Warminster Flog It!

This sale room has seen impressive results this year.

A signed photograph of Emperor Hirohito made £3,000.

A ship's bell made £9,000.

And a collection of letters from Lawrence of Arabia made well over £11,000.

So, fingers crossed, we're going to get some mammoth results for our owners.

You never know what's going to happen at an auction.

That's the fun part! That's the exciting bit of the show.

We use our knowledge and experience to the best of our abilities to put a sensible estimate on things.

But, fingers crossed, we're always hoping it's going to go sky high.

And hopefully that's what's going to happen later. But right now, we need some antiques.

'And to find them, we've come to Warminster.

'During the 60s and 70s, this town was world famous

'for being a UFO hotspot. Today, though, we're looking out for UAOs,

'that's Unidentified Antique Objects.

'The crowd here at the Assembly Rooms want to know exactly what they've got and what's it worth?

'And helping them do just that are our team of experts, led by Kate Bliss

'and David Fletcher.

'They're both experienced auctioneers and valuers, so our crowd couldn't be in safer hands.'

It's very heavy.

'And coming up in the programme, Kate has to break some bad news.'

-The market's come down a bit. Come down quite a lot, actually.

-Yeah.

'And I might have bitten off more than I can chew.'

We're looking for an alien with the initials AB.

'But the first object to go under the Flog It microscope is Rod's beautiful jardiniere.'

This is a great lump of porcelain you've brought in today.

The first question I've got to ask you is, have you got any Irish blood in you?

-None at all, actually.

-None at all?

-Welsh blood, if anything.

So is this a family piece? I suspect not.

No, it isn't. When my mother retired some years ago,

she became friends with an elderly neighbour.

In fact, she tended to her in the last three or four years of her life.

And that was on the lady's sideboard.

She always admired it and kept an eye on it.

And when she eventually died,

her daughter knocked on the front door and she said,

"Mum used to tell me that you liked this, so please have it."

And she kept it until she died, about 12 or 13 years ago,

and, to be honest, I didn't really like it very much. I thought it was quite ugly.

But my mother did a little bit of research on it

and found out it was worth a few pounds and I sort of started to like it.

Oh, did you now? THEY LAUGH

Do you know anything about the Belleek factory?

That's what it is, Belleek Irish porcelain.

-I know it's close to the border with Southern Ireland in the village of Belleek.

-That's right.

-And that's really all I know.

-OK.

This is encompassing a lot of the main distinctive characteristics of Belleek for me.

It has this lovely cream, pearly lustre. You've got these quite heavy scroll feet,

typically Victorian or perhaps even from an earlier period.

It is a jardiniere. Have you ever had a plant in it?

-I haven't, but my mother did.

-It's very clean.

She used to keep an aspidistra in a plastic pot inside.

If we look on the bottom, we can see, because Belleek marked their pieces,

we can see the distinctive black printed mark there.

-Yep.

-And the marks are bracketed into periods,

and this is known as the second period,

which dates from 1891 to 1926.

So, really, I think this is a Victorian piece.

-The amazing thing for me is the condition, Rod.

-Mm.

You've obviously looked after it, because these pieces, this encrusting, is so fragile.

-But we have a chip which, funnily enough, I felt rather than I noticed, just here.

-Yep.

-Just on the top here.

-I didn't notice that.

-You can feel the glaze is missing, it feels rough.

It's just been knocked a little bit there, so that will keep the price down.

Strange, isn't it? All the delicate parts have remained intact.

-The thick bit has got chipped.

-THEY LAUGH

So what about value? What can you see it fetching at auction? Have you got any ideas?

About four years ago, I sent some photographs to a couple of the well-known London auction houses

-and it was valued then at somewhere towards £2,000.

-Right.

The market's come down a bit. It's come down quite a lot, actually.

And with that damage on the edge here, that's going to knock it a little bit more.

-I have to say, I'm not going to value it at anything like that.

-No.

I still think it's an important piece, it's relatively rare.

I think a realistic estimate at auction is going to be between £400 and £600.

-Yep.

-Are you still happy to sell it at that?

-Yes.

-Yes?

-Sell it or break it.

THEY LAUGH Is that what worries you?

-The fear of dropping it?

