Clarke Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the show that hunts out treasures around your home

and helps you sell them at auction.

Today, I'm going to meet two lovely ladies

who are longing to find out more about items like this.

It could be silver and it could be worth a fortune.

Find out in today's Cash In The Attic.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic -

a Victorian cabinet rockets in value thanks to a surprise discovery.

Isn't that lovely? I've never, ever seen that. I have seen so many

small little cabinets like this, but never seen the original tobacco jar.

Could the damage to this Georgian chaise longue wreck its sale chances?

We've got these amazing, fantastic claw marks.

-Teeth marks.

-Teeth, are they?!

-Yes.

-I hope they're not yours.

No, it's my dog.

And, come auction day, our hosts are anxious to spot the bidders with the fattest wallets.

-Have you seen any dealers here?

-The room is full of them, my darling.

-Is it?

-Yes. This is what they look like.

But will they be in the mood for buying? Find out when the final hammer falls.

Today, I'm in Manchester, and I'm going to meet a woman

and her cousin who have called the Cash In The Attic team

to help make their dreams for a new look come true.

Meet 70-year-old retired teacher Vivienne Clarke,

her beloved bulldog Boris, and her cousin Miriam.

Vivienne has recently had to deal with a life-changing dilemma.

Should she move to Cornwall to a stunning barn conversion?

Or stay at Blackley in North Manchester and live in her recently inherited childhood home?

Well, I know what I'd do, but then again, I don't have

a four-legged friend to consider, and Boris prefers Manchester.

With the decision made, Vivienne is planning a home makeover in Blackley

and has called in the Cash team to help.

Today's expert is Jonty, and we're all set to get to work.

-Hello.

-Hi. How are you?

-I'm good.

-Ready for action?

-Absolutely, yes. Let's go.

Hello, ladies. Good morning. Hello!

Just in time. We've just come in after a little walk.

-Who's this?

-That is Boris.

Hello, Boris. You're absolutely, indescribably gorgeous.

-And heavy!

-He is, isn't he?

He weighs five stone.

-He's a bit excited.

-Fair enough. You're Vivienne, obviously.

I am, yes. And Miriam.

-And you're cousins.

-We are.

-Cousins, yes.

-OK. Why am I here?

I want to raise some money to do up my bedrooms.

Right. So, Miriam, does your cousin have lots of collectibles all around the house?

Downstairs I've seen quite a lot, yes. I haven't been upstairs yet.

-OK.

-It's a little surprise for you.

-Are you a bit of a collector?

-More an eclectic collector. When I see something I like, I'll buy it.

I've got a lot of miniatures of bulldogs, but anything else, anything that catches my eye.

She's got little ones of you!

All right, so how much money d'you reckon we might be able to get? What is our target going to be?

-Well, I'd like to get around about £800.

-OK.

-Are you ready?

-Ready.

-Are you ready?

-Ready indeed.

-Are you ready?

-He is.

He is! OK, let's do it. Come on.

£800 would certainly go a long way

towards helping Vivienne update the bedrooms of the house she's known

all her life, and by the sound of it, we won't be short of items to look at.

One man who has unearthed more than his fair share of valuables

in his time is our expert, Jonty Hearnden.

He's been in the antiques business

all his life and it doesn't take him long to spot Vivienne's teapot.

If it's real silver, it could be worth a fortune.

Well, let's find out.

There is the man himself!

I think it's time for a cuppa, don't you?

-That does make a nice cup of tea, actually.

-Does it?

Yes, we've used it quite a lot.

-Have you?

-Yes.

-I've been admiring this.

This is really superb quality.

-Wonderful.

-Is it a proper job? Is it silver?

-Proper, proper job.

-Is it?!

-Proper.

-Oh, I say!

There's wonderful hallmarks on the underside here.

Do you have any idea how old this is?

Yes, the gentleman who sold it to me said it was made by the Angell Brothers in 1831.

Well you're 99% there. They weren't brothers.

They were uncle and nephew.

So we have Joseph, the uncle, and John, the nephew.

They went into business at the beginning of 1831, which is when this teapot was made.

I don't know if you have ever noticed this,

but we have a lion's head here.

That's a family crest.

An aristocratic family would've bought this teapot

and personalised it at some point.

Has it come through the best part of 200 years

-pretty much unscathed then?

-There's a few little dents.

-There's one there and I've noticed one around the other side. Just there.

-Did you drop it?

Probably!

This teapot at auction is going to be worth between £200-300, easily.

