Eric Knowles v Will Axon - Foreign Antiques Market Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, the show

that pitches TV's best-loved antiques experts against each other

in an all-out battle for profit...

Yee-haw!

..and gives you the insider's

view of the trade.

Who's there?

Each week, one pair of duelling dealers

will face a different daily challenge...

The Axeman! Grr!

..putting their reputations on the line...

Ready for the ball.

..and giving you their top tips

and savvy secrets on how to make the most money from buying and selling.

Get in there!

Today, the antiques master Eric Knowles takes on new boy

and ace auctioneer Will Axon at a flea market in France.

Coming up... Will tries his luck.

Would you do those two for 50?

HE LAUGHS

This guy is kidding, isn't he? Come on!

Eric's pottery pottiness hits new heights.

I'm going to take it home with me and just love it for a while.

And then I'm going to have to sell it.

And the excitement gets a bit too much for Will.

HE SNORES

Hm. This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Welcome, antiques lovers.

The Put Your Money express has steamed across the Channel

for a buying bonanza in Paris.

But no time to stroll down the Champs-Elysees.

No trips up the Eiffel Tower.

And certainly no "ooh, la, la" at the Moulin Rouge.

Oh, no, we've got two intrepid expert explorers

with one sole focus -

finding French finery that'll make a profit back home.

So, let's meet our continental contenders.

On the Right Bank...

He may be the new boy in town, but he's no amateur, not a bit of it.

He's an ace auctioneer who's raring to rummage for rarities.

And he's determined to prove himself by landing a knockout blow.

All the way from Suffolk, it's...

It's going to have to be crunch time.

But there is stiff competition on the Left Bank -

a man who's a living legend.

He's the Veteran of Value,

the Prince of Porcelain,

the creme de la creme of the curio.

It's Lancashire's likeliest lad...

He doesn't stand a chance.

Hm, fighting talk from Eric.

Our prize pair are going head-to-head at the Porte de Vanves

flea market in the south of the city.

They've each converted £750 of their own money into euros

for this Parisian pas de deux.

And once they've sold all their wares,

any profits will go to their chosen charities.

But don't be fooled into thinking this is all about the money.

Here in France, they need eagle eyes, excellent expertise

and bags of British charm.

And with these two, that should be no problem.

So, euros at the ready,

Eric 'Knocker' Knowles and Will 'The Axeman' Axon,

it's time to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

-THEY SIGH

-Le Marteau, how are you?

Le Marteau, what's this?

-French for Knocker.

-Is it?!

-It is.

-Le Marteau, I quite like that.

-I don't know what The Axeman is, though.

-No, but I know he cometh.

He's now cometh to Porte de Vanves. It's a nice market, this -

I've been here a few times -

because it's doable, it's a nice size. Good.

-And we've got, what, £750 in euros to spend?

-That's a fair wad of cash.

-What are you looking to spend it on?

-Well, I tend to play it safe here.

I'll go for Deco, Nouveau or whatever.

But to be honest with you, anything where I get the sniff of a profit.

So...

Well, I think my tactic today is going to be - if I see it, buy it.

Because, you know, we've got a time limit, haven't we?

So let's get the business done before the French

totter off for their long lunch.

-Listen, remember, you are batting for Britain, OK?

-Wave that flag!

-Good luck.

-Au revoir!

-Au revoir! Au revoir, monsieur!

Ah, could you want two more delectable dealers banging

the drum for Blighty?

Not a chance!

It's early in the morning

and the stall holders are still laying out their wares.

Our two conquering heroes are straight into battle to see

what's on offer.

But have they refined their cross-Channel strategies

in the hunt for their objets d'art?

If you see it, forget about coming back for it,

you've got to buy it there and then because you can bet your life,

when you do come back looking for it, it's long gone.

So I'm trying to be business-like today.

Well, good luck with that

because Will has a secret weapon up his sleeve.

Yes, The Axeman is half Spanish,

so he's au fait with European languages.

And that includes French.

Eric's got the upper hand, he's been here before.

But I think I might have him on the old lingo.

So hopefully, he'll get his numbers mixed up and pay 90 instead of 20.

Oh, let's hope so, mainly because it will be funny for the rest of us.

Both our boys have begun their browse,

but it is Will who leaps in first, checking out some bookends.

They are quite smart, aren't they? I mean, classic Art Deco, isn't it?

That whole pelican, very stylised...

Hm, lost eyes and so on.

They would have to be very cheap. I'm going to leave them.

I might come back to them.

So, he has already abandoned his see-it-buy-it plan.