-Yeah.

-Well, we're very happy to sell it for you.

-Yes, do that, by all means.

-We better find a pair of safe hands for it.

-Yes.

'It just goes to show how tough the antiques market can be.

'Prices can go down as well as up.

'David is valuing an object that's almost the antithesis of that highly-decorative Belleek.'

Thank you for bringing this little glass vase along.

-Do you collect glass?

-No, but my wife collects various items, including carnival glass.

-Quite a different type of glass.

-Yes.

-But she snatched these things up at a boot sale.

-Did she? Right.

-So she gobbled up this little vase.

-Yes.

-What did she pay for it?

-Probably pence.

-Pence. Right.

Whenever I go to a car boot sale, I can't see anything, nothing I'd like.

You should go with her. THEY LAUGH

It's Holmegaard

and it's Scandinavian

and it's really characterised by its simplicity.

So its strength, really, not its physical strength but its visual strength,

derives from its bareness.

If we have a look at the mark, we can see it's dated.

1957.

It's quite rare for people, even today,

to be interested in modern glass.

And I think for your wife to have spotted this, she must have a good eye.

Britain, as a nation, has always been a bit reluctant to accept modern design.

In the 1930s, for example, when the rest of Europe was building houses with flat roofs and steel windows,

we still tended to be building houses that looked like medieval cottages.

After the war, I think we became a little bit more sophisticated in our taste

and objects like this started being collected really enthusiastically.

-Do you like it?

-I like it, yes.

-But it's of little use to me.

-So you're not really going to miss it.

-No, not at all.

Have you any idea what it might be worth?

I've been told £20 to £30.

Yeah, I think that's spot on.

-And would you be happy to sell it for that reserve?

-Yes.

-OK.

So you have to be philosophical, really. You've decided to sell it,

you're not going on a world cruise, but you realise that, I realise that

and, who knows, we might have a nice surprise.

'OK, well, it might not be terribly useful, but it's a beautiful little object

'and at least John's wife is pretty much guaranteed a profit.

'Precious metal is selling really well at the moment,

'so I was delighted to meet Mike, who has brought in something rather special.'

-Thank you for bringing this wonderful piece of silver in. I know you're a Wiltshire lad.

-Yes.

Born and bred. What's the best thing about Warminster?

I think that, really, the whole area, there's so much to see,

-there's so much to do.

-I'm going to ask you a question. You've been here all your life.

-Have you ever seen a UFO?

-Erm, not really, but I've seen various lights in the sky

-that I blame on the military, but there you go. You have to blame somebody.

-They are based around here.

-That's right.

-Do you believe in UFOs?

-I believe there've got to be other people other than us on the earth.

-That's for sure!

-Yeah.

-Hopefully they'll be at the auction!

Yes, there is that!

It's a very good time to sell precious metal. Silver and gold is at a premium.

Every time there's a recession, people invest in gold and silver. I'm going to open this up

and tell everybody what it is. It's a little sovereign case with two sovereigns

-and one half sovereign in it.

-Yep.

-It's very special.

-It is.

-And it's in exceptionally good condition.

So, tell me the story behind this.

-How did you come by it?

-Well, my grandfather's brother

failed the medical to go to war,

so his wife purchased this for him and gave it to him in 1913.

He didn't last as long as Auntie May, as we called her.

She came down from London and stayed with us for a while and she gave me that

and said that it was Uncle Albert's.

-And that's his monogram.

-That's his monogram. And I said, "Thank you, I will treasure it"

-which I have, but all you do with it is keep it in a cupboard.

-You put it in a draw.

-Nobody wears a watch chain any more.

-You mentioned 1913, when it was given.

-Yes.

The full sovereign and the half sovereign both say 1913. If I look,

I've got a book of hallmarks here, and it's so easy. For £10, you can pick up one of these little guides

and it tells you exactly what to look for. If you can see,

every part of the silver has been stamped.

But inside the lid, you can just about make the Chester sign.

And I know it's made in Chester because this little sign tells me.

-Oh, it's Chester.

-Yeah.

And their symbol is a shield with three wheat sheaves and a sword. OK?

And if you look here, it says uppercase N. If I look here at uppercase N, what's the date?

-1913.

-Same as the coins.

