Ipswich Flog It!

If Flog It had been around in Anglo-Saxon times, today's show would be coming from Gippeswyk.

But the name's slowly changed. And today it's known as Ipswich.

The success and wealth of Ipswich has always centred around its harbour and docks.

The main industry was cloth, but now the port is not just for trade, it's for trendies too.

And designer flats are springing up everywhere.

Our trade at auction today is all things antique and collectable.

And as the hammer goes down, we want to hear "Sold!" from auctioneer, Alan Smith.

It's all going to plan, isn't it?

Venice, here we go. Well, not me. You can if you like.

That's very nice. Thanks very much.

Our venue today is The Corn Exchange

and our merchants on a mission are Adam Partridge and James Lewis.

Louise, anybody who is interested in tennis will find this fantastic.

You've got such a history here. You've obviously had personal involvement in this?

My school in London, we qualified to be ball-girls for the Wightman Cup.

That was how I happened to be there in 1952 on No.1 court at Wimbledon.

And who did you see playing? Well, Louise Brough, Doris Hart. And it was Maureen Connolly's first year.

And she went on to win Wimbledon that year. Amazing.

Unfortunately, the Americans won.

Unfortunately, they continue, too. Yes, they still do today.

So, 13th and 14th June, 1952, the Wightman Cup. It doesn't exist now.

It was alternate years in America and England. It got such a walkover for the Americans, it was put aside.

Yeah. If we look in the back of this, we see in 1923, America won.

'24, England won. Then England, America, America, England.

Then suddenly in 1931, it says America won. And all the way down until 1951, America won.

So not much success for 20 years. I bet they haven't won it since!

No. We need an Andy Murray in the ladies now.

In the centre pages, you've got the signatures of Walker Smith,

Miss D Hart. Doris Hart.

They're pre-my generation, but still people that you know about.

Let's look in this one. You've got some fantastic names in there.

Tony Mottram was before my time, but I knew Buster Mottram.

That was his son. He represented England in the... Davis Cup?

Yes, that's right. But in those days you could go to Wimbledon and get in for half a crown.

And there were no security guards, so you could walk up to anybody

and you just easily got autographs. It's not quite the same now. No.

Actually, I did enjoy sitting on Henman Hill or Murray Mound, as it is now. Yes, that's right!

But I mean, that is the best name, isn't it? Fred Perry. Yes.

For the youngsters there... Fred Perry's a fashion name now. Yes.

He won Wimbledon in 1934. He was the first person to win all of the Grand Slam tournaments.

Yes, that's right. Wonderful name.

For me, this is really interesting.

But this is your...? My own ball-girl's ticket. Wonderful.

"Ladies' International Meeting - Umpire, 1952."

So I suppose for Fred Perry, Tony Mottram... There are over 50 autographs in there.

It's difficult. Because I'd love that. That is absolutely wonderful. Make me an offer. I'm not allowed!

But I suppose there are well-known autographs and less well-known. Yeah.

About ?100, something like that.

?80 to ?120 for the tennis. You hoped for more? I would think so.

As long as they market it properly.

Exactly. It's got to get to the people who are interested in tennis.

What would you like to have as a reserve? 100. Fine.

I'm hoping it'll get quite a lot more. Let's put 100-150 on it then.

With ?100 reserve, lower-end estimate, ?100 to ?150. OK. Lovely.

Paula, this is a delightful little pot you've brought in. Yes.

What's the story with it?

I bought it from a jumble sale ten years ago. Persuaded to buy it by the stallholder.

So was it quite expensive then? It was a pound.

So she persuaded you to buy it for a pound? Yes. OK.

Did it take a lot of persuasion? Not really. No?

How did she persuade you to buy it?

I wanted to buy some Sylvac rabbits.

She said, "I've got another pot I want you to buy and you can have the rabbits for ?1."

You ended up with Sylvac rabbits and this for ?1?

Mm-hm. You know what it is? Yes.

Early Moorcroft. Yes, when William Moorcroft was at MacIntyre and Co.

So it's the early 20th century, probably about 1905.

And this range is the Florian Ware range.

I think this is the poppy design.

There we've got William Moorcroft's signature underneath and the MacIntyre mark.