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of interest

if we put this into the sale.

It really is very good quality indeed.

London silver. London silver is best, that's going to sell.

It's a great start - really good start to the day, actually, but we

-need to find more, so where shall we go?

-Shall we go this way? Yes.

See what we can find out here.

Well, Jonty is clearly a fan of the silver teapot,

and that £200 price tag makes it even more attractive.

It's the perfect start to our day here in Manchester.

And the first contribution towards our target of £800.

We're feeling full of optimism now, so we've split up

to begin a thorough search of this charming 1930s house.

I head to the dining room, and in a sideboard, discover a rather elegant mantel clock.

It was bought by Vivienne five years ago at a house clearance

and Jonty thinks it could fetch £30-50 at auction.

In the lounge, Vivienne has another item that could be destined for the sale room.

Jonty, would you like to look at this, please?

What have we got?

-We were just looking at this sofa.

-It's a wonderful shape. Look at it.

-It's quite extraordinary.

-Very elegant.

Yes. Look at those wonderful gilded mounts on the top there.

-D'you remember how much you paid for it?

-£150, I think it was.

I bought it five or six years ago.

This is very typically French.

This is a sofa that would have been made in the mid-19th century, but it

is French because of these wonderful mounts, those gilded metal tops.

Now, as I look down, I notice

on the sides here we've got these amazing, fantastic claw marks.

-Teeth marks.

-Teeth, are they?!

-Yes.

-I hope they're not yours?

No, it's my dog! I haven't chewed anything.

These really look wonderfully as if they are animal claw marks.

-Are they dog rather than cat?

-That's right, yes.

Well, the dealer that possibly might buy this will consider

that they have to have the whole frame re-polished

and then possibly re-cover as well and as a consequence,

it's going to be valued, I would value this sofa in auction at the moment around the £100 mark.

We're looking in the catalogue £80-120.

How do you feel about that?

Well, it's less than I paid for it but I want to free up the space,

-so I think I will sell it.

-Wonderful. That will definitely sell.

-I think it's beautiful, but we can't sit on it because we've got a lot more work to do.

-Right.

We'll go looking for other things.

Vivienne may have been hoping for a little more for the chaise longue,

and she might well have got it, had it not been for her bulldog's sharp teeth.

But it's a definite restoration project for someone.

Fortunately, it doesn't look as if Boris has got his fangs

into this collection of vintage handbags that Miriam finds in a bedroom.

They were bought by Vivienne back in the '50s, but she doesn't use them any more,

so they head off to auction with a valuation of £30-40.

We're progressing steadily towards that £800 target.

Downstairs, Miriam looks as if she may have unearthed something else.

Jonty, could you come and have a look at these?

-These look rather exciting.

-We've got a pair, have we?

-Pair of decanters.

-Yes.

-Those are rather fine, aren't they?

We've got a silver neck to them... Ooh, that's very good news.

-We've got a mark that says they are solid silver.

-Yes.

-Very nice quality.

We've also got a maker's mark there. That's LRW -

that's Laurence Watson - and they're still in business.

They're based in Sheffield. They are a very good company and it's always very nice to see a pair of anything.

Decanters were very popular in the 18th and 19th century.

The whole point was that you decanted your wine and your port, etc,

into bottles, into stylish bottles like this, because it was

un-PC to actually have wine bottles on the table.

-Yes.

-Are you a decanter girl?

Only decanters at Christmas.

Wine bottles don't exist.

Well, it's the reason why a lot of decanters are actually on the market,

because they're good lookers, but not necessarily very practical.

What you need to do is take the stopper out.

If you have a look at your stopper, look at the top there,

make sure there's no chips or breaks.

-Can you see if yours is in very good condition?

-It looks fine. I can't see anything wrong.

For my money, they look in pretty good condition. They are mint.

That's very nice indeed.

The only thing to remember is, if you're ever thinking of buying a beautiful object like a decanter,

make sure that the stopper started life with the base.

Have a close look at the decoration, they need to be similar.

That's the way to tell, and they need to fit very snugly in the top.

They're brand-new, so they're second-hand, they're not antique.

-We're still looking at £30-50 worth of decanter.

-Right.

-Shall we go and ask the boss if we can sell them?

-We'll go and ask the boss, yes.

Well, they may not be antique, but £30 is still another useful boost to the bedroom makeover fund.

So, Vivienne, this is your family home?

Yes. My mother and father came here when they first got married.

