Richmond Flog It!

Today Flog It is from Richmond in North Yorkshire,

situated right on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Welcome to the show!

Richmond is a town of unique character and beauty

which has changed little through the centuries.

It lies on the banks of the River Swale, and the breathtaking Richmond Castle presides over it.

The town has 450 listed buildings and has been called the most beautiful market town in England.

Flog It is the main attraction in town.

We're in the heart of Richmond

and already there's a healthy queue gathering outside the Market Hall, today's venue.

Our two experts are Mr Adam Partridge and James Lewis, already hard at work

delving through all the bags and boxes.

Somebody here has a wonderful treasure

and they're going to go home later on in the show with a lot of money.

Who's it going to be? Well, stay tuned and you'll find out.

It's 9.30am, it's time to get the doors open.

Are you ready to go inside?

Yes! Let's get the show on the road.

-Look what I've spotted. Is this yours?

-No, it's my son's.

-Where is he?

-He's hiding.

-He doesn't want to be on TV, does he?

-No.

-Look at this. Can I sit on it?

-Yeah.

-Will it take my weight?

-Yeah.

-How about that?

Shall I give it a go?

Yeah, if you want.

Let's Flog It!

Coming up, find out what's got me nervous.

Mark, I'm very worried.

I am.

I've not been looking forward to this moment!

No?

And I learn all about...

Cheese!

Well, we made it and, as you can see, it's a full house inside.

Everybody's safely seated. Here's the young chap, here's his bike.

He didn't want to be on TV. Well, he is now!

I'll tell you who loves being on TV - James and Adam, our experts.

-Sorry, Bargain Hunt's coming out!

-Yeah!

Adam Partridge's day job is as an auctioneer in Cheshire, so he should be used to the climate up North.

I've got my van over there, full of blankets. I'm tempted to go in...

And James Lewis runs a saleroom in Derbyshire and is used to plain talking.

Is this to go back in the car, is it?

Honest answer?

Yes!

But it's Adam first up with David and his metal vase.

And you've brought along, well, a very interesting looking object.

-Is it out on view or shoved away in a cupboard?

-Shoved away.

-And that's why you've brought it in today.

-That's why I brought it.

-To find a new home for it.

-Well, yes.

Well, it's certainly very decorative.

There's this ornate pierced border and then you've got these figures in relief all the way around.

-The more you look at it, the more you see.

-Yes.

And as we always do in this business, we'll have a look on the bottom

for the marks, and there you see, you've got a windmill

and a couple of pipes.

-Right.

-Well, Holland, the Netherlands, is famous for windmills,

so it doesn't take the best detective to get that it is almost definitely a Dutch piece.

-Yes.

-And I think it dates from the late 19th century, the end of the 19th century.

-That's interesting.

-So, a little bit over 100 years old.

There are a couple of issues with condition and the main one is this big split, which you can't see.

-You can see fresh air.

-Ah, yeah.

And that's going to hurt its value.

-Can you see?

-Yes, I can.

I think, if that was in good order, it would be three figures.

£100, £200, maybe a bit more, but because of the damage I think we're going to have to try it a bit lower.

I don't know what your expectations are.

Did you have any thoughts on the value?

None, really. It's only now because I'm getting a little elderly,

that I thought, well, we'll tie it up a little bit, you know?

-So you're thinking of what am I going to do with this now?

-That's right.

It's a horrible practicality that a lot of people have to do,

-isn't it?

-It comes to us all eventually.

-Yeah.

-I would suggest an estimate of £50 to £80.

-Right.

-Sound all right with you?

-It sounds all right with me.

-Good.

I've got a flashy silver pen now and it shows up on my photograph.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Next up, James is having a chat with Bruce, a collector with the foresight to save his toy boxes.

Bruce, these are just so many memories for me.

It's not just toys, I remember having one of those, I remember having one of those.

I keep thinking, the last time I saw that was in the sandpit at home!

And that's the sort of thing that toy collectors are passionate about.

-Which is your favourite?

-I like that one.

That's mine. That's mine.

I love the Beetles. Well, I've got a VW camper now, an old 1969 one.

All my friends say I'm never looking happier than when I'm driving it.

-These have been a great investment. Some of them have still got the price tag on.

-Yeah.

-What's that?

Catterick, 16p.

There used to be a local shop there and they sold them.

-And you bought them all from the same shop.

-Yeah.

So, back as a boy, what did you do, wheel them around

in the sandpit like me, or did you have a proper track?

-I had a proper track, which I've got on the floor down here with me.

-Oh, let's have a look.