And so early as well.

Mind you, Eric is not going great guns either.

In fact, he is stalled.

I've seen a few good objects,

but, you know, they're at really good prices.

Not good for me, but good for the dealers.

Yes, everywhere Eric looks, he is finding budget-busting prices.

Merci beaucoup. Yep.

So... They want £1,000 for it.

I'd love to buy it,

but it is 3,000 euro.

And a little out of my budget.

-The price is...deux mille euro.

-2,000.

But after a lot of searching,

Eric spots something with a certain je ne sais quoi.

It's ceramic, obviously, but will it be affordable?

-What sort of price can we do?

-Oh.

What would be your best price?

Quarante.

-40, because he loves London...

-I love London!

..and he loves English people.

He is a very nice man.

All right, 40, 40 euro. OK, OK, I take it.

-OK, fine.

-Thank you.

The Frenchman's flattery works.

Convert that into sterling,

and Eric pays £33.33.

It's Japanese. It is around about maybe 1910.

Normally, it is the sort of thing you expect in cloisonne.

In other words, with little wires enclosing it.

But this is cloisonne-free enamel.

And it is quite rare.

Mm! Sounds promising.

So, Eric has got that all-important first buy under his belt,

a hurdle Will is still waiting to jump.

And he's also finding the Parisian prices a bit rich

for his blood, despite his ability to negotiate en francais.

I think the fair is still warming up a little bit,

so no-one is really prepared to slash prices yet

because there are people still arriving and stock still coming out.

But before he gets too disillusioned, Will clocks

something the French are particularly famous for.

A quel prix, le vin?

Will then chats away in French,

which isn't much good for most of us.

Pour les deux?

The gentleman wants 80 euros for the two bottles,

but Will gets him down to 60 and shakes on it, his first deal.

-Six, yeah? 60.

-Thank you.

Sir, it has been a pleasure. Good luck today. Cheers.

After converting the currency,

Will pays £50 for the vintage wine.

Chills.

I spotted these bottles of wine. And Pauillac jumped out at me.

That is my favourite grape. Delicious.

The other interesting thing as well, of course,

is you're selling alcohol on the street. How do you get round that?

Well, you sell me the bottle, you give me the contents for free.

Ah-ha! But maybe it is poor old Eric who could do with a warm tipple.

He is not having much fun.

I've still got an awful lot of leg work to do.

I'd just like to buy a couple more

and then I'll be getting more into my comfort zone.

Hm... Mr Knowles really is struggling to find his feet.

Young Axon, however, is into his stride.

He is off and running!

But the next thing to catch his attention is rather macabre.

C'est quoi, ca?

DEALER SPEAKS FRENCH

Ah, so it is the throat.

-Et le prix?

-Cinquante euro.

50 euros.

-Donne-le-moi pour trente.

-Trente-cinq.

-Trente-cinq?

-Trente-cinq.

-Bon, bien, trente-cinq.

Merci, monsieur.

There he goes again, being all French.

He agrees 35 euros for the anatomical model, which,

let's be honest, is fairly gruesome.

That translates to £29.17.

Well, what I've bought here, apparently,

is a medical model of a throat or oesophagus.

Not everyone's cup of tea, I know. This one dates...

Early 20th century? I like it. Hopefully, someone else will.

And it'll be saleable. Fingers crossed. Or...

I don't know, oesophagus crossed?

Hm, that sounds painful!

Eric might find that deal hard to swallow.

But his own luck could be about to change.

Well, I've just come across a moulded dish on a sort of a chrome stand.

He wants 120 euro for this and...

I don't know, I'm tempted.

Monsieur, can I ask you the...? Donne le prix.

-Cent.

-Oui, oui. 100. Yeah.

Zut alors, Eric's done it!

The seller comes down to 100 euros.

That's £83.33,

and Eric is looking pleased.

It's period. It's 1920s.

It's perfectly OK.

You'd never buy anything like this with a hint of damage about it.

This opalescent effect, this milky blue, is

achieved by putting into the glass mix certain fluorites.

A chemical reaction takes place

within the glass as it begins to cool.

I think, you know, at 100 euro, it represents value for money.

Whether it represents a profit remains to be seen.

Indeed it does.

Our two antiques entrepreneurs have each bought twice

and seem to be in the swing of things.

But with top-end prices on lots of stalls,

they don't want to be caught napping.

And wide awake Will is quick off the mark,

buying an African head rest for 110 euros.

That's £91.67.

I've bought this carved African head rest, probably Ethiopian.

Date wise...