-1913.

-So this was made for the coins as a presentation set.

-So, in a way, it'd be nice to keep them together.

-Yes.

So, all in all, it's very, very nice.

I would like to value this as one lot.

The auctioneer might say we should split them, because there's people that collect sovereigns

-and they don't want the sovereign case.

-Right.

-But right now, let's give it a value.

-Let's put £80 to £120 on each sovereign.

-Right.

£60 to £80, half sovereign.

£60 to £80 on the Chester sterling silver case.

-Fine.

-If you tot all that up,

the lower end of the estimate, that makes £280.

I think we'll put a reserve at £280 and we'll call the valuation £280 to £320.

-And, hopefully, you'll get a little bit more than the top end.

-Hopefully.

-And, with a bit of luck, somebody will have the initials AB.

-You never know. That'd be a bonus!

That's what we're looking for. An alien with the initials AB.

THEY LAUGH

'Well, we're about to find out if there are any little green men in the sale room,

'because we've found our first three items to go under the hammer.

'There's the Belleek jadiniere. Kate's valuation might not have met with Rod's expectations,

'but what will the bidders think? The beautifully simple Holmegaard vase,

'bought for just a few pence by John's wife.

'And last but not least, Mike's sovereigns in that beautiful case.

'We travel to Devizes for the auction and before it gets underway,

'I want to find out what auctioneer Alan Aldridge has decided to do with the sovereigns.'

-I like this lot, and I chose this one. I put a value of £280 to £320 on it as one lot.

-Yep.

They belong to Michael. We've got two sovereigns, a half sovereign and a spring-loaded little fob case,

-which I think is wonderful. I kept them together because they obviously came together.

-Yeah.

-I'm more mercenary than you.

-OK. You have to be, it's your business.

I looked at it and saw two different clients.

At the moment, people are not buying sovereigns because they're coins.

They're buying them purely because it's gold and they're buying it as bullion.

Sovereigns now are £120 to £150 each, half sovereigns half of that price.

I thought your estimate, bottom to top, was going to cover those beautifully.

-Then this is a little bonus.

-Yes.

-Because we have people that collect these.

-OK. And we're looking at what for that?

-I think between £30 and £60

-and maybe, on a good day...

-£80?

-£80.

-It's a nice little item, isn't it?

They are beautifully tactile. Mind you, I do find gold tactile.

-THEY LAUGH

-I prefer silver.

-So do I.

Silver is softer. There's something very special about silver.

-It's understated.

-Yeah.

-Fingers crossed. See you on the rostrum.

-Look forward to it.

'Well, Alan's up on the rostrum now and we're about to find out

if that Danish glass vase appeals to the bidders.'

Coming up now, we've got a bit of 20th century modern.

It's Danish, it's glass and it's Holmegaard.

And it belongs to John. I know your wife picked this up for a few bob!

-A few pence.

-A few pence! At a car boot sale.

-Yes. Or a jumble sale, wherever.

-How long have you had this?

I think about 30 years.

You've done well, haven't you? You've looked after it, that's the main thing.

David, you've put £20 to £30 on this.

-I think this sort of thing is underpriced at the moment.

-Definitely.

People are moving away from Victorian furniture

from the Victorian interiors that we were used to when I started in this business.

People are increasingly interested in minimalism

-and this is just that sort of thing.

-It's going under the hammer now.

The little Danish piece of retro glass.

Where do we start? Do we start at £1,000?

-HE LAUGHS

-Would be nice, wouldn't it?

-You never know!

-Nearly fell off my perch then!

Lovely piece of glass. £40.

£30 start me? £20 get me away.

£20 I've got. At £20 I've got.

£22. £25.

£27.

£30. £32.

£34. £36.

£38.

At £36 on my right.

At £36. Is there £38? At £36.

At £36, all going.

Good result!

-I'm thrilled. But it's still affordable, isn't it?

-Yes.

If you were looking for anything to collect, you could do worse than Holmegaard.

'What a great find. Over a 36-fold return can't be bad on your investment.

'Now time to see what they make of the Belleek.'

Kate and I have just been joined by Rod in the nick of time. It's a packed sale room

and the biggest piece of Belleek I've ever seen. We're just about to go under the hammer. £400 to £600.