OK.

-There we go.

-Fantastic.

-Well, at least you've got the box.

-Yeah.

It's seen better days. Oh, gosh, it's pretty good inside, though.

You've got all the bits, all the ramps.

Fantastic.

The track doesn't have a massive value,

so I think the track should go with the other bits

and sell them altogether, OK?

There we go.

Well, when it comes to value,

the more interesting ones like that and the brighter colours,

£5, £6.

Some of the more common ones and less interesting,

like the truck in yellow and red, maybe £3 or £4.

So if we take an average of, say, £3 each,

we've got 50 of them here, so £150.

-Yeah.

-I think we ought to use that as the lower end estimate.

-£150 to £250 and if a couple of the specialists get involved they might make a bit more.

-Yeah.

Let's take them along and see how much we can raise for you.

That valuation sounds like it's got the chance to speed away at auction.

But, for me, time is of the essence as I compare watches with owner Mark.

-I've got nearly 20 to.

-Well, you're running a bit slow then, aren't you?

-Well, it is an old watch.

-That is a nice watch, isn't it? Is it a military watch?

It's a military Air Force watch.

My ex mother-in-law's second husband used to fly in the Air Force, so it was handed down.

-It's a family heirloom, isn't it?

-Of course it is.

Have you had that looked at by our experts?

I've had one over and value it and have a look at it and she said it's a very, very sought after, rare watch.

It's stamped on the back and everything and it's 17 jewels.

And you really want to sell it?

-I think anything from £1,000 upwards would be...

-OK.

-Are you happy to do that?

-I am, yeah.

-This is literally off the cuff,

-because you hadn't thought about selling it, had you?

-Not really. I brought another item in.

This is most unusual because we haven't rehearsed this, this gentlemen brought in something else

which he's had valued and now he's decided to sell his wristwatch!

We'll stick that in with a reserve at £1,000. Hopefully, we'll get £1,500.

This whole little chat, according to my watch, took four minutes.

Three on mine because I'm slow!

Raymond and Nancy have brought in a rather large number of pipes

they've rescued from the rubbish to show Adam.

-Who's the pipe smoker?

-Her granddad.

They were from my granddad, passed down to my uncle.

-OK.

-And then my uncle passed away two years ago, so we were left to clear the house.

-So you had to clear Uncle's house. Horrible job, isn't it?

-Especially with how much he had.

-Was there are a lot there?

-Oh, there's a lot.

And you rescued these, basically.

-We did. They were heading for the skip.

-Were they?

-They were.

They took my eye, so I asked him if I could have them.

Oh, Raymond's trying to take the credit now! Ray, they took my eye!

It is a good collection.

You've got all sorts here. You've got some 19th century clay pipes.

You've got various Bavarian and Black Forest and porcelain and all sorts of pipes.

Have you got a favourite amongst them?

-I like that one up front with the duck on.

-The one with the duck on it.

-Yeah.

-What about you, Ray?

My favourite's that one, nice picture.

Yeah, continental porter, it's a nice picture, isn't it?

Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go for that one.

I think that's a great one, isn't it?

-It's funny, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is funny, isn't it?

I think that's European walnut from the Black Forest region, as a number of the carved ones are.

She's a looker, isn't she?

What do you think they're worth? What would you ask for them at a car boot?

£1 each I'd ask for them.

-Yeah, £1 each.

-If you got that.

Yeah, I think, you know, you may get £100 for the lot.

Really?

Yeah, yeah. I think you may.

I think we should put an estimate of £60 to £100 and a reserve of £50

because whatever happens, 50 quid, they must be worth 50 quid.

-Fantastic.

-And even then at £1 each, you can...

You know, some of these are £5 or £10 each, I would have thought.

-I wouldn't have thought that.

-That's really surprised me.

-It's nice to see a good reaction like that.

-It really has.

-Very nice.

-Excellent.

-We weren't going to bring them until last night.

-Weren't you? Then you thought...

-She said, Ray, what about them pipes?

-Well, thanks very much for coming along today.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Well, sounds like it was worth Raymond and Nancy bringing them in.

Well, we've been working flat out. It's now time for our first visit to the auction room.

Let's up the tempo and put the valuations to the test.

Now, our experts are normally on the money, aren't they?

They're pretty good. I know it's not an exact science.

-Who's your favourite, Adam or James?

-James.

-Oh, James. James, yes. How about this side?

-Adam.

-Adam!

-Oh, there you go, look, a nation divided.

You've heard what our experts said about the items.

You've probably made up your own minds, but let's see what the bidders think. Let's get over there.