And of course I was born here and lived here for a long time.

Then I bought a property in Cornwall and I was going to live there.

But for one thing and another, I have been held here.

My parents had been ill and what have you and so...

I'm now stuck with two houses.

I've got to offload one.

Looking around your house, Vivienne,

I've noticed that every nook and cranny has a little gem hidden away.

You are quite a collector, aren't you?

Yes. My mother was a collector as well as me.

I collect little bulldog figurines.

And anything eclectic, really.

Anything I like the look of, I'll take. I'll buy it.

Do you see much of each other?

We see more of each other now, don't we?

We go out for meals every two or three weeks.

These bedrooms - I must say, they look fine to me, but what exactly

do you want to do with them?

I want to have them redecorated.

We had the electricity all done and rewired

and it's left gaps round the light switches and it irks me.

-I thought I'd get this place done up!

-OK, well, if we're to make the money

to give your rooms a lick of paint and the rest of it,

we'd better get on with the rummage, hadn't we? Come on.

Vivienne wasn't kidding when she said she collected anything to do with bulldogs.

The house is full of ornaments and pictures!

Even life-sized lookalikes!

Fortunately, while we have been chatting,

Jonty has been hard at work

and finds not just one, but four framed etchings.

Surprisingly, they are not of bulldogs, but rural scenes.

Bought by Vivienne's father back in the 1930s, Jonty thinks they could fetch £40-60 at auction.

In the bedroom, I spot something that might be of interest.

If only I could reach it!

Jonty? Jonty, come and look. I think that's absolutely gorgeous.

-I don't know what it is.

-Can we get this down?

Yes, it's a wall cabinet for smokers.

That's right, yes, it would be.

-Because it's actually made of wonderful English oak.

-Is it?

-Yes, feel the weight.

It is heavy. I'm glad I didn't try to get it down.

You know something is always made of English oak because it's just that wee bit heavier.

These cabinets, if you look at the design, the busy-ness of it all

will be always turn of the century, so you're looking at 1880-1908.

Can we have a look inside?

Because there should be lovely drawers and interiors there.

-Yes, indeed.

-Here, the holes on the side here would be designed

to house one's pipes. Look at this!

Isn't that lovely? I've never, ever seen that.

I have seen so many small, little cabinets like this,

but never seen the original tobacco jar.

Because that's exactly what this is. This little screw-top, look at this,

is designed to keep the pressure down so tightly

that it allows or doesn't allow the oxygen to get in.

So it's kind of vacuum packed?

That's right. But this is really lovely and really very nice indeed.

It's wonderful. Put that into the auction sale and we're looking at £40-60.

-Right. Yes. Lovely.

-Yes? Another one for the auction sale?

-Yes.

-I was hoping for more!

So was I. I'm just hoping there's somebody there who wants it.

-Or two people who want it.

-I think it's worth every penny there.

I think it's gorgeous, I really do.

'And I think Jonty's being very mean with his valuation!

'It's an absolutely charming cabinet,

'but will Vivienne's hopes for a bidding war come true?'

-Too many people interested!

-Great! I want a fight for it.

£20? £20. Two, five, eight,

30, two, five, eight, 40...

'Stay tuned to find out how the cabinet fares and whether we raise

-'enough cash to help Vivienne complete her home makeover.'

-Any advance now?

As we plough on, Vivienne finds a set of pearls

that she once bought as a birthday gift for her mother.

She feels the time is now right to let them go and Jonty values them at £60 to £80.

Mirium's on a mission downstairs, and gathers together a collection

of silver that includes a tankard,

a cigarette case, perfume bottles, napkin rings and spoons.

Jonty values the lot at £40 to £60.

Vivienne did say that her style of collecting could be described as eclectic, and she wasn't wrong.

There's such a lot of history in this house, which she's known all her life.

And it's in her parents' old bedroom that Jonty makes his next discovery.

Vivienne, have a look at this. This looks interesting.

-Oh, that's my tapestry.

-Look at that.

-Yes.

-Don't tell me you did it.

No, no. I just paid for it!

The style is French, and in fact if you look at the design, it's French.

You are looking almost at the courting couple down in the foreground here and certainly

if you look at the statuary,

look at this cherub here on a stand, it has a wonderful French feel.

-Yes.

-Tapestries of this style were made in the southern half of France,

so often with a scene - a romantic scene,

or a country scene, a hunting scene possibly.

The colours are pretty good too, aren't they?

Yes, well, it's never been hung.