All credit to you, cos you've had this 15-odd years, looked after it. It's a hard thing to clean.

How do you clean it? Hoover it from a distance?

Stood it in the sink and sprayed it with Fairy Liquid and let it dry.

Aww! Let's hope it goes all the way back to Ireland. This is it.

I think probably the biggest piece of Belleek I've seen.

It's a lovely big piece. Somewhere around about 400 quid.

400? 300 start me?

250 get me away.

Will anyone start me at 250? What about 200, then?

No?

Thank you, sir. 150 I've got.

-200?

-Well, it's a starting point.

300?

-275.

-Gosh, it's gone quiet.

300? At 275. Is there 300?

At 275. That's not quite enough.

-Oh.

-No.

-I'm sorry.

-Nowhere near, I'm afraid.

-No.

-Just the right person wasn't there.

-The thing is, there's probably one person that really did like it

but you need two people to bid against each other to push it to that reserve.

-I'm very sorry.

-That's all right.

-There's another day.

It's not necessarily this auction room. You could bring it back in a month's time and ten people want it.

-They're strange old places, auction rooms.

-Yeah. It's a lovely thing.

'What a shame. But that's the gamble you take at auction.

'I just hope next item fares somewhat better in this packed room.'

OK, it's my turn to be the expert now. Remember the gold sovereigns in the fob case?

They're about to go under the hammer and I've been joined by Michael. I had a chat to the auctioneer.

He's decided to split your sovereigns and your fob case into two lots.

He thinks that the tiny fob case might make £30 or £50.

We've still got a value of around £320 so, fingers crossed, you're going to be in the money.

And it's going under the hammer now.

Nice bit of gold. Give me 300 quid.

Nice round figure, £300.

Gold weight's there. Thank you, sir. £300 I've got.

-Right.

-310. 300. 310. I shan't dwell. I shall sell them.

310. 320.

At 310. £310.

-That's what we said.

-Yes.

310. 320.

That's tops. That is tops.

320. 330 anywhere else? 320.

-320. And going.

-Yeah. Good.

-That's good.

Now, this little fob case would be the bonus. Hopefully £30 to £50.

Lovely little thing. Chester 1913.

£50 for it. £50.

Straight in at 50. 50 I've got. 55?

At £50. 55. 60.

60? 65.

At £60. 65 anywhere else, quickly?

At £60. All going.

£60. The hammer's gone down. Fantastic!

-£380.

-Thank you very much.

-Top money.

-£380 all told.

-There is commission to pay

It's 16 percent. That's how the auctioneers earn their living. It pays for everything here.

What will you put the rest of the money towards?

-Well, I'm off to Oberammergau to see the Passion Play.

-Are you?

It's every ten years, as you know. In July.

And as the Euro's gone down a bit, this'll help a bit.

-OK. Enjoy it!

-Thank you very much.

-A man of taste!

'And talking of taste, we've got some great items coming up later in the programme.'

-How do you put a value on this?

-I don't know. You tell me!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Do you like this fancy Baroque style of decoration?

-Not really, no.

-No.

'But first, it's back to Warminster,

'where a local firm are keeping some traditional artisan skills very much alive.'

If this was the 19th century, right here and now, I would be breaking a key rule in etiquette

by walking down this street in my bare hands.

It sounds silly, doesn't it? But back in Victorian England,

the wearing of gloves while walking down the street was considered a necessity in polite society.

'Since then, fashions have come and gone and our social manners have obviously changed a lot.

'But for this Warminster firm, when it comes to the actual process

'of making fine gloves, things have changed very little.

'The company was founded back in 1777 by John Dent.

'Over the next few years, it enjoyed rapid growth,

'and within a couple of decades, the name of Dent's had become famous all over the world.'

Unlike many other businesses in the 19th and early 20th century,

the glove-maker's craft didn't become mechanised.

And today, it's still as reliant on the skilled hand and the keen eye of the artisans

as it was back then in the days of its founder.

'Each glove is individually hand-cut and hand-stitched.

'The whole process involves over 32 different stages

'and it takes a total of around six hours.

'But it all starts with the hide.

'Creative Director Deborah Moore has agreed to give me a tour.'

