Modern Classics - Part 2 Flog It: Trade Secrets

In over 10 years on "Flog It!", we've valued thousands of your items

and we've stood by you

in the sale room as they've gone under the hammer.

Yes!

In this series, I want to share with you some of that knowledge.

So sit back and enjoy as our experts let you in on THEIR trade secrets.

Most of us define antiques as more than 100 years old

and the 20th century doesn't spring to mind.

But increasingly we are falling in love with items from the modern era

and you bring in lots of them to show us

at our "Flog It!" valuation days.

So today we're going to be exploring

what makes a 20th-century design classic

and what names and styles you should be looking out for.

Coming up, Philip finds a piece of glass that takes his fancy.

I just absolutely love it. It just gives you the tingles.

It really gives you the tingles.

We see some rare pieces by a "Flog It!" favourite.

The Shark's Teeth pattern is as rare as hens' teeth.

I try out some innovative ideas.

You really do have to trust it, don't you?

And we find out how a 1930s watch sparked a whole new interest.

I'm trying and I'll get there in the end.

There are some makers' names that crop up on our show

again and again and again,

like Clarice Cliff, Moorcroft, Royal Doulton,

and time after time you bring us

wonderful examples of their craftsmanship.

But there are some names that demand

more attention and more money than others.

So here are our experts to give you the lowdown on what to look out for

and what makes them so popular.

My top tip for 20th century classics is condition.

And condition and condition.

A scratched piece of plastic, a scratched piece of tin-plate ware,

try and avoid if you can.

It's the same in terms of furniture, glass, ceramics, silver,

whatever it might be, if it's 20th century, it's got to be mint.

Have you got the message yet?

If you are interested in 20th-century design,

you heard it here, go for a piece in top condition.

We see plenty of pieces well looked after.

But sometimes it's amazing they have survived at all.

Fred, Binky, you've brought in a "Flog It!" favourite of course.

A piece of Troika ware

Troika, Troika, Troika.

I mean, it is very 1970s.

It fits into that small band of 10 years,

and what went before it and what came after it

are completely different.

So it is a modern design classic.

Tell me the history of it.

Well, we were holidaying in Cornwall,

we called into a shop there in St Ives.

We went in and were looking around and I saw this piece.

My wife didn't like it very much,

but I insisted on coming away with something.

So when she saw the price, she said,

"We haven't got enough money to eat to get home."

We'd got enough money for petrol, but not enough to have any food.

So I said, "Well, we'll have to go hungry all the way."

He went without food to buy that Troika vase. Would I?

Yes, for the right thing, I probably would.

It wouldn't do me any harm, actually, anyway.

It's been down in his garage, at the bottom of the garden,

on his tool chest, not wrapped up, for about 20-odd years.

-Good Lord.

-20 years, yes.

-And when I was watching "Flog It!" one day,

I said, "Here, we've got a bit of that stuff down in the garage."

It's a lovely story, it really sums up what Troika is all about

because they were based in St Ives. It started in the 1960s.

And of course this is a very impressive looking piece, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Normally, we see smaller vases, but there's a lot going on here.

The top, the middle bit and then the shaped base as well.

It was so top-heavy, you can imagine if your little moggy,

sorry, pussycat, was rummaging around the living room,

easily knock that over because of the weight.

And I suspect that very few of them have survived.

I've never seen another one since.

Can you remember what you paid for it in the 1970s?

-I think it was round about probably £16.

-£16.

-Something like that, wasn't it?

-We've got interesting marks underneath.

We've got obviously the Troika mark, England,

and then a little designer signature or artist's signature here.

Now, if we were putting this... and it is it big piece, isn't it?

-Yes, I've never seen one as big as that.

-I bet you haven't.

But, looking at an auction estimate,

I'd like to put a conservative estimate on it

to bring in a lot of people.

I think we should put something like £400 on it.

-Oh, right.

-Something like that. Maybe £400 or £500.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes.

It proved to be an outstanding investment.

The 1970s Troika pillar sculpture or vase. 300.

300 I have down there now. At 300. 340. 380. 420 another place.

Thank you. 460?

500. 520 on the telephone. 540. 560. At 580.

-600. 620.

-Good.

Well, he had an eye, didn't he, Fred? He chose the right thing.