I think probably into the 20th century, maybe '20s,

'30s, that sort of period.

It's comfortable and it keeps the bugs out of your ears.

Sounds like an important feature.

It's midway through the morning

and our competitors are anxious to compare notes.

Let's do the same and see how the figures stack up.

Eric and Will each arrived in Paris

with £750-worth of euros to spend.

Jittery about prices,

Eric 'Knocker' Knowles has so far only

bought twice, spending £116.66,

leaving £633.34 in his kitty.

Will 'The Axeman' Axon has gone

further - three purchases

for £170.84, meaning he's still got

£579 burning a hole in his pocket.

So, they've both still got masses of cash to splash

and a lot of work to boot.

-How's it going?

-Well, it's...

It was a slow start, I don't mind admitting.

You know, I've bought a couple of bits of glass...

-Breakables?

-Oh, yes.

-A bit of porcelain? A pot? I bet you bought a pot.

-I bought a pot, yeah.

What have you gone for? Come on.

I've got medical, ethnographic and alcoholic.

OK. Well, anyway, listen, time is of the essence.

You should know that they are going to start closing down within

the next hour or so.

-Don't say that.

-They will do, trust me.

-Good luck, Eric.

-And you too.

-All right then.

-See you at the end.

-See you later.

Well, both our boys need to pick up the pace.

And our apprentice is relieved the guv'nor is feeling the heat, too.

Well, Eric seems to be a bit in the same boat as I am.

He is sort of struggling a little bit with the prices.

But he's bought a few objects, breakables.

So I think we are pretty much neck and neck at the moment,

halfway stage.

Eric, however, is suddenly much more relaxed about the whole business.

Somehow. And he's taking photos for tourists.

Are you ready? Are you all in?

I want you to be the centre of attraction. Oh, you are.

Here we go. One, two, three...

But before you can say fromage, Eric's got his eye on another -

you guessed it - breakable.

I quite like this.

It's nicely enamelled.

Can I ask for the best price, as they say in English?

-I can do 30.

-30?

That's fine. For 30, I'm having it.

Knocker's back on a roll, back in business and going for a job lot.

-How much are the chairs?

-80.

80, 80 each. Who made it, do you know?

Matteo Grassi.

If I took the two, how much would they be?

-140.

-I'll take them.

Sacre bleu! Eric more than doubles

his spend in one fell swoop.

£25 for the enamelled glass dish

and £116.67

for the two designer chairs, and

he's pretty pleased with himself.

Well, I'm very happy with this enamelled glass dish.

Date wise, it's probably around about 1925.

It's got a few nicks, but at 30 euros,

I was never going to say no to that. It's a great thing.

And as for my chairs,

well, they are after a design by Marcel Breuer.

I think the originals date to around about 1930.

Were they the real thing, I would not have bought the pair for 140 euros.

I think I'd be paying more in the region of £2,000 to £3,000 each.

I mean, 140 euro for two classic chairs...

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Well done, Knocker. And that double purchase puts him out in front.

You know, this is great.

And while Mr Axon considers a rather funky lamp,

Knocker knocks another one out of the park.

He pays 80 euros for a piece of French pottery.

That works out at £66.67.

So tell us what you've got, Knowlesy.

Well, I've bought myself a piece of French faience.

In England, we would call it a monteith.

But the idea is that you put crushed ice in here

and you take your wine glass bowls and you stick them

in the crushed ice, so when you then want to pour your chilled

white wine, you had a chilled wine glass ready to go.

The thing is, I really like it.

I'm going to take it home with me

and just love it for a while, then I'm going to have to sell it.

Hm, I wonder if Mrs Knowles likes ceramics.

Their house must be full of the stuff!

Anyway, after a cautious start, Eric is now well on his way.

Five items to Will's three.

And our Axeman has lost his laissez faire attitude

and he's worrying about prices again.

Another one of these industrial lights, which I really like,

but they're pricing them out of my market.

Look at that, the way the cogs are working.

What were they originally,

lathe working for when they're working on the metal turning tools?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. How much are you asking for that, then?

Yeah, it's too much for me.

At 200 euros, the lamp looks like a no go.

But then he catches site of a pair of wooden duck decoys.

Would you do those two for 50?

HE LAUGHS

This guy is kidding, isn't he?

Come on! It's 80 each.

Give me 100 for both.

-So, if we can say 80 the two...

-No, no.

-..we've got a deal.

-Meet me in the middle, 90.

-100.

Give me 100.

-You are a nice guy...

-Thank you, sir.

-100, thank you very much.

-Oh, you got me!

-We make a deal.