This is before Moorcroft pottery started. It's a very collectable piece and it's in good condition.

Yes. And a pound wasn't bad, was it? No, pretty good. What sort of return do you expect?

Um... I don't know. Would you sell it for 80 quid? No. No?

Would you sell it for 150 quid? Maybe. Yeah.

I think 200 to 300. Yeah. Is that OK? Fine. That's 200 times what you paid for it.

Quite a good profit. Not bad at all. We'll put a reserve on it, shall we? Yes. Slightly below - 180? Yes.

So that if it doesn't make 180, take it home because it's worth that.

Yes. And take it home and keep it safe. I'll be here for the auction.

I'll cheer it on. Let's hope it makes a good price.

We love to find things of local interest

and this one's hit the nail on the head. There is a lovely story as well. Janet, tell us all about it.

I bought them in The Corn Exchange about 25 years ago. Here in this building? Yes.

I think it was actually in the room downstairs. 25 years ago? About. From Tom Keating himself.

Wow! The major master forger. Mm? Did you get to meet him?

Yes. What was he like? He was a lovely old chap with a beard. Yes.

And I asked him to sign the back, which he did. And they were very cheap.

I think I paid 15p, 20p each for them. Oh, wow! What a piece of history!

He was brought up in this area, wasn't he? Yes.

He forged quite a few Constables, some Degas, some Matisses.

He was taken to the Old Bailey in 1979 and put on trial for deception.

I mean, he's now famous in his own right. He is. And he was selling them to raise money for charity.

And he's cut these down from larger oils. I wish I'd bought a bigger one. He had lots of bigger ones.

But I didn't have enough money. Aw! In fact, this one's painted on canvas card for this size. Yes.

And they're all signed "Tom Keating". That's very Constable, that one.

There's quite a few signatures on here. That one's his signature, isn't it? Yes.

The trial was dropped in 1979 at the Old Bailey because he had ill health.

He was very poorly. And I think he died four or five years later? Yes.

I think he knew he was ill when he was clearing out his studio.

Value-wise, well, we're not going to value them as Constable forgeries, are we? No.

They are the real thing in their own right - Tom Keatings.

In 1998, an auction room in Colchester sold the entire contents of his studio,

88 oil paintings and a few watercolours,

and they fetched a grand total of ?133,000.

Wow! So he's worth a bit in his own right. Yes. So someone has a chance to buy an original Tom Keating.

I would certainly love these. I would put a value on each of these at ?30-?40.

So as a collection, if we put them in as one lot, ?100-?150. Well, that's nice, isn't it? Yeah.

If you used them as big fridge magnets, they'd look fantastic!

They've been stuck up with Blu-Tack. Were they? Yes!

I'd do exactly the same cos they're a bit of fun. They were outside the kitchen.

I had them stuck up with Blu-Tack in cardboard frames.

At least you got to meet the man. I did! He actually sold them to me.

That's a story in its own right. Yes. Thanks for bringing them in. I'm sure they'll do well. Thank you.

Graham, something tells me that this has not had pride of place in your house.

Well, Mother-in-law didn't like it very much and it was relegated to the attic.

I thought it might've been. He's covered in these wonderful cobwebs and dust.

It's like a true attic find. Yes.

Tell me about it. Is it a family piece? As far as I know, Father-in-law went to Palestine

and Jerusalem during the war and just referred to it as one of his Jewish figures.

He's not Jewish, he's Chinese. No? If he acquired it there,

it certainly would've been an import. It's Chinese hardwood. OK.

And if you feel its weight, it's quite some weight. It is heavy.

And probably made out of padauk wood.

And these figures were imported into this country, and obviously others, at the turn of the century.

These were made in two ways. Sometimes you would have a block of wood and carve it.

The other Chinese carving technique is a root carving. They would have a root ball.

They'd decide what it looked like and carve it from there.

Oh, right. But this is from a solid block. His teeth are made from either ivory or bone.

His eyes are made of glass. Right. You often find when the wood dries and contracts, the eyes fall out.

But he's got both eyes and his teeth. He could be an attractive chap. You want to sell him? Yes.

He's the sort of figure that is an acquired taste. But I think he's super.