£16 was a lot of money in the 1970s.

-800. 820. 840.

-Still going on.

-860.

-At 960, 990. 1,100. 1,150.

-1,150.

-1,150.

-1,300.

-It's still going.

-At 1,300. 1,500.

-When is it going to stop, Binky?

-I don't know.

-I'm getting goose pimples on my face.

-I'm shaking.

1,750 over here now. At 1,750. Are you all done?

-£1,750.

-Oh, lovely.

Yes!

Oh, they were lovely, weren't they? The reaction was wonderful.

And do you know what - estimates are just estimates.

-That is beyond all expectations.

-How exciting was that?

-£16. It was £16.

-16 quid, yes, I know.

-And I went mad at him.

-God bless you. God bless you for buying it.

-How much was it?

-I can't hear it.

-Thanks, Mark.

-Mark, you are an angel.

Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

All I can say is, job done.

I won't be going on any lecture tours, however,

on the values of Troika.

It just goes to show that even recent designs can get

the buyers in a frenzy.

It's all about the name.

From 1970s Troika to some classic Art Deco from the 1920s.

-I think that's absolutely fantastic.

-Thank you.

-You know what it is.

-I know what it is.

-Go on, tell everybody.

-It's a Lalique.

-Rene Lalique.

-Rene Lalique.

-Yeah.

Rene Lalique was a French glass-maker

who was born in 1860, died in 1945.

His factory is still in existence.

And he specialised in Art Nouveau glassware.

And I don't know why, but that particular clock with the two

budgerigars, it just stood out.

You held it and it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

Did you buy it, or...?

No, my mother inherited it from her sister, my aunt.

And we've had it 20 years and it's just sat on the shelf.

Oh, it just gives you the tingles, it really gives you the tingles.

-That's nice to know.

-So these are budgerigars.

And this pattern is called The Inseparables.

And I guess it's because they are inseparable.

-Can you just see there we've got Rene Lalique's signature?

-Yes.

-OK.

The thing about this is that condition is all-important.

You can look at these things for ever and a day.

But the way to tell condition

is just to rub your finger around the edge.

If you can't see damage, you can feel it with your fingertips

because they are incredibly sensitive.

And that's how I found that little nick in it.

-When you get to that corner, right, can you feel it?

-It's a nick.

Yes, there's a little nick there and your eyes won't pick that up,

but it's a good tip.

So I don't think it's going to hugely affect its value.

And you're happy with a fixed reserve of £200?

-Sort of happy.

-Sort of happy.

What about if we stuck another nought on the end?

Because you see, I think we could put perhaps £1,000-£2,000 on this.

-Even with the nick?

-Even with the nick.

And the clock's not working.

I don't think we'll worry about that too much.

It doesn't always go hand-in-hand that

if you've got a very good brand name you've got a very good product.

But with Lalique, you have.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

Here we go, this is it.

Lot 435 is the Rene Lalique Inseparables glass desk clock.

At 600 now.

At £600, 620, 650.

680. Is that it? 680. 700. 720. 750.

780. 800. 820.

It's frightening when David Palmer says is that it?

You think it's just going to stop.

But we're now on 900 and it's going up. It's sold already.

At 1,050. At 1,200 now. 1,300.

I've got 1,400. 1,500. Down here at 1,006. 1,700.

1,750. At 1,750. All done at 1,750, no-one else?

-It gone, £1,750.

-That's brilliant.

-That is fantastic.

Iconic 20th-century designers like Lalique

will always be a good investment.

Even if they are not in perfect condition.

There is one name in Art Deco that all "Flog It!" fans know -

Clarice Cliff.

Her work is a regular at our valuation days,

but the James Lewis was lucky enough

to find a piece he'd never seen before.

This is the most wonderful design. It epitomises the Art Deco movement.

It has angular lines,

bright colours and she's totally sacrificed practicality for design.

I should think it's probably

a cookie jar and cover, something like that.

Clarice was one of the few great female ceramic artists of her time.

And she was one of the first.

We've just had the First World War.

A lot of the men had passed away, women were in the workforce

in a different role for the first time ever.

And we had the female flair, the female use of colour,

the female use of design and shape,

all combined in the wonderful Art Deco jazz age.

And this was a design done by Clarice Cliff in 1930.