340.

And now for the moment we've all been waiting for,

where we put our valuations to the test

and today we're the guest of Thomas Watson Auctioneers in Darlington.

It's a packed room. Hopefully, all these people will be putting their hands up

and bidding on our owners' lots.

Now I'm going to catch up with them because I know they're feeling nervous and we'll leave you

with a run-down of all the items we're putting under the hammer.

David's Dutch vase has a crack, but it's an unusual design.

Mark's military watch is on the slow side, but will it catch up in time to meet its estimate?

Adam thinks Nancy and Raymond's collection of pipes are a good lot.

And what will auctioneer Peter Robinson think of the number of cars in Bruce's collection?

Well, take a look at this, Peter. There's a lot of lot,

60 or 61 Matchbox cars.

They belong to Bruce. He's been collecting them since the mid 1970s.

-But the condition is brilliant! And also we've got some track, as well.

-And some track, yeah.

I had lots of these.

Well, it's a confession that I'm not going to allude to.

Oh, come on, what? What were you going to say?

I played with mine in the garden, they all got dirty and rusty

and of course now, when you see them like this in the original boxes,

you kind of wonder how much pleasure was had as toys,

but of course they're now great collectors' pieces.

I ran mine into the ground, the wheels came off.

As soon as I got them I took them out of the box and threw the box.

-Yeah.

-Did you do the same?

-I did the same, yeah.

But, this is a nice collection.

I think we've got a reserve of £150 on this lot.

-That's about £2.50 a car.

-You know, we've got interest in the lot.

-We've got one phone line I think booked at the moment, one or two commission bids.

-Sounds good.

Interest in the room, so I think we'll exceed the reserve.

By how much, who knows?

You're cautious, aren't you?

I'm a cautious chappie!

'Well, let's hope the bidders throw caution to the wind. But first up are the pipes.'

Nancy and Raymond, it's good to see you.

This is the thing I love about Flog It, we find so many things in skips our owners bring along.

Classic recycling. It doesn't get any greener than the antiques trade, really.

So, why have you decided to sell? It hasn't cost you anything.

-You don't really like them?

-They're in her way.

-What?

-They're in her away.

-You're going away?

-They're in her way.

-Oh, IN the way.

-They're in my way, but we've got three grandchildren

-and another one on the way, so they're getting the money.

-Excellent.

Can you drive past a skip without stopping to have a look?

Well, you kind of go like that, don't you?

-I kind of do a little bit still!

-I wouldn't like to be seen diving in.

No, I know! Come back under darkness. I think it's probably theft if it's not your own skip.

Yeah, it could well be.

Anyway, good luck, they're going under the hammer right now.

Let's hope we get the top end.

A lot of pieces here, the collection of

the Austrian and Black Forest pipes there.

A lot of items in the lot.

Over 40 pipes in total.

Commission bids again here, so we can start at £80.

-Smoking! 80, straight in.

-Straight in.

At £90. 100 can I have?

100 with me, then.

110. 120. 130.

-140. 150.

-Gosh.

150 on my left for the collection. At £150.

-Excellent.

-Are we all finished now at £150 for the collection?

-£150!

-Pipes sell well.

I told you, didn't I?

Straight in and straight out that was, virtually.

-You wouldn't leave 150 pound notes in a skip would you, eh?

-No.

Over estimate, those pipes were in demand.

David's vase is also looking for a new home.

Let's find out what the bidders think, shall we, David?

It's a packed room. Have you been here before?

-No, never.

-It's a cracking saleroom, isn't it?

Purpose built saleroom, lots of history here.

We're looking for £50 to £80 for this white metal Dutch...

It's a beautiful little thing.

-It's lovely. There's a lot of work in it, isn't there?

-Yes.

For 50 quid, but a bit of damage.

Right, let's see what the bidders think.

The Dutch ornate vase, could do with a polish, but there we go.

At £30 bid on this lot.

At £30. 40 bid. 50. 60 with me, sir.

70 yours. 70 at the back now.

-This is good.

-80. 90. 100.

And ten.

£100 on my right, then, the bid.

-That's very good.

-It's on my right at £100.

Selling now on my right at £100.

All finished at £100?

Yes, £100.

-That's a good result, isn't it?

-It was a good result.

-Happy with that?

Happy all round.

'Double the reserve, no wonder we're all smiling!

'However, I do have reserves of my own when it comes to the military watch.'

Mark, I'm very worried.

-I know.

-I am.

I've not been looking forward to this moment.