Yes, it's always been rolled up.

-Yes, it has.

-So did you buy it new?

I did. I bought it in Manchester,

-ooh, a good few years ago, and I paid £160 for it.

-Right.

I also notice here we've got a bit of shading that's gone on here.

That's probably exposure, maybe a bit of damp's got in there.

That's going to be almost impossible to take out.

-Having said that, I think it gives it a bit of character.

-Yes.

But please don't slap my wrists when I give you the valuation. It's going

to be £30 to £40.

That is a big reduction on what I paid for it.

It is. But that's the market for it.

But I think the quality is all there. It's very, very good quality.

-So, time to sell it?

-Yes, I think so.

-Let's get you some money.

-Yes.

OK. Let's leave that there.

Considering she paid £160 for it,

Jonty's conservative estimate is obviously disappointing.

We've really been spoiled by the amount of collectibles

crammed into this house in a North Manchester suburb.

It's an area Vivienne's known since her childhood. From what I can see,

it's a world away from her other property in rural Cornwall.

This has been a massive project for you, hasn't it?

Yes. It was a farming complex which was deserted, derelict.

And I bought one of the barns.

It was so funny. I bought it and I walked across fields to it.

And then I came home.

And the next year when I went back, I couldn't find it!

I was driving round thinking, this is ridiculous - I've bought a barn and I don't know where it is!

It didn't have an address, you see.

-So, how long ago was this?

-In the '80s.

So that's the barn today.

It's looking really spruced-up and fantastic, I must say.

-There's me on the wall gardening.

-Yes.

Why is it that you're going to sell it? Are you mad?

-It's too expensive to run.

-Oh, is it?

So will it upset you a lot?

No, I've decided I'm going to sell it and that's it.

Did you ever take your parents there?

I took my mother once or twice and I took the dog as well.

He didn't like it because it was surrounded by cows

and horses and ducks and all that kind of thing.

And he just didn't like that.

Well, that's lovely to see your project down in Cornwall.

In the meantime, we had better get on actually.

We'd better not leave them rummaging.

'After a sneaky rest, it's back to work, and tucked away

'in the back of an old writing desk, I find this rather unusual brooch.

'It's nine carat gold and was given to Vivienne as a gift

'when she worked in Singapore.

'Jonty thinks it could fetch as much as £80 to £120 at auction.

'And it's not the only piece of Vivienne's jewellery

'that might be destined for the sale room.'

Jonty, will you please come and have a look at this?

Let's have a look. Oh, I say. Isn't that charming?

That's so beautiful.

So, we've got a lovely...what looks like a brown diamond, which has that green hue in the middle.

Surrounded by all these other tiny white diamonds. That's lovely.

I bought it six or seven years ago at a second-hand jewellers,

and he told me it was a green diamond and it was 3.5 carat.

-3.5 carat?

-That's what he said.

-It doesn't look like that size to me.

-No.

Because carat's actually the weight.

-Yes.

-That's what we're looking at here.

Have you ever had this assessed?

Yes, I have. I've got a paper somewhere.

I've had all my jewellery assessed. Yes, here we are.

-Can I have a look at it?

-Yes.

-Right. So this is an insurance valuation we've got here?

-Yes.

And it's a trilliant cut diamond, which makes absolute sense.

A trilliant cut diamond is the triangular form.

Oh, right. I thought that was the number of cuts, I thought.

No. The number of facets, which is the number of sides, should be 31.

Right.

But here, the weight is 1.8 carat, so rather than being, you say...

3.5 carat, he said.

And he charged me £1,000 a carat for it. I paid £3,500 for that.

You paid £3,500? Aw! That hurts.

It's a huge price differential between a 3.5 carat diamond

and something that's 1.8 carat.

And if you were to sell this at auction, we are looking at more like £600 to £800,

-which is a huge difference.

-It is a big difference, isn't it?

So there's a bit of food for thought for you.

There is indeed. I have to think about that very carefully.

Oh, there you all are.

I've been rummaging away wondering what you're all up to.

We've been looking at this lovely ring. Take a look at that.

Gosh, that is gorgeous, isn't it? Is this something you're taking to the auction?

I'm thinking about it, yes.

What's the estimation on it?

I put £600 to £800.

-And you're going to have a think about it?

-Yes, I am.

-Let us know on the day of the auction.

-I will, yes.

I tell you what that means. It means that we can end our day of rummaging.

-Oh, right!

-Have you enjoyed yourselves?