It's a design called Shark's Teeth

and it was inspired by an original design by Edouard Benedictus.

But this one, with all its wonderfully bright colours,

its wonderful angular design,

just is going to appeal so much to the Clarice Cliff collector.

They wanted away from the austerity of the past

and they wanted colour in their lives.

And Clarice Cliff gave them that.

We see lots of Clarice Cliff, the Crocus pattern and Gay Day

and all that sort of thing that we see time and time again.

But this really is something quite special.

Isn't that wonderful the way Clarice Cliff has left a little

rectangle there for her to sign her name, while doing the decoration?

Really wonderful.

Is it something that's been in your family since it was new?

I think it was my granny's and then my mother got it.

-We've had it for 30 years.

-30 years, we've had it.

-Yes.

When her mother died, it passed on to her.

What are you planning on spending the money on?

-How much do we have to raise?

-I don't know.

-We might go a holiday.

-OK.

-Yeah?

-I think it's worth...

-..£600-£900.

-Eh?

-Well...

-Is that all right?

-That's great.

I think it's worth that.

It's worth a go. If it's worth it to me,

it's going to be worth it to somebody else.

'It's not just the object and it's not'

just the pattern.

It's the combination of a rare pattern on a rare object.

It can make a massive difference.

Start the bidding at £800.

Right, we are in.

-It's sold.

-900. 950. 1,000.

1,050. 1,100. 1,200. 1,300.

1,400. 1,500. 1,600. 1,700.

-Oh, there's a bid left on the book, isn't there?

-1,800. 1,900.

2,000.

-Oh, this is just a choice moment.

-2,100 with me.

2,200. 2,300. I'm out.

Any advance on £2,300?

-2,300.

-The hammer has gone down. Don't you just love auctions?

The pattern was Shark's Teeth.

And the Shark's Teeth pattern is as rare as hen's teeth.

From Art Deco to Art Nouveau.

We see less Minton than Clarice Cliff

but Catherine Southon loves it.

I am so excited about this Minton jardiniere.

-Where did you get it from?

-It was my great-grandmother's.

I am so excited

because I do actually collect Minton Viennese Secessionist ware.

And this is just so beautiful.

At the time, I was collecting Secessionist ware.

So I was instantly drawn towards it.

And this was a lovely example, beautiful bright colours.

I mean, I pounced on you in the queue.

Because I saw it and I just thought those colours are absolutely

fabulous, they are so vibrant.

And it's got this wonderful tube lining.

When you are buying Minton Secessionist ware,

it's good to go for items which have really good colour,

good vibrant colour, that's what people collect.

The nice bright reds and oranges and purples.

So you can see lots of sort of influences from nature.

And we see these quite stylised flowers and plants.

It's quite a simple design, but it's so very beautiful.

Minton had been very successful in the 19th century

and they wanted to carry that on,

so they brought out this design which was very short-lived,

but slightly ahead of its time, and now is hugely desirable.

Have you had this in your home for some time?

I've had it about six months in my home.

Before that, my mum had it in her home.

My grandmother had a Christmas tree in it.

My mother has had newspapers and sweet wrappers.

I think she had an aspidistra in it at one time.

-That's dreadful!

-Yes, then she gave it to me about six months ago.

-Used it as a rubbish bin, and I think I've been sick on it.

-Oh!

I don't know if I want to touch it. In it? Oh, God!

But the condition overall was pretty good, it had had a hard life.

This is really, I think, quite special.

Do you have any idea of how much it's worth at auction?

Well, I only thought around 50 or 80 quid.

I'll give you 50 quid.

I'll take it from you straightaway.

-I think that it's worth around £300-£500.

-Wow!

I think people should be very careful not just to disregard

everything, not just to throw it on the tip. Think about things.

And if you're not sure, take it along

to one of our valuation days and get it checked out.

Who'll start me at £200? Thank you. 200 I'm bid. 210. 220.

-230. 240.

-It's a bit slow.

-Is sticking, isn't it?

-260.

-270.

-Yes.

-Yes, we've sold it.

-280. 290.

300. 320. 340. 360.

-380. 400. 420.

-That's good.

-440.

It's at £440 on the telephone now. At £440, if we are all done...

This particular item was something that I collect.