This is actually where it all starts. This is the first process.

It is. And this skin here is hair sheep, which is a mixture between a goat and a sheep.

-I know, it is wonderful, isn't it? And the beauty of this skin is that it's very stretchy.

-OK.

So when we cut gloves out of it, they shrink back and they fit like a glove.

Now, this comes from South America.

-It's a wild pig.

-That's buckshot, isn't it?

-I think so, yeah. And also, because they're wild animals...

-It's been peppered.

Because they're wild animals, you often get scarring.

But this is actually a very good skin. We get much worse.

-Do you?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Is this the most expensive skin?

-This is the most expensive.

-How much would that cost, in glove terms?

A pair of gloves made from this would cost between £200 and £300 in the stores.

-Wow.

-It's the finest gloving leather in the world.

-We've got the hides, the skins...

-We then go over to here where we cut the leather.

What Des is doing is stretching the leather.

He looks at each skin and decides where he's going to get the gloves.

And now he's placing his pattern on the skin

and he's marking it with his fingernail.

He's trimming it up.

-And that's one glove.

-Gosh.

Now he'll cut the thumbs and the foreshirts.

The foreshirts are the pieces that go on the inside of the finger.

Is it a fact or a generalisation that sometimes your hands are normally the same time as your feet?

With men, you often find that men's feet and hand size is about the same size.

I've got nine and a half feet. Will my hands be nine and a half?

Your hands, I can tell now, are actually a size nine.

-Oh, are they?

-So there's a half size difference.

-What's happening here?

-The girls are machining and sewing the gloves together. This is Lily.

-Hi, Lily.

-Hi.

-How long have you been working here?

-44 years.

-44 years? Wow!

-Have you used that same machine for 40-odd years?

-No, I've done several.

-You've got through them!

-I've done several!

-THEY LAUGH

There is, actually, no new machinery for the gloving industry.

These are the old, original gloving machines,

which are very difficult. Lily's making it look easy but it's not.

Just like garments, when they're manufactured, they're very creased,

-so what we have to do is...

-Iron them, basically.

-Absolutely.

-So that's quite hot, is it, Dennis?

-It is.

People have been making gloves for centuries, haven't they?

They have, but it wasn't until about the 13th or 14th century when people really started wearing gloves.

Up until then, they were just very rough mittens

and then in the 13th and 14th century,

-nobles, princes...

-What was a glove-maker called back then? A glover?

Glover. William Shakespeare's father was a glover.

-I guess the proof is in the pudding, trying them on.

-It is.

-Would you like to try them on?

-I've got big, fat farmer's hands. I'll probably ruin them.

-These are the peccary ones.

-Is there a right way to put them on?

What you do is, because you don't want a lot of pulling here,

-you actually turn the tops over and then pull gently.

-OK.

-And then ease it down, ease the fingers down.

-OK.

-And this is a size nine.

-Yes.

-Do you guessed right.

-Yep.

-I go round the world staring at men's hands.

-That fits like a glove.

Fits like a glove. Those would last you a lifetime.

When you pull the glove off, pull it off by the fingers, don't just grab it off.

-Like that?

-Yeah, exactly.

And then, when you take them off, straighten them out.

-Don't screw them up. Straighten them out.

-There you are, some top tips.

You know, I've thoroughly enjoyed my little tour around Dent's. It's so reassuring

to see these gloves made with traditional skills and methods

by this bunch here, Lily and her colleagues, and long may it continue.

'In the Warmister Assembly Rooms, it's still a packed house

'and there are plenty more antiques left to identify.

'Kate is intrigued by a book that John has brought along.'

We have a beautifully tooled leather volume here.

But what lies within its pages?

Well, it's a book I've had for 50-odd years in my family.

It was given to me by an old aunt

and it's a journal of Mary H O'Brien.

So, you found the name inscribed here, dated November 22nd, 1831.

-So what did you find about Mary?

-We went onto the internet

and we found that she married an admiral

and also he was the captain of the Beagle, which is Darwin famed,

-so from there on, it proved a little bit interesting.

-How fantastic.

Because, to place this in history, what you've found out is very important.

Mary Henrietta O'Brien

married Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy in 1836.

But in 1831, before they were married,

HMS Beagle was on its second voyage

to Tierra del Fuego.