-I was too slow.

Love a duck! The friendly Frenchman cheekily gets what he wants.

But Will was holding out his hand. Silly boy!

But things suddenly get better. Out of nowhere,

the man offers Will a price that he can't refuse for the lamp.

-Let's shake at that 120.

-120. Will, you got it.

It is a double deal -

an engineered industrial light

for bang on £100 and a pair

of quackers for £83.33.

They are not going to be used as duck decoys nowadays,

they are going to be used for their sculptural quality.

You know, they are hand-carved, solid wood, original paint.

A bit of folk art.

Date wise...

Could be turn-of-the-century, maybe 1920s, '30s.

They are certainly not reproduction, they are the real McCoy.

Yes, Will is lit up with his latest purchases. But what about Eric?

Well, he still needs to get all his ducks in a row.

I feel a sense of urgency, which is bordering on,

but I am not allowing it to be, pure panic.

Yes, our Knocker is never one to give up easily.

A last-minute scurry around the stalls,

and he finds a particularly illuminating piece.

THEY NEGOTIATE IN FRENCH

Right. Yeah, we'll give it a go.

The brass candelabrum costs

100 euros, that is £83.33.

Well, I was hoping, you know, when I looked at the base,

it might have had a bit of age.

I think we are probably looking at maybe 1950s.

I bought what, to all intents and purposes, is a decorative

but useful object

that takes no less than 17 candles.

And at that point, Eric decides to call it a day.

Will, however, is under mounting pressure.

Well, I'd really like to get another item under my belt,

but we really are in the last throes of this fair now.

People are packing up, going home, tables are getting cleared.

So I'm really going to have to keep my eyes peeled just to make sure

I don't miss that one thing that I may have walked past.

But he then remembers the first stall he visited this morning,

the place with the pelican bookends. You know, the ones with dodgy eyes.

80.

Thankfully, the pelicans are still there.

But the store holder is about to leave,

so Will is just in the nick of time.

Is there a deal to be done?

I want one more item, so let's throw caution to the wind.

Yes!

Bon. Merci.

Bravo, Will. He feathers his nest with one final flutter.

The book ends up costs £58.33.

They are basically Art Deco bookends

formed as pelicans, which is a very iconic sort of Deco theme.

They are made of spelter rather than bronze.

We know that the eyes are lacking

and we know that they are signed - Franjou.

I think Franjou is pretty mass-made Art Deco, French maker.

But even so, they are genuine French Art Deco, what more do you want?

Well, a profit would be good. And that fun is about to start.

For now, the frantic fight at the French flea market is finished.

Both our experts arrived in Paris

with £750-worth of euros.

Eric had a sluggish start,

but eventually found his feet.

He leaves with six items,

having paid £480.33.

Will, on the other hand, bought more early on,

but struggled in the later stages.

He also heads home with six purchases

and has a spent almost exactly

the same - £412.50.

So, with just four pounds in it,

what do our boys make of their French fare?

What a difference a few hours make!

And I tell you what,

what a difference in what you've bought and what I've bought.

It just goes to show that there is literally

something for everyone at the same fair.

Talk me through your lots, Eric.

Well, first of all, the little Japanese vase. It is enamelled.

Very nice.

And I'm looking for somebody who is about to become 17,

because that is how many candles you can stick on that.

-That's a big 'un.

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

-Tell me about yours, because out for a duck, not quite.

-My duck decoys!

Bought as sculptural pieces rather than decoys.

And what do you think to this?

Well, first question, what is it?

It is an African head rest.

-Is it now?

-It is. So a bit of ethnographic.

-I'm pretty sure that has got a bit of age to it.

-OK.

So, it is a case of all's well that ends well.

But there again, all's well when we sell well.

Ah! That is the key.

Good luck to you.

So, our bargain hunters head back to Blighty.

Now they must forget about what has gone before and summon up

all their courage, because this is where things get really tough -

finding buyers for all those items.

Once they've got people interested,

they must eke out every possible penny,

pounce on every pound and focus on the fight for finance.

All their profits will go to charities they have chosen,

so this is where they really earn their money.

Eric is back at Knocker HQ, and he is feeling confident.

Well, I do love that little Japanese vase.

I know somebody who deals in Japanese works of art,

and I think that might be right up his street.

Then, a little bit of Nancy.

Beautifully decorated French faience, entirely hand-painted.

I've never come across a 17-light table candelabrum in brass.

My little glass dish decorated with roses

that most people would say are Mackintosh roses.

But if you are in France, they are Paul Follot roses.

