had a musical talent of sorts.

I used to play the flute and my brother was a viola player.

You came from this musical background.

What did you go on to, because you didn't stay in music?

-No, I became a legal secretary.

-Is that how you met your husband?

Yep. I met my husband, he worked in the City, as well,

and married for 11 years and two gorgeous children.

How do you feel that we're selling some of these things,

which obviously are quite a reflection of the life you used to live?

-Does it feel strange to be getting rid of them?

-No, that time has passed.

Is it the opposite effect, then? It's actually quite nice to see them go at this stage?

Mmm, yes, it is.

Well, I'm pleased Annette has no qualms about parting with her collectables,

so the more we can find, the better.

Anne has finished her search in the garage and is now busy in the house

where she soon finds a pair of highly-decorated plates.

They were given to Annette as a gift and were designed by Versace, no less!

Sadly, and despite the name,

James isn't convinced of their collectability

and values them at a rather disappointing £20 to £40.

James, Anne, are you there?

Hiya. Well done! What do you think of this?

I should think you are just about to serve us some tea!

I've got a few pieces out of the box but do you know what is in there?

I believe it's a tea service.

That's fantastic and I'll tell you what's great is here we have the history of Meissen on one plate!

The thing about Meissen is it was the first European porcelain factory

that discovered hard paste porcelain.

Before then, it had only been made over in China and the Orient and the Europeans were desperate to find out

how to actually make it

and they discovered it in Meissen in about 1710 which is when

the factory here first started

and on this plate here you've got all the various histories,

like you've got "AR" at the top there. That's for Augustus Rex

who was the king over in Germany when it was first produced.

KPM, which stands for "Konigliche Porcelain Manufacture",

and then down here, we've got Bott...

Well, I'm not even going to pronounce that,

but basically it's named after Bottger,

who was one of the original starters of the Meissen porcelain factory.

It is good quality, but it's not especially old,

so I think, for the whole lot, we'll probably put something like

£200 to £400 on it, something like that.

-Goodness me!

-That's a nice thing to have in the kitty.

-Brilliant!

That's a super addition to our auction haul.

A few more discoveries like this and we'll breeze past our £800 target.

I'm on a bit of a roll as, like a magpie to diamonds, I spot these

very desirable hand-printed, hand-stitched Hermes scarves.

James thinks this collection of six could fetch somewhere between £30 to £80 on the day.

James has been conducting a final search of the garage

to see if Anne missed anything and he discovers a box

containing a full set of Stuart Crystal glass.

They're in perfect condition and, as a wedding present from her first marriage,

Annette is more than happy to see the back of them,

so they head to auction with a very impressive

£100 to £150 price tag.

-What have you got there, Annette?

-It's a Hermes ashtray. I forgot I had this!

-Really!

It's a jolly nice thing to forget that you actually had.

The firm was started in 1837 by Thierry Hermes

and originally they made harnesses and bridals for carriages.

That would be the connection with the scarves and the equestrian connection?

Absolutely. Originally, that's what it was and that's why some

Hermes styles, you're right, have bridals and things on them.

But it wasn't actually until the early 20th century that Hermes were really on the map

with one of his descendants, Emile-Maurice Hermes, because they were still making leather,

but rather than harness-wear, they had gone into leather clothes and he got a sort of franchise,

an exclusive deal, to produce clothes with the first zipper on them

and then in the 1930s - 1937 - was when they actually started,

they opened their first factory, in Lyon in France, purely devoted to making scarves

and it was out of that, really, they then in later years went into this sort of luxury line

of producing everything from watches to ashtrays to lots

of other really high-end design things. This one here is actually made

of Limoges porcelain, so one of the leading French porcelain factories as well.

They still do have value.

I would think something like this is probably worth around about £50 to £80. How does that sound?

-Fair enough.

-Not bad for an ashtray!

-Not bad at all.

Annette really has collected some lovely pieces over the years

and in the bedroom, her mum finds more evidence of this when she spots a very attractive Limoges tea set.

It was a gift from her first husband and James thinks it could fetch

another £80 to £120 on sale day.

-What have you got there?

-A watch.

It's not just any old watch...

That is a Cartier watch!

Ooh, did I hear a magic word?

You heard the word "Cartier", yes!

-Let me have a look, let me have a look!

-Have you got the box for this?

No box. I bought it off of my ex-boyfriend's mother.

-That's a bit tortuous, isn't it?!

-Yeah, it is!

-22 years ago.

Well, you do like nice things, don't you?

-I do.

-Obviously an eye for quality because I mean Cartier, that is THE name to conjure with.

Thousands of pounds are paid for these things new.

Is it the same with this one? Is that worth £1,000?

We're not talking thousands of pounds. It's 20-30 years old, something like that.