And Darwin, you're right, was on board that ship at the time.

And Mary, obviously, has gone with him,

because we see sketches in the back.

We've got one entitled Rio De Janeiro just here. Look at that.

A sketch, presumably in her hand,

and dated December 1831.

Not one of the better sketches. But there are all sorts of things in here.

That's a lovely little vignette of a lady, heightened with watercolour.

But I think one of my favourites is this botanical study.

This is beautifully done in watercolour and she's annotated down here,

"Given at the Cape of Good Hope to..." and she's put her initials, MHJ,

"October 1843." So that's a little bit later.

So it's a collection of things from her travels as a whole,

not just from the voyage with Darwin and her husband to be.

-What a fascinating collection.

-It's interesting.

And I think, John, something which collectors would really find exciting.

-How do you put a value on this?

-I don't know. You tell me!

-THEY LAUGH Any idea what it might fetch at auction?

-No.

I think it's got to be £300 to £500.

-I'm going to stick my neck out.

-Right.

I think I would probably usually say £200 to £300.

But with this Darwin connection, with the sketches, annotating her voyage,

I think it's got to be between £300 and £500.

And if two collectors really want it, who knows, it might make even more.

-Well, you amaze me. That's quite good.

-What a piece of history!

-And it's been sat around doing nothing for a long time.

-Thank you very much.

'And what a great find! You never know what will turn up at our valuation days.

'Laura's brought along a beautiful piece of Victoriana.'

-Looks as if it's a wine ewer.

-Right.

-I don't suppose you've ever used it for that purpose?

-No.

It takes the form of the 17th century, perhaps early 18th century prototype,

but in this particular case, Victorians have taken that shape

and have designed and manufactured a purely decorative object.

-Is it something you bought?

-No, it belongs to my grandmother

-and she got it from her great aunt.

-Right.

-She lived in a big house in Derbyshire.

-Derbyshire?

-Yes.

-That's very interesting,

because this is a Royal Crown Derby ewer.

-We can see that by looking at the mark.

-Yep.

Typical red transfer-printed mark.

Royal Crown Derby, England.

The fact it's marked England indicates it was made after 1890.

-Right.

-And that's borne out by the fact it has a date mark beneath

-which is a symbol, it's a code mark, really, for 1897.

-Right.

-Do you know if they had other items like this in their collection?

-Lots. It's all scattered round the family.

It's lovely quality. Beautifully crafted objects made out of porcelain.

Not pottery, this is porcelain.

But what really dignifies this is the nature of the decoration.

This fabulous upside down heart shape

enclosing this view of, I think, Tuscany.

-Yes.

-It evokes Italy or perhaps Southern France, doesn't it?

-And it's beautifully painted.

-Is that hand-painted?

Absolutely, it's hand-painted.

There would once have been a pair to this which would have had an opposing landscape.

This type of decoration, I suppose, is probably not everyone's cup of tea.

-Do you like this fancy Baroque style of decoration?

-Not really, no.

-Is that why you're thinking of selling?

-Yes. My grandmother wants to get rid of most of her pieces

because none of the family want them and she may as well split the money up amongst her family

rather than have individual pieces that don't go in anybody's houses.

-None of us own Victorian houses.

-We haven't discussed value yet.

-Do you have an idea what it might be worth?

-No really, no.

OK.

I'm tempted to say £300 or £400. I'd like, though, to suggest an estimate of £200 to £300.

-OK.

-And a reserve just below that.

-And I think it'll do well.

-Sounds good.

-I look forward to seeing it in the sale and meeting you again.

OK? Thank you.

'Was David right about the valuation? Well, we'll find out shortly.

'But not all of the people who come along want to sell.

'Jenny and Ian collared me with an item they knew I just couldn't resist.'

You just grabbed me because you know I love a bit Michael Cardew. You don't want to sell.

-You're pottery enthusiasts. But he collects Torquay.

-I do.

This is much better than Torquay ware! Flog all the Torquay ware

and keep this. Let me just tell you, it is Michael Cardew.

-Can you see the impressed mark?

-Oh, I see.

-MC, just there. Michael Cardew.

And I can date this for you so quickly right now.