Oh, dear! Do you know, normally, when we get to the auction room,

the auctioneer has a chat to me and says, Paul, that one might struggle, but this will do well

and we normally have an auctioneer chat.

But he hasn't said anything. He said nothing today about the watch.

Well, he's not said nothing, it's something.

Yes, exactly, which means he agrees with the valuation.

We're talking about that wonderful RAF watch

which, hopefully, hopefully, won't be yours after today.

-It might fly away.

-Anyway, this is it.

I'm a bit scared.

The pilot chronograph this time, nice lot.

Lot 255, the watch.

I have £600, lot 255. At £600.

£600. And 50 bid. At 650 bid.

At 650 bid. Is it 700 I have?

750. 800. 850.

-900? At 850 the bid's with me.

-It's not going to sell.

At £850. 900.

Bidding on the phone.

At £850. Short on the reserve here.

It will be unsold at this point.

At £850.

No?

-No. I had butterflies in my stomach about this one.

-Yeah.

This morning when I arrived, I just thought...

I just had a feeling this was going to struggle.

-Think so?

-Yeah.

Yeah. Well, there you go, he was calling for 850, so...

That gives an indication of where it could be actually valued at, then.

-Yes, yes.

-So, wait until next time.

What will you do?

Well, you're obviously going to take it home.

Well, sit on it for a while and try again.

Will you lower the valuation to £800 to £1,200 as opposed to £1,000 to £1,500?

No, because they are really sought after, so I might still stick with it.

-OK.

-You just never know.

Stick by your guns.

Well, Mark's got nothing to lose by biding his time with the watch.

Now we're going from timepieces to toy cars.

And coming up in the next lot, there is a lot of lots. 61 in total.

You know what I'm talking about, it's those Matchbox and Corgi cars belonging to Bruce.

I've been joined by our expert James who put the valuation on.

I had a chat to the auctioneer just before the sale started and we both thought,

wow, what condition, and you've managed to hang on to the boxes as well.

-What will you put the money towards?

-Taking the girl to see Status Quo in November.

-Status Quo!

Oh, brilliant!

-Oh, what a fun night out!

-I wasn't going to tell her, we've got tickets, so she's going.

-Does she know?

-I'm afraid so, yes, somebody told her. Yeah.

Well, it's about time we got down to business.

It's going under the hammer now.

Matchbox this time, the track in its box

and a collection of 61 vehicles in total in that box.

And £50 to start for the lot.

-That's low, isn't it?

-60. 70. 80.

90. 100. At £100 bid for the collection.

At £100. And ten. 120. 130.

140. 150.

-This is more like it!

-150 on my left.

At £150. 160. 170.

180. 190. 200. 210.

210 on my left.

At 220 on my right. 230. 240.

250. 260.

270.

280. 290.

I've got to say, they're racing away now!

320. 330.

340.

360. 370?

No?

360. In the back of the room, at £360 for the lot. Are we all done?

-300...

-Oh, he's come back.

380. 390.

400? 400. 410, sir? At £400, then.

In the back of the room at £400. Being sold now at 400 bid.

-Bang, the hammer's gone down! What do you think of that?

-Brilliant.

What a great result!

-I didn't expect that, no.

-No, nor did I.

The toy market has blossomed over the last few years.

Lots of auctioneers are trying to get into the toy market and that is why.

-And, interestingly enough, the bidding was all going on in the room.

-Yeah.

-Wow!

-Happy?

-I'm fine with that.

-It's put a smile on my face!

-Oh, it certainly has, yeah.

Well, those cars were a real sterling lot.

I love it when things just fly away.

Wow, just look at that stunning view!

Isn't that incredible? We are so lucky here in this country

to have backdrops like this.

I'm in the stunning Yorkshire Dales and I've come here to find out

about one of the oldest industries in the area.

It dates back around 1,000 years, and it's the art of cheesemaking,

but they don't just make any old cheese here in this region.

Won't you come in? We were just about to have some cheese.

Oh, no, not cheese.

I can't stand the stuff.

Not even Wensleydale?

Yes, that's right, I've come to the town of Hawes in Wensleydale

to find out more about Wensleydale cheese,

the favourite variety from two of the country's best loved characters, Wallace and Gromit.

Wensleydale is actually an area within the Yorkshire Dales

and the history of cheesemaking in this region dates back to the industrious monks,

at the time of the Norman conquest. But after Henry VIII abolished the monasteries,

the art of cheesemaking passed on to local farmers' wives who made cheese from their farmhouses.

Then, in 1897, right here in Hawes,

a local merchant called Edward Chapman began collecting milk from the local farmhouses

to use for the commercial production of Wensleydale cheese,

and it's been made here ever since.