And then a classic piece of French opalescent glass there

by a firm called Julien.

And finally, one of a pair of chairs that you find me

sitting in, designed in around about 1928.

I think I've got something to smile about

and something for Will Axon to worry about.

But Will is not concerned at all.

He is now back home in Newmarket.

Here is my hoard of treasure.

The pelicans, pleased with those.

Typical French Art Deco. Really stylish art metal.

Behind them, the two bottles of Chateau Collapso.

I'm going to have to find someone who appreciates a nice

drop of red, aren't I? The throat figure.

As an auctioneer, we use our throats a lot. Made sense.

Next to that, the African head rest.

I'm going to have to find

a specialist dealer, I think, for that.

And then the decoy ducks, which I really love.

Good decorator's pieces, really. Sculptural quality about those.

I love my up-cycled industrial lamp, which I think I'm going to

sell really well, because it is really on trend.

But fashions change so quickly, who knows?

It might just be out rather than in.

Well, only time will tell, Will.

Our dealing duo must now dig deep into their contacts books

and phone everyone they know to line up the ideal list of buyers.

This requires rapid research and non-stop networking.

And remember, until they shake on it

and the money has changed hands, no deal is ever sealed.

Eric's mission begins with one of his favourite pieces -

the Japanese enamelled vase.

He has come to Kensington, in London, to see Howard,

the son of a dealer he has known for years.

They specialise in Oriental antiques,

so will Knocker kick off his campaign with a solid profit?

The vase cost him around £33.

-Howard.

-Hi, Eric, how are you doing?

-Good to see you.

-Likewise.

I feel that I have brought quite a humble little piece to show

-you today.

-Let's take a look at it.

-Have a look, tell me...

I would welcome your opinion.

Under a powerful torch, you can see that there is no bruising, no faint

hairlines that one can easily miss, but, yeah, that is all positive.

It is a very nice what one would normally call a great

commercial piece of Japanese cloisonne.

I'm opening it at a couple of hundred pounds, so...

I'd like to pretty much make it at £100 to keep, you know...

to keep me to be able to make a profit.

Throw in a tenner and we've got ourselves a deal.

-All right.

-Is that a deal?

-Done.

-Put it there.

-£110.

Thank you very much. Firm handshake, just like his dad.

Firm handshake.

Well, I hope he has got a safe pair of hands, too.

And it is a good start for the professor of porcelain.

The vase makes a profit of £76.67.

I actually managed to more than treble my money there.

And if you are watching, Will Axon, that is what it is all about.

So, if you are not trebling your money, what are you doing wrong?

Oh, that is what you call throwing down the gauntlet!

But The Axeman is not one to duck out of a challenge.

He kicks off his selling spree by staying local.

He has brought his two ducks to

a gallery at Thurston, near Bury St Edmunds.

He paid just over £83 in Paris.

So, will he profit here?

Denzil, the gallery is looking wonderful, I might say.

And I am hoping that my two little duck decoys

will fit in beautifully, too.

They are very nicely carved and I think they are the same hand.

On the green one here, you have got a repair on the neck there.

-So he has been decapitated at some point...

-Oh, dear!

-..and his head has been put back on.

-Yeah.

-The paint on this one is good.

-Yeah.

-This one doesn't drive me quackers.

Ho-ho-ho!

I accept what you say about the green paint on that.

How would 200 for the two sound?

I'll spit at 180.

High-five. Spit. Go.

Done.

Sealed with saliva! That's one way to do it.

Our new boy takes to the selling business like a duck to water.

He makes £96.67

and gets off to a quacking good start.

And that is the last duck gag, I promise.

Well, I think that went really well.

Those ducks are going to fit in perfectly with Denzil's stock,

so I think he is pleased and I am pleased.

Knowlesy, you are going down!

Oh, he is getting feisty!

But our Knocker is prepared to go to any length to win.

Or depths, actually.

And although he regards an antiques challenge as heaven,

he is now heading to

-SPOOKY VOICE:

-'the other place.'

I am at the entrance to the Hellfire Caves in West Wickham.

I am here to hopefully do a sale on my 17-light table candelabrum.

As you can see, it is looking even more splendid now

I've kitted it out with all the right type of candles.

The man-made caves date from the 1700s, and they are a bit spooky!

Eric is here to meet the assistant manager, Jen.

Boo!

Sorry.

HE LAUGHS

-I hope you are Jen.

-I am indeed. Lovely seeing you.

Why Hellfire Caves?

It was Lord Dashwood, the leader of the debaucherous, notorious

Hellfire Club, who was determined to have his own sort of nightclub.