I've enjoyed myself very much, yes.

At the start of the day, you said that you'd like to raise £800, so that you can do up these bedrooms.

We reckon that if you do take the ring along, with the other

items and Jonty's valuations - we take the lowest valuations -

you will make at auction...

not £800 but £1,260.

That sounds a lot better.

It does, you see. That's why you might want to think about the ring.

Obviously without the ring, that would come down to £660, so not quite up to target.

But a pretty penny for some painting.

And we've got some lovely items as well, so hopefully we should

get up to that figure even without the ring.

But that's food for thought for you.

Yes.

We've had a thoroughly enjoyable day in Manchester with Vivienne and her

cousin Miriam - and what a variety of items we've found for action.

There is the stunning silver teapot that's almost 200 years old,

yet apparently still makes a great cuppa.

The only thing we want it to make is upwards of £200.

Jonty was blown away

by the beautifully preserved smoking cabinet.

It comes complete with its original tobacco jar

and a price tag of £40 to £60.

And what about Vivienne's amazing diamond ring?

Jonty's estimate was just a fraction of the £3,500

she originally paid for it, so can she bear to part with it?

Only time will tell.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic - some items prove hard to part with.

-Oh, the hurt in your eyes.

-I know!

While others struggle to gain any interest at all.

The dealers have their hands in their pockets but not in their purses.

-Will the makeover plans fly out of the window?

-What are you doing with that £5?

I don't know. An icecream might be nice.

Find out when the final hammer falls.

For our auction today it's a welcome return to Knutsford in Cheshire.

It's a beautiful town made famous by the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell.

Frank Marshall Auctioneers hold their sales in a former school in the heart of Knutsford.

They take place twice a month.

Now, if you remember, Vivienne wants to raise £800 so she can give

the bedrooms in her Manchester home a bit of a makeover.

So let's hope the bidders here are feeling generous when our items go under the hammer.

One man who's always at the front of the queue come sale day is Jonty.

And it doesn't take him long to spot our star item.

Now, that's what I call a classy little number.

-It is, isn't it?

-And I don't mean you.

Isn't it beautiful?

It really is a beautiful teapot, and I priced it to make it very competitive in the room,

so I'm convinced this should do well. In fact this area - Knutsford particularly -

is a very good place to sell your items. They get very good prices here.

Actually, talking of money, what about that ring Vivienne paid, what, £3,500 for?

I know. It was difficult telling her the true value of that, but at the end of the day the truth will out,

because if you are going to have something like that for auction,

it's the wrong time to find out when the hammer has fallen.

I wonder if she's brought it. I don't think I would if it was mine.

-I suspect possibly not.

-Never mind. Hopefully, this will be the star of the show.

Maybe she did bring it. I think they've arrived.

So, high hopes for the teapot, but uncertainty over the destiny of the ring.

I'm encouraged to hear Jonty's prediction for a good sale though.

Let's hope he's right.

We find Vivienne and Miriam among the hustle of the sale room,

saying a fond farewell to one of my favourite items.

Hello, Jennie. I was just saying I think I'm going to miss this

cos I don't know where I'm going to put all my bits and pieces.

I think you might be all right on this one, because I saw a gentleman

looking at it a moment ago and he really loved it, actually. He thought it was great.

Right. Oh, well.

Let's hope somebody else wants it and there is a bit of a fight!

-Have you brought that ring?

-Well, no, I haven't.

I didn't even put it on because I thought I might be persuaded to put it in.

But no, I don't want to sell that so I have not brought it.

We're not surprised really, are we?

-Very understandable.

-Have you been to an auction before?

-No, I haven't.

And I'm very excited.

-And how are you feeling?

-Absolutely... excited.

But I'm trying not to show it. A sort of subdued exuberance.

OK, well, let's take that subdued exuberance over there,

because the auction's about to start. Come on.

Well, we didn't think Vivienne would bring the ring,

but it was our highest valued lot and without it,

the pressure is really on if we are to meet our target of £800.

If you're thinking of heading to auction, please remember

that commission and VAT may be added to your bill, so do check the details

with your auction house first to avoid any unwelcome surprises.

With the auction already under way,

we find a corner at the back of the packed salesroom

in time for our first lot, the Victorian smoking cabinet.

Jonty valued it at £40 to £60.

-OK, Vivienne, it's time to say farewell to that smokers cabinet now.

-Yes, indeed.

Well, I said earlier that I'd seen one person look at it, a chap.