Before I go off to the creamery to find out how cheese is made,

I'm going to take a closer look at the source of the raw ingredient.

And here it is, milk! Well, it will be a bit later when the farmer gets his hands on this lot!

But the cows here in the Wensleydale region get to graze on limestone pastures,

which is incredibly rich in wild flowers and herbs

and it's only milk from these cows that's used at the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes.

That's it, it's so simple, isn't it?

That's what gives Wensleydale cheese its wonderful Dales flavour.

And right now I'm off to the creamery.

50 local farmers in the Wensleydale area provide milk for this creamery

and tankers arrive every morning.

They pull right up here and this is where the milk is pumped in.

Now, the first process is it has to be pasteurised.

This is quite simple, really.

The milk gets heated to 72 degrees for around 15 seconds

and that will kill off any bad bacteria.

Right, let's have a look at the cheesemaking process!

Once the milk has been pasteurised, 1,000 gallons are pumped into each metal vat.

One vat will end up being 500kg of Wensleydale cheese.

Rennet addition is then stirred into the milk.

The mixture then cools until it sets into what is known as

a semi-solid junket, which has a consistency a bit like blancmange.

Next, the mixture is cut into small pieces by rotating knives and stirrers.

This releases the curds and whey.

Now, the equipment may look hi-tech down there,

but the basic way Wensleydale cheese has been made

hasn't changed for centuries.

Really, that is just a full-scale larger version of what would have been going on in there.

And it's still very much largely a handmade process.

Once the moisture's drained and the correct level of acidity has been reached, it's time to pitch the vat.

The curds are moved to one end in order to allow the whey to run off.

Salt is then added to the curd. This serves as a preservative

and, of course, enhances the flavour.

It's then put through the cheese mill and shredded into small pieces,

which are then packed into stainless steel moulds ready for the press.

Well, it looks like back-breaking work in there.

I'm pleased I'm in the viewing gallery just watching!

Wensleydale cheese is only pressed lightly compared to other varieties

which gives it that distinctive crumbly texture.

The cheeses are bandaged in muslin as soon as they are removed from their moulds.

They are put into the drying room where they are turned over daily.

From here the Wensleydale cheese may be sent to the maturing room

where it'll be stored for four to six months.

And it will be checked regularly by the cheese grader.

Right, I think it's time I got myself a piece of Wensleydale cheese.

Trevor, you work here as a cheesemaker.

-So how long have you been here?

-Oh, 14 years.

Crikey! Man and boy, really, all your working life, I know you're a young chap.

I'm going to try some.

-Which shall I go for first?

-The Blue Jervaulx is going to be a big seller.

-I never knew there were so many variations.

-Oh, yeah.

We do, like, through the samples, if it's a seller, we do more.

Oh, blimey, that is really good!

Cor! Hey, I'm not surprised you haven't put on weight!

All the work we do! THEY LAUGH

I'm going to have another bit of that.

Cor, that is delicious!

So, in your opinion, what sets this apart from other cheese, why is Wensleydale so good?

Well, we use the milk from cows from Wensleydale, basically,

and it's been a seller for years.

It's the way we make it. People come from all over the country and the world.

This is the best advert for local produce.

-Yeah.

-It doesn't travel far and food shouldn't travel.

-No.

Who would think that eating grass turns into something as delicious as this?

That's incredible, absolutely incredible, isn't it?

Mmmm!

Get off me cheese! Get off!

It's not just Wallace and Gromit that are our friends.

People of all ages come to see us.

-Is that Mum's or yours?

-It's my great uncle's.

It's your great uncle's. Oh, how wonderful!

Look at that lovely blue enamel.

And, inside, what a surprise when you open up.

-Are you into antiques?

-Er...

Oh, look, look! Your nail varnish nearly matches the enamel, look!

-Gosh, so many people! Good luck, ladies.

-Thank you.

Welcome back to our valuation day in the heart of Richmond.

I can't believe there's so many people.

Looks like the whole of North Yorkshire has turned out!

Let's catch up with our experts and find out what they've been up to.

Coming up, Barbara gets some fashion advice from James.

Watches, popular. Necklaces, popular. Brooches, not so good.

Adam's drumming up interest for Andrew's loving cup.

-We've got five prospective bidders already.

-We want bidders!

And James has found a bit of quality.

That's 62.5% gold.

But, first, there's a buzz in the air as James talks to Barbara about her insect brooch.