So this was the rock'n'roll central of the 18th century.

Are we in haunted caves?

This is, apparently, one of the most haunted sites in all of England.

HE LAUGHS SPOOKILY

Well, Jen, you very kindly agreed to meet me because you're doing

the negotiation on my 17-light brass table candelabrum.

First impressions?

Gorgeous. And very fitting for this place.

I'm looking for somewhere in the region of £180.

I would say...150?

Yes.

-Wonderful.

-Put your 18th-century hand there, my dear.

-Thank you.

Well, nothing ghoulish about that deal.

Take off the £12 he spent on the candles,

and Knocker makes a profit

of £54.67.

-It does look the part, doesn't it?

-Glorious.

Let's put it to good use, shall we?

Because there's a fair bit of cave between us and that entrance.

-So, shall I lead the way?

-Yes, please do.

Try not to get us lost.

Ooh!

Mm, Will might be hoping they don't find their way back.

But he's found his way to Bury St Edmunds BMI Hospital.

Don't worry, no emergencies.

He's meeting ear, nose and throat specialist, Mr Fahmy.

And you've guessed it, he's brought his medical model

of the oesophagus that cost just over £29.

Mr Fahmy is in theatre, so Will's got to get into scrubs.

Blimey, let's hope no-one mistakes him for an actual doctor!

-Mr Fahmy.

-Hello.

-It's a pleasure to meet you at last.

-My pleasure.

I see you've laid out some up-to-date,

technologically correct models here.

Let me show you what I've got.

You'll have to excuse the chips and so on,

but it is... It is about circa 1920.

It's actually quite a good model because it shows the anatomy.

What would you do with it?

I will probably put it in my office, and it will be a nice

demonstration that complements what we show our patients as well.

Yeah. So I was thinking of a figure, say, around the £50, £60 mark?

That seems reasonable.

Which one of the two? Shall I try and push you for the 60?

It's your call.

I'm going to take advantage of your kindness and say £60.

-Do we have a deal?

-Deal.

He's doubled his money, and the prognosis is good.

A healthy profit of £30.83.

Come on, Eric, you're playing catch-up.

Actually, he's not, so don't get cocky, mister.

Knocker is actually leading by a few pounds at this point.

And he is pretty hopeful he'll make a few bob

on his opalescent glass dish.

He paid just over £83.

And is going to meet John, who owns a gallery in Westerham, in Kent.

-Hello, hello, hello. How are you?

-Great to see you.

-And you too.

Well, I can see that you've got Deco glass, iridescent, opalescent.

-That's right.

-And I've brought along my bit of opalescent.

There is not a lot of scratches going on inside,

-which quite often you get that.

-Yeah.

No chips on the rims.

HE PINGS THE GLASS John, you always ping glass.

Yeah, I think anything that is ping-able is worth it,

cos you know straightaway if there's a fault.

-So, big question is, what are you looking for?

-Yeah, well...

I was starting around about the £140 mark.

I'm happy to go to 120 on that.

I'm not going to argue at 120. It does see me with a profit.

Well, that was quick and easy.

The glass dish makes £36.67.

Well, I came, I saw,

I sold and I made a respectable profit

to a respectable buyer from a respectable seller.

I don't know about that, Eric.

And as he walks away with a few more pounds in his pocket,

Will has rocked up on the beautiful Suffolk coast.

He's on the pier in Southwold to meet his old pal, Peter,

who's dotty about Deco.

He's hoping he'll take a shine to his last ditch buy,

the pelican bookends.

-Peter!

-Will, how are you?

What did you think, I was going to arrive by boat?

Anyway, look what I bought in Paris. Feel the quality.

-Look, you've spotted that they're signed.

-Signed as well.

Bearing in mind the little nicks and so on here, I mean,

-what's your feeling? Do you like them?

-Love them. Absolutely.

They are right up my street.

If you went to a saleroom and you saw these at 200 to 300,

would you leave a cheeky bid at, say, the bottom figure or...?

Yeah, I think I'd go in at the bottom end.

-Shall we shake on 200 quid?

-Great.

-That was nice and easy!

Go on, let's go and work the slot machines.

Wait, no gambling with the profits, Will.

But he's every reason to celebrate - his pelican bookends have

flown out of his hands for a very handsome profit

of £141.67.

Wish you were here, Eric, wish you were here.

Well, Eric is near the seaside, just a little farther south.

Well, I'm in Bournemouth and I'm here to meet Amber.

And I've got my two very modernist chairs for her perusal.

She has expressed an interest.