On the back here, actually, it does tell me that it's got all the Cartier marks, which is great,

and it tells me also that it's gold-plated rather than solid gold,

so that all has a bearing on the value.

We're probably looking at between £150 and £300.

What do you think of that, Annette?

-That's more than I thought.

-Really? That's good!

-Presumably you're pleased with that, yeah?

-Absolutely!

-Well done!

OK, talking of time, we're out of time when it comes to our rummage.

You'll be delighted that the value of everything

-going to auction comes to £1,050.

-Wow!

-Oh, marvellous!

What a hugely successful day we've had in Kent with Annette Shaw and her mum

and what a terrific array of items we've got for auction.

The magnificent pair of 20th-century candelabra...

You'll need a big house to keep them but not a huge fortune to buy them.

We're looking for £80-£120.

The beautifully inlaid pine and walnut games chest.

It's not antique, but the quality is superb and will hopefully tempt the bidders into paying

upwards of its £200-£400 estimate.

And the collection of Meissen porcelain.

We're hoping the porcelain bidders will be out in force,

so we can raise upwards of its £200-£400 price tag.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic...

I find out what James and Anne got up to on rummage day...

And that was when you and I were alone together in the garage!

Yes, it was lovely!

All right, anyway, moving swiftly on...

And there are high hopes for a stylish crowd at auction.

I'm sure here in Essex, the fashion aficionados are going to be out in force.

So, will our items be in vogue?

Find out when the final hammer falls.

It's been a few weeks since we met Annette and her mum over in Kent.

We found lots of lovely items that we've brought here to Stacey's Auction House in Rayleigh, Essex.

Remember, Annette is looking to raise around £800 so she can move on

with her life, so let's just hope that the bidders get their cash out when the bidding starts today.

This family-run auction house

has been holding regular sales since it began trading back in 1947

and it would seem that they are as busy as ever, with a staggering 1,200 lots on offer in today's sale.

-Morning, ladies.

-Hi, how are you doing?

-Hello, hi.

-Good morning.

-These are lovely,

but I noticed in the catalogue, we're missing a couple.

I actually found a buyer for four of the scarves.

-Why are these two being held back?

-Just because they preferred the other four.

Something else has happened with the glass collection.

-What's going on there?

-Yeah, the same thing.

I had a buyer who offered me £500 for them, so...

I can't blame you for taking that!

-Busy girl. That's good news!

-Absolutely!

-We've still got the water jug?

-Yes, that's right.

And you're not missing any of these items?

-You're happy for them all to sell?

-All of them.

-Right, OK.

You've already banked £500, plus a bit extra,

-before you got here, so let's see what we can make today.

-OK, then.

Annette has done brilliantly, selling her collection of glass for £500,

but if we're still aiming to raise £800 today, the items that have made it will have to perform amazingly.

I do hope the bidders are feeling generous!

We'll soon find out, as it's time for our first lot of the day.

It's the Hermes ashtray.

We have the Hermes ashtray. Pretty thing, lots of interest here on the book...

Good, good, good!

Right here now it's £70.

Any advances on £70 now? It's here with me, are we all done then?

-Commission bid and I'm selling at £70.

-Great!

-Wow.

It didn't even get to the room, because it went straight on commission. Fantastic!

That's how we like to start an auction -

just £10 shy of James' top estimate, and most importantly,

we have our first contribution towards the deposit for Annette's new home.

Unfortunately, the Versace plates don't prove as popular...

Sorry, they didn't sell.

..and they're heading back home with Annette.

I hope we have more interest in our next item.

Next, we've got the three statues

and that's when you and I were alone together

-in the garage!

-Yes, it was lovely!

-Three... Anyway!

-All right, anyway, moving swiftly on...

Three statues, one is bronze, two are sort of a resin-based material, quite decorative, £50-£100.

-I'm hoping they will make it.

-OK.

-A bit of interest in the book, straight in at £50, any advance...

-Straight in at £50!

Lots of places now. 52, 55, 58...

60, 62, 65...

68, 70, 72, 75, 78...

-Brilliant!

-80, 85...

-This is what we want.

-90...

-That's fantastic!

-95, 100. At £100 now, back of the room.

Are we all done? Selling, make no mistake, the hammer's up at £100.

Thank you, sir.

£100 - absolute top end of the estimate. Well done, James.

That's much more like it.

Anne may not have liked the sculptures,

but plenty of people in the room did

and it's another much-needed contribution to the new home fund.

'One of my favourite lots next. I love these.'

It's the collection of hand-stitched Hermes scarves.

We've put them in, the two, at £10-£20,

so we're hoping at that sort of level, it will elicit

some interest, but I'm sure here in Essex, the fashion aficionados are going to be out in force.