I have to say, whenever somebody says to me "I've got a brooch,"

unless it's diamonds, sapphires, something fantastic quality,

generally I say, they're just so unfashionable today. I mean, if we look around,

no brooch, no brooch, no brooch, no brooch.

You're covering yours!

You're a little bit out of fashion wearing a brooch, but everybody's wearing necklaces.

Rings, popular. Watches, popular.

Necklaces, popular. Brooches, not so good.

But with this, it's different because they have a collectors' field of their own right.

Around 1870, 1880, the Victorians started making

these wonderful brooches made in the form of insects.

Sometimes you get them set with sapphires, moonstones,

emeralds, diamonds.

The bigger and more flash, the better.

With this little one we've got garnets, and the wings are set with facet-cut garnets.

The head, again, with facet-cut garnets.

The thorax is a garnet cabochon.

And the abdomen, again, uncut, a cabochon garnet.

Now, where did it come from?

-My mother.

-Oh, really, so it's a family thing?

-Mmm.

So do you remember your mother wearing this?

I do, yes. My mother liked to get dressed up.

-Did she?

-So, she liked to wear, you know, a nice piece of jewellery.

And before that, can you trace it back?

I think it was her mother-in-law, who was my grandmother, who was German.

Ah! Now, if it's German, that might indicate why there's no hallmarks.

-Right.

-So, it could be gold.

-My grandparents on my father's side were German.

OK. It might be worth having that tested,

-hopefully the auction house will do that before selling it.

-Right.

Assuming, and we've got to assume that it's not,

otherwise you just get very excited for no good reason!

Assuming it's not gold,

I think it's worth 60 to 100. If it is gold...

Shall we say if it is gold?

-Yeah.

-300 to 500.

-That would be better.

It would, wouldn't it?

Sad to see it go?

Well, yes, but if it's stuck in a drawer in a box, you know?

I think we ought to put an auction estimate of £60 to £100 on it.

It might make 120 on the day.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes, I think so.

-I think it would do well.

Somebody will love it,

and if it's just been sitting in the jewellery box,

maybe you can buy something that you'd use.

But it's a nice thing. I like it.

I don't generally like brooches, but I like that.

But is the moth brooch actually gold? We'll find out later.

Meanwhile...

# Crocodile shoes... #

It's not crocodile shoes I've been faced with, it's alligator handbags!

Sheila, are these yours?

-Yes.

-Did you ever use them?

Oh, no.

They've been in the cupboard for years, about 30 years.

That was some alligator, wasn't it?!

They still look modern, don't they?

Yeah. Well, I guess they've not been used, have they?

And it's still got the things inside, as well.

So, how did you come across these?

My brother was working on an old pub,

and the lady gave 'em him about 35 years ago, and he gave 'em me.

-It's not the kind of thing you want to carry around, really, is it?

-No.

What do you do with things like this? It's always a mystery.

we're all frightened to talk about it or to show it or own it

because it's not PC. Rather rare, but...

hard to put a value on this.

Is it something you're hoping to sell?

Yeah, get rid of them.

-Get rid of it and make it snappy! Hmm?

-Yeah.

On a more serious note, vintage animal products can be hard to value and sell,

so without knowing more about the provenance, we're not taking them.

Next up, Adam's getting all polite about Andrew's item.

It's a lovely cup. It's a loving cup! Two handles, known as a loving cup.

-You knew that already.

-Yes.

-What else do you know about it?

-Very little, really.

-Right.

It just took my fancy, and... It was about £30 when I bought it.

£30 wasn't bad. It's in lovely condition, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Beautiful condition.

What we've got is sort of lustre printed colours

on the front there, with a classical design

and initials on the back there of...

Is that PMB?

-Yeah, something like that.

-Yeah, is your surname a B?

-No, no.

-No, shame.

And underneath, of course, where we always look to see the marks,

we've got George slaying the dragon, haven't we?

We've got six valuers here today and we've all looked at that,

we've all looked through the books and none of us can find this mark.

Don't get your hopes up, it doesn't mean it's valuable!

It probably means it's quite an obscure factory.

What's made you decide to sell it now?

Well, I've just got a lot of things in boxes and there's just no room for it.

-Are you a bit of a collector?

-A little bit.

Stash it all away in boxes.

My grandmother's house was to clear out two or three years ago and so just accumulated a lot of things.

It's quite nice. What do we think about it behind?

-Very attractive.

-General positive comments.

-Good.

-We've got five prospective bidders already!

-Yeah, we want some bidders!

-50 to 80 is what I think it's likely to make.

-Right.