I think it would have been nicer to make a bit more, really.

Catherine might have hoped for a higher price,

but it's certainly more than the £50 Lorraine thought it was worth.

If you're interested in modern classics,

remember, a rare Clarice Cliff shape

combined with a rare pattern will fetch the highest price.

Go for the earliest pieces of Lalique you can find.

An R in the signature denotes it was made

before Rene Lalique died in 1945.

And don't forget, with late-20th-century designs,

condition is everything.

We rightly celebrate the great designers

and makers throughout our history.

But there are many more out there, obscure and unsung,

whose work deserves more attention, as David Fletcher knows.

If I was to pick one object which to me

sums up the best in 20th-century design,

it's this christening mug.

What I like about it is that it's traditional,

but it's interpreted in a very modern way.

The decoration is very simple,

it actually depicts characters from nursery rhymes.

But the figures are beautifully engraved,

so there's an extraordinary simplicity of line, I love that too.

It's not over-decorated, but you know what the decoration is,

you know what the scene is.

This is made of silver and it was assayed in 1950.

It was made by a woman called Edith Barralet,

who was a student at the time

at the Central School of Arts and Crafts,

founded in the late 19th century,

and instituted, really, to encourage good design in the arts.

Although it is easily identifiable as a christening mug,

it is so different from the sort of christening mug

that the Victorians would have produced 70 or 80 years earlier.

I love it. It's quite simply one of the nicest things I own.

Like David, I also think the 1950s are an overlooked period

when it comes to modern collectables. And it's true,

some furniture designers from that time are considered design classics.

But Eames, Robin Day and Arne Jacobsen are beyond

most people's budgets, so start with something smaller.

Like 1950s pottery.

Rye, Poole and Midwinter are very good starting points

and they are relatively inexpensive.

But also remember, distinctive

and currently unfashionable items will have their day.

So far in this programme,

we've looked back at 20th-century classics,

but of course new ideas are emerging all the time.

And one of the best places to see them

is at London's Design Museum, as I discovered when I visited in 2011.

The Design Museum was founded by Sir Terence Conran back in 1982.

It was originally housed in the basement of the V & A Museum,

but by 1989, the exhibition had outgrown its space

and moved to its new home, here on the Southbank.

There are many exhibitions here every year,

featuring contemporary design from all around the world -

from graphics, to architecture, fashion and product design.

What's great about the exhibits is

they're not just the weird and wonderful.

There are everyday objects, too,

making us question the design of things

we really do take for granted.

'Josephine Chanter, from the museum, has promised to show me around.'

-Welcome to the museum.

-Can I have a go on that?

-Do.

-That looks a lot of fun. It's very sculptural-looking.

-Yes.

When it stands up, you wouldn't even know it's a chair.

-And that's what it is?

-It is a chair.

-What's it called?

It's called Spun Chair.

You really do have to trust it, don't you?

It's quite therapeutic, in a way! Bags and bags of fun.

-Yes!

-It's made of plastic. Is that an injection mould?

Yes, the little bits of plastic are put into the machine and then spun,

to make this shell of a form. This is made by Heatherwick Studios.

It works as a sculptural form, but then, in fact, it's a chair, as well.

At first glance, people don't necessarily know what it is,

-which is part of its charm.

-Can we look at a few others? You choose,

because everything in here is vying for my attention

and I'm getting rather confused! So, you lead the way.

So, I gather these light bulbs won this year's design award?

That's right. Out of all the exhibits, all the entries,

it was the humble light bulb that won the day.

What is so special about them? At the end of the day,

they are just light bulbs.

Well, we've all had to convert to low-energy light bulbs

and they're really, really ugly. And we put them in our lamps

and you do see them, they're really unattractive.

What's lovely about these is, not only are they attractive,

-in and of themselves...

-You don't need a lampshade.

You don't even need a lampshade.

..and they put a lot of time and effort

into getting a really lovely quality of light.

Yeah. It's a whiter light, isn't it?

Yeah, they work to give a really good luminescence,

so they beautifully light a room.

And they're something really gorgeous to look at.

It turns a light bulb from being an everyday commodity

into a real design object.

-So, Paul, this is the YikeBike.

-Gosh! Why is it called a YikeBike?