-Winchcombe Pottery, WP. 1926 to 1939. That's when this was made.

-Quite early.

There you go. And he was taught by Bernard Leach.

And I think Michael Cardew is one of the greatest slipware designers of all time.

-Right.

-And I love this. This is known as tiger glaze. This is all slipware.

It's so typically old English. It's an 18th century shape.

-It's a typical cider flagon. There you go. Hey presto.

-Very interesting.

-And I know what you're going to say. What's it worth?

-Go on.

-If you did want to sell this, it would possibly get about £170, £200 in auction.

-Gosh. As much as that?

Yeah. You've got a nice investment there. How much did you pay for it?

-Nothing.

-Well, there you go.

'Gosh, what would I give to be given a present like that?

'Kate's found a beautiful pendant brought along by Judy.'

This is a super period pendant,

which also has a very contemporary look about it, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

-So how did you acquire it?

I think it was first my grandmother's and then my mother's,

but I remember having it when I was quite young.

Lovely. So did you wear it?

I did. I think I wore it a few times, but because it's long here,

it needed a fairly low-cut garment, so it needed a party or...

-And a posh dress.

-Yeah, that sort of thing.

Well, I can see you've got blue eyes, so they would look perfect with the blue aquamarine set in here.

-Thank you.

-I think it would suit you very well. So what we've got here

is a super Edwardian piece, but it is crafted, really,

to give it a very delicate, light look.

-Yes.

-It's got this lovely aquamarine right at the top here.

And then an articulated suspension incorporating that pearl,

right down to this lovely floret at the base.

I'm just going to hold it up, because I'm just wondering if the gold is marked.

And I think it is just here.

-Yes, we've got a little 15 stamped here, just on the back.

-It's so tiny, I wouldn't see it.

It is tiny. So, 15 carat.

-Why do you want to sell it?

-I don't think I would wear it again

and I really want to raise some money for helping with children's school fees in Tanzania.

It's something I'm trying to do now I'm living here.

I lived in Tanzania most of my life

and I know a lot of people whose children can't go to secondary school when they get a place

because the parents can't afford the fees. So whatever I can raise from this

-will go towards helping with school fees.

-What a lovely idea.

Well, I think it ought to fetch between £150 and £180, perhaps even £200.

I think, if we put a reserve at £140...

-You don't look so happy. Would you prefer it slightly higher?

-I'd rather have £150, really.

-OK.

If you're happy, let's put it at £150. It should reach that.

-And I really hope it makes towards the top end for you.

-I hope so, too. Thank you very much.

'It's always important to protect your lot with a reserve that's right for you

'because once that number is called out from the rostrum, it's all too late.

'Now time to find out what the bidders at Devizes think of all of our items.

'Here's a quick reminder of what we're selling.

'The Crown Derby porcelain with the beautiful Tuscan scene.

'That amazing journal with a link to HMS Beagle.

'And Judy's Edwardian pendant.

'I think they're all gems.

'And we're about to find out if the bidders agree.

'Judy is first up.'

Our next item is a 15-carat gold pendant

and the proceeds from the sale are going to help pay for school fees for children in Tanzania,

courtesy of Judy here. We need top money, really, don't we?

We do. It would be nice to get that. The thing about this piece is,

it's such a delicate design.

But it is very commercial today for somebody to wear it. So I've got high hopes for this one.

If we get the top end of the estimate, £200,

-how many children will it help over a year?

-Erm, over one year?

Well, it could do five or six children maybe for primary

and maybe one for secondary, or two, depending if it's a day or boarding school.

-Boarding school would need all of that for one year.

-Right.

Fingers crossed we get a little bit more. Here we go. This is it.

A late 19th century fine-work pendant

set with aquamarine and sea pearls.

Should be around £150, £200.

£150?

-What about starting at £100? £100 I have.

-People put their hands up.

£110. £120.

£130.

£140. £150. Go on!

It's only money. What about £145?

£145. £150.

£155?

At £150 on my right. £155 anywhere else? At £150.

At £150 on my right. Is there 55?

£150. That's good.

-It's...

-Every penny helps.

It will certainly help, yes. Thank you.

-I'm sorry we didn't squeeze a little bit more out of that.

-I am, too.