So there's a bit of a profit there and I think that's quite cheap,

really, for a mid 19th century piece, but that's the way it is these days.

So, we'll see how it goes at the auction.

So, with a valuation of £50 to £80,

Andrew's ready to send the loving cup to a new owner.

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Next up, Paul's pocket watch has caught James' eye.

Paul, I have to say, as an auctioneer,

pocket watches are something you see day after day after day.

There are certain things that every family seem to pass down.

Family Bibles, tea services,

maybe a sewing machine and a typewriter, and a pocket watch.

It seems to be the archetypal thing that passes down generation to generation.

So, is this something that you've had passed down?

-No, it isn't.

-Foiled!

After all that, as well!

-No, it isn't.

-How did you come to have this?

-When I was in the Army I needed a pocket watch for my mess dress.

-Really?

So, I went to an antique shop in York and found this one.

-£200.

-For the watch and chain?

-All in, yeah.

OK. All right, well, we'll move and see what that's going to end up being worth now.

Well, we've got a 14 carat case, which is good news.

The standard cases that we see are nine carat.

Sometimes we see English cases as 18 carat.

Sometimes, if they're fantastic quality, 22 carat gold,

but here we've got an American Watch Company watch

and that is actually put into an American case, as well.

The chain is hallmarked.

15 carat.

-OK.

-The chain is 15 carat gold, which is lovely.

Again, much better than nine.

And it's marked .625, which means that's 62.5% gold.

Lovely. You paid?

-£200 for it.

-What do you think it's worth?

-I have no idea.

-Oh, you do! You do!

I'd like to say 600, but I doubt it.

I think, retail, I think 600 is about there.

-I think you're right.

-That's just guesswork.

I think we ought to put £400 to £600 as an estimate.

-OK.

-I'm hoping it'll make over four.

If it doesn't make 400, hang onto it and keep it.

-So put a reserve on it?

-A reserve of 400.

-Happy with that?

-I am, yeah.

It will take my girlfriend on holiday, so, yeah, that's fine.

-Fantastic. Where are you going?

-Hopefully, Amsterdam.

-Oh, lovely.

The finest antiques fairs are in Amsterdam, so, you never know,

you might find something interesting to buy for her.

By keeping it to a fixed reserve, will it be

a nice holiday for Paul and his girlfriend, or will it be a big disappointment?

You've heard our experts.

You've probably made your own minds up,

but now let's find out what the bidders think.

We're selling our lots at Thomas Watson Auctioneers in Darlington

and here is what's coming up next.

Barbara's buzzy brooch hoping to fetch £70 to £100.

Paul's quality gold pocket watch,

and Andrew's loving cup, which has caught the attention of auctioneer Peter Robinson.

Here's an interesting one.

19th century loving cup, possibly Staffordshire. It belongs to Andrew.

-He got this ten years ago, paid £30 for it, which I think was quite a lot of money.

-Yeah.

Adam has put £50 to £80 on the auction valuation,

but not quite sure about the maker's label.

It's George and the Dragon,

-George slaying the dragon.

-George and the Dragon printed mark on the base

and no other information, but a bit of painstaking research...

-Oh, you've done some, have you?

-I was able to find the factory

called Baker & Co, so not too special. Staffordshire factory.

But it's in nice condition and it's got this lustre finish to it.

Now you've got the history of the makers, does it affect the value?

Does it go up more than £80?

I think it gives a little bit of confidence to people buying it,

so it'll probably help us secure a sale

-rather than a non sale, put it that way.

-Oh, it was that close, was it?

-I think so, yeah.

Well, we don't want any no sales,

Peter, so thank you so much for doing your homework on the loving cup. Beautiful glaze.

-The condition is so good.

-Yeah.

I think that was a very good buy. You've got a keen eye.

-Hopefully, we'll get the top end, around the £80 mark.

-You think so?

Yes, I do. Yeah. It's a nice piece.

It is, isn't it? It's a pleasing object, isn't it?

Loving cup this time, showing on this side,

the Staffordshire Baker & Co loving cup in nice condition.

And opening at £50, this lot.

At £50. Nice piece of Staffordshire, Victorian. At £50. 60 can I say?

At £50.

60, thank you. 70 with me. 80 bid.

90 bid. 100 bid.

At £100 bid.

Are you all finished at £100?

-Selling at £100. All finished.

-Lovely, nice round figure.

There's the face of a Yorkshireman that's made a profit!

And you paid £30 for that, I gather?

-Yeah, just over ten years ago, so, yeah.

-That was a good investment.

-Yeah.

-Trust the eye!