He's not greatly valuable. There are lots of them about. Normally you find that something's missing.

But that's the main selling point of this one.

So I think we ought to put on a classic auctioneer's estimate of ?60-?100.

Do you want to put a reserve on it? Would you suggest one? Yes, let's put a reserve of ?50.

If it doesn't make that, you'll have him back. OK.

Let's look at all the items going in today's auction.

For tennis enthusiasts, there's the Wightman Cup memorabilia,

the Moorcroft pot, bought for one pound, the Tom Keating miniatures Janet bought from the man himself

and the Chinese figure, cobwebs included.

Today's auction comes from Diss in Norfolk. And we're at Thomas Gaze Sons.

There's a sale here every Friday, 51 weeks of the year.

Today's auctioneer is Alan Smith. He'll be wielding the gavel.

Let's find out what he thinks of our owners' items and what he thinks of our experts' valuations.

Paula's little Moorcroft bowl, an early one.

We do see a lot on the show, but not as early as this. It's a pity it's a small one. Yes, it is.

But it's still special. The point was, it was the MacIntyre factory who Moorcroft took over

and it comes from this period.

The other special thing about it is, round about 1904,

so it's an early piece, at this time they were experimenting with paler glazes. It is softer looking.

And this is the first ones that they managed the cream effect.

They put good decorators on to it. The bottom's marked with everything. It's a collectable little pot.

And the condition is absolutely superb. This was bought at a jumble sale, ten years ago, for one pound.

Really? We're looking for ?200-?300 on this. I'd love to see the top end.

You will, and another 100 on the top. ?400? I reckon.

That's exactly what we like to hear, don't we?

We're serving now a load of tennis autographs that belong to Louise, and hopefully for not much longer,

because I think at ?100-?150, these will definitely sell. I hope so.

Did you grow up playing tennis? No, I didn't start till I came back from the States in '48.

But I did play a lot. Do you play now? No, I'm on to golf now. A bit more leisurely, isn't it?

James, are you confident? It's certainly worth it.

It's a potted history of tennis. Every name is there.

I remember Fred Perry. The names that you flick through - wonderful.

Well, this is it. Let's hope it's an ace.

Number 230 - 1952, Wightman Cup with other autographs added later.

Again, a very good collection here. Some wonderful names there.

And I start at ?50. At ?50 we start.

At 50. 5. (It's gone so quiet.) 60.

5. 70. 5. 80. At ?80 bid. Still have it at ?80. Now where's 5?

Come along. 85. 90. Are you sure? At ?90.

95. 100. At ?100 now. 5 if it helps?

At ?100 only. Is there 5 anywhere?

The price will be 100 and selling.

What are you going to do with ?100?

I've got nine grandchildren, so it'll go very quickly.

Lovely. Thank you for coming in. Thank you.

This is the moment I've been waiting for since the valuation day when I met Janet

and those lovely little miniatures by Tom Keating, master forger.

I'm scared. So am I. We are on home ground, though. There's a lot of local connection here.

I just hope somebody wants a little bit of Tom Keating.

You got them for next to nothing. Yes. I just hope some art lovers want to take a piece home. So do I!

You want to buy something? I do. Janet has a bidding card. What are you going to buy? An amethyst ring.

How lovely! It's a souvenir. Of the day out? That's right.

It's going under the hammer now. Good luck.

188, interesting lot - three little collectable pieces. I start at ?50.

At ?50 there. At 50 on Keatings.

At 50. 60. 70. 80.

At ?80 for these now. Is there 90? Come on. ?80 now.

Is there 90? At 90 is the gallery. Is there 100?

At ?90, they sell upstairs.

?90. I'm... I'm pleased as well.

Did I ask what you were putting the money towards at the valuation day?

Yes. I'm giving half to my husband. And the other half is for a new sewing machine. A sewing machine.

A touch of the Far East comes to Norfolk. It's a gorgeous Chinese figure. It belongs to Graham.

We're looking at ?60-?100. Who put him in the garage? Mother-in-law. Didn't like him. Do you like him?

He's OK. Not exactly wonderful. Someone who does like him is James. You took a fancy to him?