I think, probably, because it's going to make you go "Yikes!"

Do you know, I've seen a design like this before.

-It's the penny-farthing.

-It is.

It's an electric penny-farthing.

It's the lightest and smallest electric bike on the market.

-Have you been on this?

-I haven't been on it,

but apparently, where it was invented, in New Zealand,

-they're quite popular.

-Yikes!

Well, one thing that really strikes me about my visit here today

at the Design Museum is how the old has influenced the new

and how looking backwards is just as important as looking forward.

We are for ever saying "quality always sells"

and, believe me, it does. All of the "Flog It!" experts

are regularly on the lookout for those standout pieces,

so Christina was delighted to meet Lesley, a rather racy lady,

who brought along a stunning piece of 20th-century design quality

to our valuation day in Duxford, in 2012.

-This is my late husband's watch.

-Right.

It's amazing it survived, because my Fred was a motorcycle racer

and he did grass track, he did speedway

and, then, we did road-racing together.

-We've done 17 Isle of Man TT races. He was the driver...

-No!

..and I was the sidecar passenger. And we've been off the bike,

-slid down the roads, crashed into barriers...

-Oh, my goodness!

-And he was wearing this watch?

-He's been wearing the watch all the time.

I had lots of people say to me, "Oh, I saw you on "Flog It!""

"Oh, I saw you on TV."

But what was really lovely is, some of our old motorcycling friends

got in touch with me.

That was us in the Isle of Man. That's me hanging out the side.

-Oh, my God!

-Complete idiots! You can't see him wearing the watch,

-but he always had his watch on.

-Look at you in the skin-tight leathers!

-Young and fit and stupid, yes!

-What year was this?

-About 1970, '71,

something like that.

'It isn't a watch that I would want to wear

'and I don't have any relatives that would wear that kind of watch.'

I could almost hear my husband saying,

"Oh, flog it. Do something else with it."

So, we took it and Christina really liked it.

Longines is synonymous with quality.

This particular model was introduced in the 1930s.

I think this is probably slightly later than that.

I think it's probably end of the '30s, early '40s. It is wonderful.

I love the fact that it's got the gold dial,

it's got what looks to be the original bevelled glass and it's got

an 18-carat gold case to it.

We know all that because it's stamped with its original serial number

on the back and it's just heaven to a Longines collector.

They were quite interested, because it was a listed one

with a number on and it was quite exciting, really,

to find out about it.

Value-wise,

at auction, we would be looking somewhere in the region

-of £300 to £500.

-I wouldn't like it to go for less than £400.

-Right, OK.

I don't want you to regret selling it,

because it's had so many wonderful memories attached to it,

so I think, for that very reason, and in Fred's memory...

-Yes!

-..let's say £400 to £600.

-The wheeler-dealer part comes in, yes!

And let's hope he's watching us on the auction day!

Here we go...

The 18-carat gold-cased Longines gentleman's automatic wristwatch.

Always popular these. Where do you start me?

I'm bid 320, 350. I'm bid 380, with me. 400, in the gods.

I shall sell it. In the gods, at £400.

-We've got £400, straightaway!

-20 bid here. At 420. Sure?

It's 420, on the phone. No? Shakes the head.

At 420, are you all done, then? At 420, all done, then, at 420...

£420, just over the reserve. That's good, isn't it?

It was all over in a flash and we got what we wanted.

Well, having decided that £420

is not life-changing, but I thought I'd see something for it.

My husband, obviously, passed away some years ago,

three years ago, and so I put some in Premium Bonds and said,

"Come on, just nudge ERNIE for me, while you're there.

"It's your watch, now do the business."

He hasn't been listening yet. The rest, I bought some piano lessons.

It's great fun doing the piano.

There are some wonderful small children,

at about the same stage as me, and they're getting on a lot quicker,

but they don't have arthritis, the way I've got it in my hands!

So they're great to listen to. They're very talented.

I'm thoroughly enjoying it and I shall continue.

And that's big apologies to all those kids

who play an awful lot better than I do,

but I'm trying and I'll get there in the end!

What a great way to spend the money!

I hope that's given you some inspiration

to have a rummage in your attics.

You never know, you could be sitting on a small fortune.

Well, that's it for today's Trade Secrets,

so goodbye and good luck.