I'm hoping to turn that interest into a firm sale.

Amber specialises in mid-20th century furniture,

but will she like the design classics that cost Eric nearly £117?

-They've got embossed on the back there... "Matteo Grassi."

-Yep.

Who were a recognised Italian maker. It would be nice if they were period.

-And if they were period, they'd be, what, 1928?

-Yeah.

Something like that.

I was thinking around about

-£320 for the pair.

-Right.

I would probably want to pay £60 each for them.

Maybe if I went to 150 for the two.

I'd be happy with 140.

-Shall we do 145?

-OK, yeah.

-145.

-Yeah.

-Put it there.

-Thank you.

-OK. Pleasure.

Oh, dear, Eric!

He settles on less than half of what

he wanted and makes just £28.33.

But Knocker puts on a brave face.

Well, that was more of a wrangle than a haggle, wasn't it?

I'm going in high, Amber comes in low.

And at the price we've agreed, I've worked it out,

it gives me about a 25% margin.

So, when you look at it from that angle,

it's not as bad as you really think.

Yes, it's still a lot less than you wanted, though, isn't it?

So, has that ruined everything? Let's tot up their tallies.

At the midway point in their selling session,

Eric's done four deals

and pocketed a profit of £196.34.

But Will is ahead.

He's sold fewer items, just three so far,

but he's out in front

with a profit of £269.17.

So, it's all to play for and anything could happen.

The Axeman's next port of call is in London's leafy Notting Hill.

He's here to meet Brian, who's an expert in African carvings.

-Brian, nice to finally meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too.

-Yeah, what a great shop you have here.

-Thank you.

Really stylish and sort of, if I say sculptural,

you'll know what I mean, with these African works of art,

because that's what drew me to my head rest which I bought.

It's Ethiopian. It's probably mid to late 1800s.

-Wow.

-So it's got a good age.

Have you seen these in action?

Probably up until about the middle part of last century,

they were still using them.

Is there any chance I could try and tuck you up for £150?

I would say, at a push, maybe 100.

OK, I like it. It's a little bit unusual, this rim at the bottom.

Could you stretch to £120?

I always like how they split the difference, right? 110.

Listen, Brian, let's shake on that.

Only a small profit - £18.33

That will be a relief to Eric.

All this selling has worn Will out.

HE SNORES

Yeah, don't fall asleep on the job, Will. Will?

Well, you snooze, you lose.

And Eric takes advantage.

He starts his final push by doubling his money on the enamel glass

dish with pink roses.

He sells it to a lady in Tunbridge Wells for £50,

and walks away £25 better off.

Will has woken up and is back in business.

He's taken his industrial lamp to Peter, who's an electrician

he knows, to get it re-wired and tested to make sure it's safe.

The work costs him £20,

so he's looking for a high-voltage sale here.

He's back in London at the antiques market at Old Spitalfields,

and he's meeting dealer Aiden.

Here it is. And looking at your stock behind us, I think it's going

to fit in beautifully, isn't it?

Cos you've already got a few industrial pieces.

I can see it in there, yeah.

The lamp itself is vintage. And I think you pronounce it Gilda.

-Gilda, that's it.

-Which is a sort of lathe and machine lamps.

-Factory.

That's right, factory lamps.

And what someone's done is they've mounted it onto this cog base.

-I love the way that moves.

-It's a differential, yeah.

It is a differential. You know your mechanics.

I think I'm going to be looking at around £200 mark.

I was thinking more around the 130, 140 mark.

I've got the certificate which says it has been fully tested

and meets all the required standards.

Can we say 160, Aiden?

-I think we have a deal.

-You're a gentleman.

-Thank you.

Take out the cost of the electrical work,

and that's a £40 profit on the lamp.

Will is wired!

The Axeman! Grr!

Goodness! We can confirm he's had nothing to drink,

but the vintage wine is still to come.

But Eric gets in first with his last item - the French monteith.

He's in Weymouth, in Dorset,

to meet Colin, who loves pottery.

So, they're kindred spirits.

I could tell you now that this man has got a very good eye.

So I'm hoping that he's going to be all eyes

when he sees my Saint-Clement faience-monteith.

Eric paid nearly £67 for the item, but hasn't told Colin much about it.

Risky strategy, Eric.

So, Colin, you've always been a ceramics man.

-We've always had that common bond, haven't we?

-Yes, very much so.

There's always a right time to buy and a right time to sell.

-Very much so.

-And the good news is

-that it's the right time to buy.

-Yes, it is.

-..a Saint-Clement...

-Yeah.