Good luck with the rest of the fundraising,

-because I know it's going to go on and on, isn't it?

-Oh, it never ends.

-Thank you so much for coming in. It's been a pleasure meeting you.

-Thank you.

'Well, we just got that one away.

'But will that Victorian wine jug fetch a good price?'

-Going under the hammer next we've got a Crown Derby jug. It belongs to Laura. Who have you brought?

-Alia.

-Your little daughter. How old are you? Six months?

-Yes.

Hello!

-What an unusual name. Alia.

-Yes, it's Arabic.

-But we did get it from a science fiction novel.

-Did you?

-Yes.

-Were you trying to choose a really unusual name that nobody else had?

-Yes.

-I think you succeeded!

-Yes!

-Don't you?

-I won't say hello, cos I'll start her crying. I have that effect on babies.

-She's so beautiful!

Don't wave your hand about, you might be buying mummy's jug back!

This has been in the family a long time, three generations,

from a big collection, at least. Why isn't is Alia's? Why isn't it going on to the fifth generation?

-It's just... For us, it's outdated.

-OK.

-So the money's going to come in very useful, anyway.

-Yes.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but a lovely piece.

£200 to £300 should do it. We're going to find out right now.

This is a pretty little thing, this.

Somewhere around about 300 quid?

300? It's pretty.

250, then, start me.

A couple will get me away. 180, then.

160. Thank you.

160 I've got.

170. 180. 190. 200. 210.

220. 230. 240.

-This is good.

-250.

-Yes!

At 240. Is there 50, quickly?

At £240.

Yes! £240. That's great. That's going to come in so handy

because you need buggies, pushchairs, car seats, travel cots.

-I mean, it just doesn't stop, does it?

-No.

-Tell me about it. I know.

-She grows and then she needs the next size up.

-Yeah.

-And then the iPods and then it'll be university.

-I'm not worrying about that.

-OK.

-Then it'll be antiques!

-THEY LAUGH

'And once you've caught the antiques bug, there's no stopping you.

'This next lot really fired up my imagination. I hope it's done the same to some of the bidders here.'

I've been looking forward to this one. It's that lovely personal volume collated by Mary O'Brien

-which dates back to the early 19th century. It belongs to John. We've got £300 to £500 on this.

-Hopefully.

-There's a lot of nice material in there.

-I know.

The sketches are superb, and you've got the Fitzroy correlation with Darwin's voyage of discovery

on HMS Beagle, so the whole package is very nice.

And I know you waxed lyrical about it all day.

It's a great story. John unearthing it and finding it and realising that it's something a bit special.

-It's an unknown quantity.

-It is.

-It's a difficult thing to value.

Let's see what happens. This is it. Let the bidders decide.

I reckon start me at £400.

It's something you will never see again. £400.

300 start me, 200 get me away.

200 I've got.

220. 240. 260.

280. 300.

At £280.

280. At 280. Is there 300?

It's very cheap, but I'll sell.

300. 320. 340.

360. 380. 400.

420. 440?

At 420. At £420.

At £420.

440. 460?

450. 460. 470.

480.

At 470. 470 for persistence.

At £470.

Hammer's gone down. Yes! That's what we like to see. £470.

-Thank you, Kate.

-Pleased? I'm pleased, actually.

That was a very good valuation. There is commission to pay, 16 percent.

-He definitely earned his money.

-He has.

Alan's done us proud. What will you put the money towards?

I think it might go towards a holiday.

On the other hand, I might get the car taxed.

THEY LAUGH

-Thank you, Alan.

-Thanks for bringing it along. It's been fascinating.

-Thank you very much indeed. You were proved right.

-Well...

-Well done, Kate.

'What an incredible journal and story.

'We never know what we'll find at our valuation days.

'There are so many undiscovered historical gems

'just waiting out there in homes all over the country. So, please, bring them along to our valuation days.

'Look for details on our website. Go to:

'And then click F for Flog It! Then follow the links

'to find the list of towns we're coming to very soon.'

That's it. It's all over. We've come to the end of another show.

We've had a few sticky moments and a few ups and downs,

but that's auctions for you. That's why we love doing them.

Do join us again soon for many more surprises.

So until then, from Devizes, it's cheerio.

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