He's obviously got a good eye. He'll be back out there now with that 100!

The auctioneer's research certainly did the job.

Let's hope his advice works for Barbara's brooch, too.

But is it actually made of gold?

Now, will this one fly away?

I hope so! It belongs to Barbara.

I'm not a brooch fan, but I do like that, purely because

it's in the shape of a moth and it looks quite interesting.

We've got a value of £70 to £100 on this,

and it's been in her family for three generations.

She can remember her mother and her grandmother wearing that.

Yeah. Well, it's a very nice late Victorian brooch, 1860s, 1870s.

I also like it, but I like it because of the garnets.

I just really like garnets,

-especially the cabochon for the abdomen.

-That's nice, isn't it?

-It's rich-looking.

-It's really nice.

-It's not mounted in gold, is it?

It's not mounted in gold, unfortunately.

We have tested it and it's not mounted in gold,

but it's still a lovely piece of jewellery.

To make that today would cost a fortune.

The estimate is very reasonable. It's got to sell.

It's got to sell, I like that!

-That's positive, it's got to fly away.

-I hope so.

Well, let's hope that confident vibe spreads through the auction room

as Barbara's joined me for the sale of her brooch.

-Hello, there.

-Hello.

This is fabulous, isn't it?

-Nice, yeah.

-I had a chat to the auctioneer and he fell in love with it.

-Did he?

It's real quality. Real quality.

-You just don't see them like that any more.

-No, you don't.

And the other thing is, with those cabochon stones

it's so difficult to know what the stones are,

and on a valuation day like at Flog it,

without all those different refractors and looking under lenses and things,

it's difficult, but I think it's a lovely thing.

Let's hope somebody else does!

Let's find out what the bidders think.

The garnet insect brooch there, the moth.

And starting the bidding at £50.

At £50 for the garnet brooch.

At £50. At £50. At 60 bid. £70. £80.

-£90.

-More, more.

£100. At £100 bid. At £100.

Are we all finished now at £100?

Selling now at £100 for the garnet brooch.

-Well, it's gone at the top end of the estimate, that's OK.

-Yes.

-You can remember as a girl your mother wearing this, can't you?

-Yes.

Did you have fun wearing it?

-I didn't wear it a lot.

-You didn't?

-No. I was frightened I'd lose it.

Well, I'm glad I kept it!

So are we! Because, honestly, it did brighten up our day.

It's a lovely-looking thing.

-Really nice. Good quality.

-Well done, great result.

-Good!

That was a great result for Barbara, but will Paul be as lucky

with his watch and make enough money for a holiday?

Girlfriend Tina has come to join in with the watch sale.

Time is definitely up. It's not the end of the show!

It's time we put Paul and Tina's gold pocket watch under the hammer, with chain.

I've got to say, there's a lot of gold here.

-We're looking at around £400 to £600.

-I hope so.

-That caught my eye.

That caught my eye. Why are you selling it, though?

It's been sat in a drawer since I left the Army.

I've left the Army and it's just been sat there and I thought, well, it's just wasted, so...

-No-one to pass it on to soon coming along?

-No, no.

-Hmmm...

I think the chain's got a lot of value in it.

Yeah, I mean, it's picking the right time to sell,

and this is the best time in history to sell gold.

Gold prices are really high, very strong.

Let's find out what this lot in the room think. It's under the hammer.

14 carat gold hunter, with the 15 carat gold Albert.

Nice condition, as well. Little old box as well to go with it.

And interest.

Starting the bidding at £400.

-Straight in!

-At 420. 450. 480. 500. 520.

550?

550. 600. 620.

640. 660. 675.

680?

680 bid. At 680 bid. 690 I'll take.

690. 700.

710. 720.

-I like him!

-730. 740.

750.

760. 770.

No?

760 downstairs.

Back on my left at £760.

-All finished now at £760.

-Brilliant!

Yes, £760. Brilliant. Good result.

-It's not being melted down at that!

-No! Someone's keeping that.

-Yeah.

-Happy?

-Very happy.

-What will you spend the money on?

-We're going on holiday.

-Are you? Somewhere nice?

-We're going to Corfu.

It was originally Amsterdam, but we changed our minds, so...

-A nice long week away.

-Some spending money, that's it.

-Enjoy it.

-We will. We will, absolutely.

Well, that's it. It's all over for our owners.

That concludes the end of another Flog It auction,

and what a wonderful day we've had here.

A few highs and a few lows, but that's what auctions are all about,

a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

I hope you've enjoyed the show.

Join us again soon for many more, but for now, it's cheerio.

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