I think he's great. It's unusual. You don't see a lot of them about.

But the ones we do see, they always sell. Well, the talking's over. Let's see what the bidders think.

Lot 41 is the padauk wood figure. He's a nice chap.

He's beautifully carved.

And I start on the book at ?28. Oh! That's a low one. It's very low.

30 I'll take. At 28. ?30. 32. 5. 8. 40.

2. 5. 8. 50.

At ?50 is the bid now. At ?50. Come on!

At 50 now. Surely ?5 for him? He's from the Orient.

At ?50 now. ?50 - right on the reserve.

We were lucky to get that one away. We were. Less commission,

it'll cover the petrol. But what would you have put ?50 towards? A porcelain figure. Re-invest it.

Porcelain instead of wood? Yes.

What we've got is our own Flog It expert, Elizabeth Talbot, on the rostrum, as this is her saleroom.

And this next lot has the lot. It's a stunning little Moorcroft bowl, the MacIntyre mark.

It belongs to you. But not for much longer. Not much longer.

So when Adam said ?200-?300, did you think, "That's a lot of money"? Yes. Or did you know already?

I knew it was worth something, but didn't know what. We had a chat to the auctioneer earlier.

And he said he'd like to see it do ?300-?400. I think the idea about putting a 200-300 estimate on it -

you always want to get above the top end just slightly.

Too much above the top end gets a little embarrassing!

The early 20th-century, Moorcroft Florian Ware.

And I'll start at just ?150. At 150 I have.

160. 170. 180. 190. 200. 220.

There's someone up there buying.

240. 260. 280. 300.

300 is with me. At 300 now. You're out top and bottom. At ?300 now.

At ?300. And it will sell at 300.

Oh, wow. Well done, Adam.

Pretty good. A little bit above would be too embarrassing(!)

So lucky. He has the Midas touch.

?300. Wonderful. A very good return on one pound ten years ago.

Very good. And you had to be persuaded to buy it? Yes. Will you treat the person who persuaded you?

No, I'll treat my daughter. What will you buy her? She's just been at Cambridge to be a teacher.

And she's going on holiday, so I'll give her the money to spend. Where's she going? She's going to Cyprus.

I hope she has a great time. I haven't told her. That's a lovely surprise. Well, she knows now!

I've spotted something from the 17th century, a court cupboard. It's made of oak, my favourite wood.

It's so tactile, you can just caress it.

It's got a lovely ambiguous grain as well. And the older the oak gets, the better the colour.

Now that is from the 17th century. But I'm going to Norwich to see oak furniture that's bang up to date.

Well, it doesn't look very "now", does it? In fact, it's extremely old. It's 200 years old.

And it's ten times more expensive than any other oak of its size.

And to find out why, I've come to John Barnard's furniture showroom. So let's go inside and find out.

Hi, John.

Pleased to meet you. Hello, Paul.

Right. OK. Why is this section of oak ten times more expensive than any other piece its size?

Because it came from Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar. That is unbelievable!

There is such a sense of history in these boxes in these little offcuts. Yes.

We know the Victory's down in Portsmouth. So what are you doing with bits of it here in Norfolk?

These were taken out as part of the lightening of the boat, but also as part of the continuous replacements,

especially when Nelson was actually in it and knocking seven bells out of it.

These trees were fully mature before they were felled, so we're looking at 400-year-old oak. Yep.

They reckon that 80 acres of oak forest were cut down to build one ship.

That's why we've no oak forest left. It's quite fitting that it's all here as Nelson was a Norfolk lad.

Oh, yes. He was born and bred 30 miles from this shop.

The offcuts are here. What will you do with it?

We are slicing it up into fairly thin pieces

and using them as a patchwork in our tabletops and on our Victory chairs,

which I can show you if you'd like to walk this way.

Wow! I can see what you've been working on now. This is it.

Isn't that stunning! It looks like a patchwork quilt. It was the only thing we could think to do with it.

And it looks in 3-D until you touch it. These are strips of the oak laid down and what have you done?

We made a resin bed, fitted them all in, waited for it to set, put a final layer over the top.

And when that had set, we sanded it off flat. And you've polished it well. It's come up beautifully.