I must start the bidding at £50.

Are we all done then? It's you and me, lots of places now...

55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80...

-85, 90...

-Aah!

At £90 now. 95 back on the book against you now, at £95 now,

commission bid on the book against you in the room. Are we all done and I'm selling.

Against you all. It's on the book at £95.

-You must be pleased with that!

-I'm happy.

-That is really good!

The good folk of Essex may not be interested in designer plates

but the designer scarves got their attention, and deservedly so.

It's anyone's guess what they'll make of our next lot,

the pair of candelabra.

£60, 65 I'm bid, thank you. At £65 now. Are we all done at £65? 65.

-That's not a lot of money, compared to our estimate. How do you feel about that?

-I don't mind.

I'm pleased Annette's not too disappointed

with that result and it goes to show the change

in our tastes when it comes to interior fashion.

And I don't think that's altogether a bad thing.

At the halfway point, we've notched up £330, towards the £800 target

for Annette and Anne's house move.

So we're not doing too badly at all.

If like Annette, you're thinking of heading to auction, then do remember

that fees like commission, VAT and other charges may be added

to your bill, so please do check with your local auction house first,

to avoid any unwelcome surprises.

Our next lot is the pair of Asprey & Garrard watches,

valued at £60-£100.

Where should we be with these, then? Start me at £40 then, 40 anywhere?

40, I'm bid on the book. Any advances on 40? 42, thank you.

45, 48, 50.

At £50 now, still with me on the book, commission bid,

and I'm selling then at £50.

£50, that's not a lot of money is it?

Oh, dear, now that's not the result we were hoping for.

And things take a turn for the worse

when the Limoges porcelain and Cartier watch

sell WAY below their lower estimates...

Are we all done at £50?

..adding just £85

to our kitty between them.

Sadly, the prognosis for our next sale isn't much better.

It's the now-stand-alone example of Stuart Crystal.

A bit of interest on the book, ladies and gentlemen - straight in at £20.

Any advances on 20? It's here with me, it's on the book. Are we all done then at £20?

And 22, 24, 26, £28 now.

Still on the book here with me and I'm selling, ladies and gentlemen, commission bid at £28.

-28.

-Happy with that?

Good.

After some of our recent sales, that's a pretty good result,

selling for just £2 shy of James' higher estimate.

And that's on top of the £500 Annette has already raised

by selling the rest of her glassware before coming to auction.

Fortunately, our next item has arrived in its entirety.

Next up, we've got that multifunctional bit of furniture,

the games table.

Again, not particularly old,

but really, really good quality and quite ornate.

Do you remember, the lid comes off and you can play chess, chequers...?

We've got £200-£400 on it, so let's hope there are some real players here today.

A bit of interest here, ladies and gentlemen, straight in on the book at £100, any advances on 100?

It's here with me.

110, 120, 130. At £130 now, back of the room against you.

140. At £140 now, are we all done then? Make no mistake

and selling then, the hammer's up at £140.

I think that was quite cheap.

-Do you?

-But again, if it's not old, it doesn't have an antique value.

It's purely down to how much you like it.

Yes, yes, but it all goes towards the total, so...

Despite interest in the room and on the telephone, we still failed

to reach the lower estimate on the games table by £60.

The success we enjoyed in the first half of the sale

seems like a long time ago and we have just one lot remaining.

Our next lot is quite a mighty chunk of our total,

with an estimate of £200-£400 and it's all that Meissen.

How do you feel about this being sold?

-Let's just see what it gets.

-OK, we've got no reserves on it?

-No.

-All right, OK. Somebody might get a bargain - let's hope not!

We come to the collection of Meissen teaware, there we are, very interesting collection,

ladies and gentlemen. Bit of interest here, ladies and gentlemen, straight in at £160 on the book.

Any advances on 160, it's here with me? 170, 180, 190, 200, against you, sir, at £200 now,

it's a commission bid, ladies and gentlemen, and I'm selling at £200.

£200, that's fantastic!

Thank goodness for the Meissen!

So, after a tricky second half of the sale,

have we managed to snatch a respectable final total

from the pockets of this prudent crowd?

It's a very difficult market, but you wanted £800

-and I'm pleased to tell you, you've actually made £833!

-Wow!

-That's good!

-Brilliant!

-Excellent! Well done, darling.

-That's all right!

A couple of weeks after that rather unpredictable day at auction and Annette is headed to Maidstone

with her mum, to begin planning the next chapter of her life.

OK, so we've done the auction, we've got some money towards our deposit and now we're going to look

in the estate agents at any properties that we might like the look of.

OK, we've got a selection of properties and we might be able to find something suitable for you.

Every penny we can put towards that deposit really helps.

I think this looks a very good bargain.