I've seen a woman look at it too, so that's what you wanted.

Great. I want a fight for it, yes.

-OK, here we go. Let's see if we can get at least £40.

-Yes.

Where are you going to start me now? £20 I have heard.

At £20, £22, £25, £28, £30.

£32, £35, £38, £40. £40 and seated at the front.

£42, fresh bidder. £45. £45. Any more, quickly?

At £45 in the front row.

Any advance now on a £45?

-£45, eh?

-That's not too bad, is it?

-It's great.

-Yes, that's all right.

That's more than all right - £5 over estimate and we have

our first contribution towards the bedroom makeover.

Next up it's the collection of handbags and purses that used to

accompany Vivienne on her nights on the town.

They date from the 1940s and '50s,

and we are looking for upwards of £30.

It's a girly one, yes, your evening bags.

I like those. Collected over the years.

Indeed, yes. I've had many a happy outing with them.

One for every occasion. There we go. Some good examples here. £20.

£15 then, come on.

£15? No.

Any advance then, quickly? £16, thank you. I knew somebody else would be there. £18? £18.

Try another one. £20.

£22.

Come on. Yes.

At £22, the lady right at the back. Anybody else want to go?

At £22 all done, at £22.

Well, they're worth more than that.

Yes.

The dealers had their hands in their pockets but not in their purses.

-Right. Yes.

-That is a disappointing result.

Vivienne was clearly hoping for a little more for the handbags,

but vintage clothes buyers just weren't in the room.

Let's hope there are some jewellery buyers in.

So, this is the first of your jewellery.

Tell us where that came from.

It came from Singapore. I was doing some work there

and that was given to me as a gift.

-I was training some teachers how to mark exam work.

-Sounds like fun!

And you got some jewellery to boot.

-I did, yes.

-Let's hope we can get at least £80.

-Yes, indeed.

-Good lot, here. Right, I can start the bidding on this one.

We got interest here at £85.

-That's not bad.

-Bidding? £90.

£95 on commission.

At £95, I'll take £100 now. At £95. £95, it's a nice piece there.

At £95, I'm selling if nobody else bids now. All done at £95.

Marvellous. Yes.

Well done. I always get over excited when they say I've got interest.

And then actually, it's only a bit of interest.

The interesting part is that you don't know what's left with the auctioneer.

He might have £200, but if there's nobody else in the room, he can't get up to that.

That's the luck of auctions for you.

But £95, that sits nicely in the middle. Very good, yes.

So, the brooch has done us proud

and made a healthy contribution to our target.

Next to go under the hammer is an item that I know Vivienne is desperate to do well.

It's the tapestry that she bought new and paid handsomely for.

Will it show her any return for her money?

-It's not faded at all.

-So it's in very good condition.

-It's brand new.

-So let's hope that we can get at least £30 for it.

Oh. Yes. I paid a lot more than that.

I know you did, I know you did.

-Yes.

-Oh, the hurt in your eyes!

I know! I know!

£30 for the tapestry. Come on. 30?

Thank you. 30, I've got. Lady's bid.

Take two. 32. Nice-quality thing.

35 now? 35. You're allowed to bid more than once.

38. 40, now. 40. And two.

45. 48.

£50. 55.

Shakes her head. 55 is the gentleman's bid.

-That's really good.

-Last chances. At £55 I'm selling. At 55.

-55.

-Let me see your face. How's your face?

Well, it's better than you said!

Although above Jonty's top estimate, it's still

a long way short of the £160 Vivienne originally paid for it.

Let's hope we can put a smile on her face with a good sale for our next lot.

Your clock's coming up next. I found it, and you told me, I think, that you'd bought it yourself.

-Yes, I did. I bought it in a house sale.

-Ah!

-Yes.

-How much did you pay for it?

-£30.

-OK.

-All right.

Hopefully, we'll get your money back for this one.

And a bit more! That's what we need.

£30 and away. Yes? 30. On commission.

-Oh, 30 already.

-That's good.

-Yes.

Two, quickly?

-32.

-Made a profit.

-35. 35.

Anybody got eight? At £35. At 35.

Yes, I've made a profit.

-£5 profit. What are you going to do with that £5?

-I don't know.

Ice cream might be nice!

That's not a bad idea at all.

Hopefully, we'll have a similar success with our next item.

It's the mixed lot of silver that Jonty's given a value of £40 to £60.

I think you've been a bit mean on your estimate here, 40 to 60.

I hope I'm not mean, but I have to reflect what I think will happen in the marketplace.