It is like a parquet floor, but... But more interesting. Yes!

Obviously, you've made it fit in places. Yes. We've kept as far as possible... A few bolt-holes. Yes.

Bolt-holes like that. We have kept the white paint from the inside,

which I do wonder if it was put on for health reasons. Probably was.

And, Paul, note this - blood. This was where Nelson died.

Honest! Yes, honest(!)

I like the curling grain here. This is from the knee section, isn't it? Yep.

I love it to bits. I can even see cannon here. I can see the legs as turned gun barrels.

The inspiration for the ends was actually the bell housing on the boat,

which was one of the loveliest pieces on it. I like the wedge.

I tried to get that fighting boat feeling into the structure. Lots of cleats everywhere.

Lots of bronze, lots of wedges, lots of pins. Everything held by... Pegs. Yes.

I don't think screw threads had been invented in 1775. They weren't. It was all pegs and dowels driven in.

The inspiration, I can see where it's come from. So did you go down to Portsmouth to see the Victory?

Yeah. I went down with the three blokes who bought the timber... It's awesome, isn't it?

..to feel this 200-year-old structure, where thousands had died creating the Empire.

It was...overwhelming. Quite haunting? Yes.

Did you have any working drawings for this?

Did you just scale it down? I did, yes.

They asked me to design it. It took three months to come up with the original design, which is not this.

I went through a process of... Oh, wow! See where that's coming from? Yes. Not practical to dine at.

Could you imagine looking at a gorgeous woman through all this rope work? "Hello!"

I like it though. Yeah, I liked it.

I kept fiddling about and suddenly I thought, "We need the boat with the planks taken off."

That was 15 minutes before I went to see them and present everything. Nothing like a deadline, is there?

So he said, "Well, draw that up then." So I did. We finally went to this design of table,

which was the original table from the centre of the ship's structure.

And then I took the ribs off. And that was the scaled drawing of one of the ribs,

which we blew up to seven feet high in order to make the back of the chair.

The price of this entire dining suite - what would it cost?

This one is a slightly special one and costs about ?9,500.

Just for the table? Yes. The chairs are just over ?6,000 each.

For eight chairs, you're talking of something like 45,000 to 48,000,

which is about the same as the original boat cost. Which is what the Victory cost? Indeed!

That's recycling! You must've been so excited to get this commission. It was fantastic.

The most famous man in English history, with the possible exception of Winston Churchill,

and I was asked to design the furniture to celebrate the bi-centenary. What's next for you?

Um... Top that! I'm sure we'll think of something! John, thank you very much. That's a pleasure, Paul.

OK, Matt. Some big, big vases here. Where have they come from?

I got them from a shop I frequent in Felixstowe, an antique shop.

The guy goes to Belgium and buys a lot of glass.

They were sat in his shop for a year and I watched them.

Murano started creeping into the scene, so I bought them.

So after a year you got them down quite a bit on the price? I did.

Yeah. They were up to ?55 each and I got it down to ?20 on each one.

Right. I did quite well. It was a good deal. Not bad.

And how long ago did you acquire them? Two years. They're big lumps of Murano glass.

A lot of people will be familiar with Murano glass, from Italy, of course, Venice.

You can appreciate the scale because you're a big lad and they're standing on the table.

They're a near pair. Yeah.

There's nothing wrong with them, is there? They're just a bit dirty.

Why are they so dirty? Cos I put some flowers in them for somebody and they've just...stained it.

It's hard to clean, isn't it? It's very hard to clean.

So why are you selling them now? I've now acquired a dog, which is quite scatty,

and because I'm a bit heavy-handed, the two don't really mix together with glass! So they've got to go!

What kind of a dog is it? It's a cross between a whippet and a labrador. It's quite manic.

Right! So if they stay at your house, they'll end up broken? They need someone to look after them.

Exactly. I'd suggest a big estimate of 80-150 for the catalogue. That's fine. Put a reserve on them?

80? 80. If not, then you'll be taking them home with you again. Fine. Thanks for coming in. Thanks.

Diana, you've brought along an old Flog It favourite here, a Worcester figure. It was a gift years ago.

I can't remember, but it was a good few years. And she survived a fire.