-..French faience-monteith.

-Oh, my goodness, that's nice.

You've not handled this before, I've been hiding it from you.

I think that's going to be about 1888, 1890.

Yeah, I would have thought so, too.

And you'll find...you'll see little insects, look.

-Yeah, they cover up a blemish, I suppose.

-That's right.

I'm interested in that.

I was hoping for around about £120.

I would've thought around more like 80.

If we could go at £95...

90.

-£90, come on.

-OK.

-Put it there, mate.

It's a nice thing. Thank you very much.

That's a nice profit - £23.33.

So, Knocker's knocked out all his items,

which means it's The Axeman's game to lose.

And it all comes down to the vintage wine.

It cost £50 and it's a grape that young William likes,

so that might bode well.

He's meeting David, who's a Master of Wine, in South London.

I spoke to you briefly about the two bottles of wine I bought.

Now, what can you tell me about them?

I can see what attracted you -

Bordeaux wines have the ability to age for 30, 40 years and beyond.

It's got Baron Philippe, who owns Mouton Rothschild.

So, again, you know, you're building up.

I've got a feeling there's a but.

There is a little bit of a but, I'm afraid. The thing is...

The most important thing is you want to have a chateau.

And here, there's sadly no chateau name.

And because Baron Philippe owned, at that time, two great vineyards,

they would have used fruit from both those estates...

-Right.

-..that possibly wasn't quite good enough to go into the first

-wine, the Gran Vin.

-The Premier Cru.

-Exactly.

And on top of that, 1971,

-sadly, was not the strongest of vintages.

-Oh, dear!

But I tell you what, Will, I'm dying to taste it, so why don't I just

say, I'll give you £5 for it and we pull the cork and try it?

I'll tell you what, that sounds like a deal. £5 corkage.

-But if it's any good, let's make it a tenner.

-OK.

Bottom's up.

HE GAGS

Sadly, it's £5.

-It's gone, hasn't it?

-Yeah!

A fiver it is, I agree.

Oh, no, Will's plonk makes him look a plonker.

And he chalks up a full-bodied loss -

£45 just disappears.

Well, I'd like to say that didn't leave a nasty taste in my mouth,

but... Ugh! It did!

So that vintage error has left the match much closer than

we might have thought.

So, who'll be sipping fine champagne

and who'll be forced to open Will's second bottle of wine?

All will be revealed in just a moment.

Both our experts started off in Paris with the euro

equivalent of £750 of their own money.

Eric Knocker Knowles made six purchases,

and including the cost of those candles,

he spent £420.33.

Will The Axeman Axon also bought six times.

And taking the re-wiring of the lamp into account,

he spent a tiny bit more - £432.50.

But now it all comes down to profit and who sold well.

All of the money that Eric and Will have made from today's

challenge will go straight to the charities of their choice.

So without further ado, let's find out who is today's

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

-Monsieur Knowles, how are you?

-Very well, very well indeed.

-Bonjour.

Do you know what? I really enjoyed myself in Paris.

-How about you, were you pleased?

-Yes, I was.

I mean, I've always enjoyed buying in la belle France. So best sale?

Oh, yes, my pelican bookends.

I found a private collector, who just happens to be a friend.

He was really pleased with them and gave me a decent profit for them.

-And I suppose my worst was the two bottles of wine I bought.

-Oh, yes.

No good, Eric. Should have been drunk 20 years ago,

when you were scouring the fairs in Paris.

What about yourself? Your favourite buy?

Well, I did like that very nice Japanese enamelled vase.

-It was in perfect condition.

-Super quality.

And on top of that,

I did buy that rather weird sort of

17-sconce brass table candelabrum.

-Oh, yes!

-I settled for somebody who had a really big cave.

-Can I do the honours, as in...?

-Are you going to count this down?

-To three, in French.

-Oh!

-Un, deux, trois.

Ta-dah!

-Oh!

-Oh! Very close!

-Hey, the boy did well.

Listen, let's call it beginner's luck on my part because, you know...

Yeah, let's. Let's call it beginner's luck.

I'm all for you on that one.

Yes, Will walks away the winner with less than £40 between them.

The big profit on the pelican bookends helped him pull it off.

Well, who'd have thought it?

The new boy topples the giant, the legend, Eric 'The Knocker' Knowles.

And on his own stomping ground in Paris. I'm pleased with that.

So I've just got to settle for that well-worn French

phrase of c'est la vie.

But Knocker mustn't fret -

he gets another chance to take down The Axeman tomorrow.

And it's all to play for in an auction at Market Harborough.