But it's a lovely lot. It's a proper dealer's lot.

We've got all sorts of bits and pieces.

Have you seen any dealers here?

The room is full of them, my darling, yes.

This is what they look like!

Right, where are you going to be? Who's going to start me at £40?

-Come on, come on.

-Yes, thank you. £40 on commission. 42. 45. 48.

-50. 55. 60.

-That sounds good.

She shakes her head. 60 on commission.

Is there another five? At £60.

Going once, twice. At £60 we sell.

Very good! Top end of the estimate.

-Yes.

-Wonderful.

-Yes.

-That is wonderful.

Another estimate that was right on the money.

We've had a pretty good first half to our sale,

with all but one of our lots topping their estimates.

Time for me to do my sums and work out just how we're doing at the halfway stage.

-OK, £800 is what we're looking for so you can make your bedrooms look absolutely gorgeous.

-Yes.

At this halfway point we're not quite at 400, actually, but we've got some good items to come.

-We're at 312.

-Right.

I've got the chaise to come yet,

plus one or two bits and pieces.

Yeah, well, we've got the teapot, as well. I think we deserve a break.

-Yes.

-Come on, follow me.

'As Vivienne and Miriam head off for a well-earned cuppa,

'Jonty's off to explore the saleroom.

'Today's auction is split over two floors, and downstairs,

'a rather unusual table has caught his eye.'

You never stop working, do you? What have you found?

I've come downstairs to have a look at the furniture section and found another genuine bargain.

This is a really good-quality folding table.

It's Middle Eastern rather than Indian.

But what's so extraordinary about these tables and Indian tables

is that everything you see here, every little detail, is hand-carved.

It's not machined at all.

So that is not only the wood but it's also the copper tray, as well.

-And what we have here are these stylised peacocks...

-Uh-huh.

..and, rather oddly, maple leaves,

as well, so it's a combination of peacock and maple leaf.

So, how old do you think it is?

Date-wise, a lot of these tables are possibly between the two World Wars.

It was when trade really took off, so if you were a mariner

or in the Navy, this is a piece of furniture that you would bring home.

It was a very fashionable thing to do.

That's the reason why you see a lot of these in auctions today.

-How much is it worth, do you think?

-Value, we're looking at £60 to £100,

which I find is staggering, again considering that everything you see is all hand-done.

Well done, eh? But we'd better get back to our own auctioneer.

'We'll return downstairs later to see how our chaise longue fares in the furniture sale.

'But for now, it's back upstairs, and we re-take our positions for our next lot of the day.

'It's the two rather lovely decanters.

'Jonty valued them at a very reasonable £30 to £50.'

-They had my brandy and my sherry in them.

-What are you going to do now?

I'll have to just drink out of the bottle!

That's my girl!

And I've got interest on commission on this lot at £55.

Brilliant! That's very good.

£55. 58. 60. I'll take five.

65 in the room. At 65. Any more?

At 65, the seated bid. Anybody got 70?

At £65 I'm going to sell, then.

-All done at 65?

-That's wonderful!

-Did you leave the brandy in there?

-No, I had one before I came!

I needed it!

Fantastic. That's over their top estimate.

And considering they were modern, with no antique value,

it's a really good price.

'It's the perfect way to start the second half of the auction.'

Let's hope we can keep the momentum going with the sale of our next lot,

the four etchings of rural scenes.

We're looking for £40 to £60.

I think these were part of your father's collection, were they?

-Yes. He bought them in the '30s, and it was an art shop which was closing down.

-Framed and glazed.

Where are we? £40 for them? 20?

We need some farmers in here.

At £15. Take 18 now.

18 bid. 20 for the lady. Two, sir?

£20. Shakes his head.

20 is the lady's bid. 22. 25.

-Struggling. Struggling.

-Yes.

£30. 32.

35. No? 35 is the lady's bid.

Any advance now on £35?

Take another two. At 35, then.

Selling at 35.

£35. Disappointing.

-Yes.

-You're right, somebody's got a bargain there.

-Yes.

-It cost you more than that to frame them, didn't it?

-It did indeed, yes.

Oh, dear. We're all disappointed with that result.

That's less than £10 a picture.

Let's hope it's not a sign of things to come,

as we've been doing so well.

It's back to the jewellery with our next lot, and we know there are

potential buyers in the room after the sale of the brooch.

Let's hope they like the pearl necklace

which means so much to Vivienne.