How did she survive a fire?

I was moving house. It was put into a shed at the new premises.

And most of it went up in flames.

She was in a box that made it to the house.

Most of my past is gone, so she'll join it at auction. Gosh!

She's March. Are you a March baby?

I am a March baby, yes. I'm not telling you what year! Was she a christening or a birthday present?

A birthday present. I'm sure you've seen them before in the show, but this is quite a nice one.

Good. It's by an artist called Freda Doughty.

It was a family of figure modellers and decorators who worked at Worcester.

Her sister Dorothy was also a Worcester artist.

They used experiences of everyday life to model their children.

Freda first of all modelled in Plasticine,

then worked the models up from Plasticine to clay.

And almost all of her children that she modelled were children she knew in the villages where she lived.

So this little girl would've been wandering the streets of Worcester back in the 1940s. Good gracious!

Most of these figures were named.

This one is named "March". They did months of the year, days of the week and countries of the world.

But she's a lovely one. She's pretty, isn't she?

And this model was originally launched in 1949.

But it was made for a number of years. And we can see on the bottom there a "W".

That was put on Worcester in 1950.

And then to each side of the "W" we have a dot.

Each dot is one year. We've got four dots to the left, five dots to the right - 1959.

I never knew that! But it's a black mark. The earlier marks were puce.

The same figure with a puce mark is worth more than one with a black mark. What do you think it's worth?

Well, I'm hoping it might reach three figures...

Whatever. I'm hoping she will too.

Really? Good. Just. Just. I'm going to put an estimate on of ?70-?100.

But keep your eye on the market. People often say, "These things are going up, so I'll hang on to it."

Then they bring it out four years later and expect the value to be the same.

Three or four years ago, she was worth ?150-?200. Really? Yes.

But she's back down to 70-100. Still not bad.

Better than burning in a fire. Yes! Let's hope she does well. Thanks.

Andrew, you're a big lad, what are you doing with a girl's bracelet?

I found it at a boot sale last year.

Did you? And... It's going to be cheap then.

How cheap was it? It was a pound. A pound? A pound.

Oh, God! She wanted ?2 for it. But you have to negotiate these things.

I suppose then you didn't realise that it was a row of 39 diamonds? It was very dirty when I bought it.

It didn't look expensive. I didn't think the gems would be diamonds.

Was it mixed up with rubbish? Yes, like costume jewellery with bits missing.

So I put it in the car door pocket and it was there for three months.

And one day you decided to have it looked at? I found it again and thought, "The stones look sparkly."

But I didn't think they'd be diamonds. They do look sparkly.

Yes, they've cleaned up very well.

There's 39 diamonds, which means a total carat weight of about 3.9 carats. Yeah.

It's on the clasp. Is it marked on there as well? Just there.

Oh, I see. 3.93.

And it's 18-carat gold. 18-carat gold. Import marked for 1997.

So it's modern. But very wearable, I would have thought. Not for me.

Nobody in my family wants to wear it. Really? Have you got a wife or girlfriend? She doesn't want it.

She'd rather have the money? I'd rather have the money.

Yeah! So you're going to keep the money.

Obviously replacing something like this is going to be quite expensive.

But on the auction market, it'll be a lot less. Yes, fair enough.

I'd say ?600-?800 as an auction estimate. I've had advice from our jewellery specialist.

He reckons that it should make about ?750 or ?800.

If we pitch it at 600-800, it shows the buyers it's here to sell.

Hopefully that'll get a few people in after it. So we'll put a ?600 reserve.

If it doesn't make that, you can have it back. It's very nice indeed.

So what will take the bidders' fancy at auction?

Will it be the tall Murano vases?

Diana's Royal Worcester figure of March?

Or the sparkling diamonds in the gold bracelet?

The auction is about to start, but there's always time to look at something a bit special.

I must show you this. It's not in the sale as it's a general sale.

It's in one of Thomas Gaze's fine art sales later on in the year.

It is a George I, early 18th century box. But what's inside it is earlier.

It's from the Charles II period. If I lift that up, look how exquisite this is!

It is an embroidery casket.

And if I get it out very carefully, one of the legs is slightly loose.

So if I just lift this out...

and just put its little bun foot on there.

Now, look at the detail that's gone into this.

It would've been owned by the lady of the house, who would've taught her daughters embroidery skills.

They would've actually done this and covered the box themselves.

And it depicts things going on in their life.

Look when I open the doors, it gets even better. And each one of these sections opens up.

Just look at the detail of this. It's exquisite.

This lid would open up. There'd be a looking-glass mirror in there

and the compartment to keep her quills. But this would be full of lots of lace, threads and needles.

Value - when this comes up for sale, it'll fetch between ?10,000 and ?15,000.

It's very rare. And let's face it, you're never going to see another one like this again in your lives.

I've just been joined by Matthew. Your two Murano glass vases are just about to go under the hammer.

And you were worried they wouldn't sell because you reduced the reserve.

What to? 50. I didn't want to take them home. It'd be nice if everyone reduced their reserves at auction

because everything would sell. But then they might sell too cheaply. Don't play that dangerous game!

The two Murano vases are going under the hammer now.

67 is the Murano, very fine pieces.

And I'm on a start of ?40.

At 40 is the pair. Look at those at ?40. Now where's 5?

Statement pieces. 45. 50. 5. We are in, yeah.

60. 5. 70. 5.

Front row bid now at 75. Who would like the 80?

At the ?75, is that the price? At ?75.

75 quid - it's not quite the top end.

That's a fiver profit. Yes.

Right, Diana's Worcester. We've got some real quality coming up.

It's a lovely figure. ?70-?100 is what we want, Diana. I hope so. Let's hope we get the top end.

What will you put the money towards? Well, I was going to share it between my children.

But I'm going to Venice next week. I may spend it on the children in Venice. That sounds fantastic.

You'll not buy much in Venice for 70 quid. I'll try. It's going under the hammer now.

The Royal Worcester again. This is March. A nice figure in good order.

And I start with ?40. Come on. We're in.

And 5 is yours. 50's here. 5 is yours. 60's here.

5 is there. 70's here. 5 is yours.

At ?75 now. And where is 80?

At 75 now. This is good.

?80 is now bid. Up a bit more.

The fresh bid has the 80. And is there a 5? The ?80 takes it away.

Hammer's gone down - ?80. Not bad.

?80. ?80 - bang in the middle.

That was a very good estimate, James. Thank you. Venice, here we go! Absolutely.

Well, not me. You can come if you like.

This is the jewel in the Flog It crown. It's a lovely nine-carat gold bracelet with 39 diamonds.

This is what the show's all about.

Buying something for a quid and hopefully realising its worth - ?800. Hopefully.

I had a chat to the auctioneer earlier and he said for insurance purposes, three to four grand.

But because it doesn't look quite right, it'll probably get turned into earrings or a ring.

But he agrees with the value. I was advised by our jewellery specialist because I'm not great on jewellery.

Do you do many of them? I was a house-husband for a year and I used to go to all the car boot sales,

especially the ones during the week.

You've got a good eye. Let's hope it pays dividends. This is it.

Number 419, being the diamond bracelet. A lot of diamonds in here.

I'll start at bottom-end estimate - ?600. 600 I have.

Lowest bid. It's in. We've done it. Where's 20? At 620.

640. 660. 680.

700. 720. At ?720 now. Where's 40?

Get in there. At 720. And 40 do you like?

At 720. A lot of diamonds in this lot. At ?720.

It is going at 720.

Yes! Yeah. Excellent. What a turn of profit - one pound into 720!

Excellent. What are you going to spend that on? I'm getting married next year, so um... Fair enough.

It'll go on the honeymoon cos I want to go abroad. I've never been abroad. And the wedding.

That's been paid for, thankfully. But I want a nice honeymoon. And what's her name? Melanie.

Well, enjoy it, Melanie. Great result, Adam. Thank you.

The auction's still going, but it's all over for our owners and what a fantastic day we've had in Diss!

The jewel of the Flog It crown for me has got to be Andrew's gold bracelet with 39 diamonds.

He bought it for one pound and sold it for a staggering ?720.

So you've just got to be in the right place at the right time. Join me next time for more on Flog It!

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006

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