Your pearl necklace that you bought for your mother's birthday.

I did, yes, for her 80th birthday.

-You're parting with this?

-I know, yes.

I've worn them sometimes, but they're just in a box. They're wasted.

Start me at 80.

I can start at 45 on commission. Anybody got 50?

At £45. 50 now? 50. At £50. 5.

-55. Any more? At £55.

-Come on!

-Any advance on 55? Last chances now.

At £55. Yes or no? I'm sorry, we can't quite go on that one.

Ah! So they didn't sell, thank goodness for that.

-I'm pleased about that, yes.

-That would have hurt.

-Yes. I thought that price was too low.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

So the pearls head home with Vivienne, to her obvious relief.

It hasn't helped our target, though.

The second half hasn't exactly gone to plan.

We need some big sales, and we need them quickly.

We're running out of items,

and that target of £800 is getting even further from reach.

Fortunately, our star item is up next.

OK, this is the big deal.

This is the teapot.

-How are you feeling?

-Er, excited, a bit.

I'm glad you're feeling good, because I've estimated

this between £200 and £300,

and I'm hoping we're going to smash all the way through the £200.

-Yes, I hope you're right.

-And I'm hoping that we'll top over the 300, as well.

Right, a nice-quality piece here. Where are you going to be? Should be at least 200 for it.

200? 180.

180 bid. At 180. I'll take 190.

Yes, 190 bid. 200. 210.

-220.

-A bit of a fight.

240. 240 commission bid with Stuart.

Any more? At £240. Anybody more?

At £240 for a super piece, there.

All done at 240.

Ah. We got there, but I was hoping for a bit more. But £240.

I was hoping for it going to 400.

-Ahhh!

-Sometimes they do. You can never tell.

They just fly up the scale.

Jonty's valuation is once again spot-on, but there's no hiding

Vivienne's disappointment that the teapot didn't do even better.

One thing's for sure, though - that sale has brought our target

right into sight, and there's just one lot to go.

It's the chaise longue.

It's being sold in the furniture section.

But as we take up our positions, we're all rather concerned

when the carved table Jonty spotted earlier

fails to gain any interest whatsoever and goes unsold.

Is this an omen for our final lot?

-So, Vivienne, have you put a reserve on the settee?

-Yes, I did.

I put on your lower-estimated price.

So that's £80. OK, fine. Right.

-OK.

-I'm hoping for a lot more.

-Let's see if we can do that.

-Nice-looking bit of furnishing.

At £80? £60? Who'll start me at 50? Thank you there. £50 seated.

And five against you. 60. 65. 70. 75.

80. 85. 90.

95. 100. 110. 120. 130. 140. 150.

Can't see you for a minute. 160.

-170. 180. 190.

-That's brilliant!

At £190. Any further bids?

All done here? Selling, then, if you're sure, at 190 now.

-Great!

-Yes, smashing. Lovely.

Now, that's a result. Selling for over twice Jonty's estimate,

the chaise longue has come up trumps.

We've had a tough second half,

but with two great sales to finish our auction,

have we managed to get anywhere near that elusive target of £800?

Time to find out.

All right, ladies, that is it, your auction is over. How was it for you?

-It's been marvellous.

-You've enjoyed yourself?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

Well, all right. At the start of the day, we were looking for £800 so that you could do up your bedrooms.

You've actually exceeded your target. You have made £842.

Great. Thank you very much. Marvellous.

That's amazing, because that's without selling the ring.

You're right! Without the ring.

And you're going to take your pearls home, as well.

So that's a result, that really is.

-Yes. Yes, thank you.

-Well, enjoy spending your money.

-You've earned it very well, and we've enjoyed being with you.

-Yeah.

Well done. And congratulations.

It's just a few weeks after Vivienne's successful day at auction,

and she's already got the decorators in to strip down

and plaster the walls of her old family home.

But she has a very particular theme for her walls firmly fixed in her mind.

I've been thinking about butterflies and birds for a long time.

I'm determined to go and find that paper.

I don't know why I wanted birds,

it's just I thought it would be attractive in a bedroom.

With such an extraordinary range of designs and £800 in her pocket,

surely something in this shop will take Vivienne's fancy.

I've been and looked in dozens of wallpaper books,

but I've found the one I want.

And just a month later, the upstairs rooms have been totally transformed.

I've got this tranquil scene, butterflies here

and birds next door, and I like it very much. I wouldn't change it now.

I'm glad I've done this. It's come out very well.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd