James Lewis v James Braxton - Foreign Antiques Market Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, pitching TV's best-loved antiques experts against each other

in an all-out battle for profit.

And giving 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 original cheeky chappie!

Putting their reputations on the line... Full house! Oh, I say!

..and giving you their top tips and savvy secrets on how to make the most money buying and selling.

I'm feeling rather lucky.

Coming up: James Lewis offers a lesson in economics.

As the supply in England is lower, let's just hope the demand is higher.

James Braxton gets lost in translation. Er... mon francais est...lamentable.

And the Lionheart ignites a new career. The Lionheart candle! There you are! A new range.

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Yes, welcome, friends and antiques lovers.

Prepare for an overflowing magnum of memorabilia madness.

Expect danger as our two towering antiques experts go head to head,

romance as they fall in love with lost treasures

and explosive action as they try to sell their wares for the greatest profit.

And today's first contender is a connoisseur whose reputation is so large,

lesser experts get drawn into its gravitational pull.

Fighting once more out of the county of Derbyshire, we give you James "The Lionheart" Lewis.

Anything can make a profit.

Our second auction actioneer is a chap who's been in the fine art and furniture business man and boy,

who's dedicated his life to trading treasures of yesteryear.

Why does he do it? Because he can. Who does he do it for? For you!

It's the poshest professor of purchasing - James "Bingo" Braxton.

I've got to buy, buy, buy. I'm off.

Yes. Golly gosh, Bingo! What have you let yourself in for?

Today we're cranking the challenge up a notch or two

as we send our brave boys off to buy bits and bobs in foreign parts.

France, in fact. And the Saint Ouen flea market in Paris.

Over 100 years old, it claims to be the biggest antiques market in the world,

an unmissable attraction for Parisians and tourists and the perfect battleground for our dealers

who are packing ?750-worth of euros. It's their own money and making profit is the name of the game.

So, James Lewis and James Braxton, it's time to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Bonjour! Bonjour, James. Ca va? Ca va tres bien. Et vous? Oui, aussi.

We're in the centre of antiques. We are. And antiquities.

Have you been here before? Once. It's not the cheapest market in the world. It's not.

How much money have we got? 825 euros.

En francais?

Oh...huit cents vingt cinq. Ah, tres bien, tres bien.

Je ne parler, er...anglais. You don't speak English? Non, non. Really?!

En francais, mangetout, mangetout. OK?

Good luck. Bonne chance! I think we're going to need it. Bonne chance.

A classic bit of pre-match banter as Bingo Braxton tries to throw his opponent with his dodgy French,

while the Lionheart is giving him the willies about how pricey it is.

Still, Bingo's not worried...is he?

Suddenly it's dawned on me how expensive this market is.

I've got my work cut out. I'll have to be tough on prices.

Yes, that's the spirit, Bingo. Hard work will win the day.

But what about Mr Lewis? If he knows so much about it here, what are his plans for the day?

I have to not look at things I'm interested in personally

and open my eyes and look at everything - anything that can make a profit. Looking at everything

might be a tall order in a market of this size, but good luck.

And it is Mr Lewis who spies his first potential purchase, but what could it be?

This is a 19th-century bronze pestle and mortar.

The French had quite strong links with places like Morocco

and the trade links were strong, so you get more Moroccan things here in France.

Traditionally, they were used for pharmacies, for grinding medicines and powders,

but today, of course, they're used for herbs and spices.

James is hooked on the pestle and mortar, but can he get a good deal?

The dealers here are probably the hardest in France to move on price.

Em...trente?

James ploughs in with 30 euro, but the man's having none of it. He wants 50.

Quarante cinq. Oh, he's shifted to 45 now.

Trente cinq? Non.

James offers 35, but he might just as well have slapped the bloke in the face.

Go on, try 40. Monsieur...quarante?

OK. Oui? Merci.

There you go. 40 euro. That's ?36.36 and James Lewis is off the mark.

Now what about old Bingo? He's found a bit of garden furniture that he's interested in.

Time for some good old Franglais.

Qu'est-ce que c'est...votre... your dernier prix...pour le table?

Quatre vingt euro.

En anglais, it's 80. Yes, James has been buffing up his French numbers.

I like it. Very good. Thank you.

Does it have a name? C'est un gueridon.

Gelion? Un gueridon de jardin.

Gueridon...ce le jardin. Voila.

Yes, mind like a whip. Picking up the lingo and doing a deal.

80 euro for the table is ?72.73. Now when we say table,

it's not a table. It's a geri... jeri... What have you bought?

A gueridon de le...

..de le jardin. A small table.

Maybe a stand for plants or for the aperitifs, en francais.

It's got a good weight to it. Wrought iron base.

It's got a little hole here.

I should be able to make a small profit.

So both dealers now up and running and battle is well underway.

Earlier on, James Lewis was winding Bingo up about the prices here in Paris,

but it's him who is first to be drawn by the temptation of a very expensive item. But what is it?

It's known as a portico clock.

They take their design from the front section of a classical house.

And these columns are Doric.

This was made probably in France in the 1850s. 350 euros.

350 euros is about ?295, getting on for about half of his remaining budget.

And it doesn't stop there because the pair of candlesticks

are a further ?250 on top.

Wow. That's a huge chunk out of my budget.

It's expensive, but he loves it. Look at that face.

Merci.

Well, James walks away from the clock, but he can't get it out of his mind.

The clock continually ticks away in his consciousness, crying out, "Buy me, James! Buy me!"

And it's not long before he's back, desperate to get the price down.

Madame, regardez, s'il vous plait.

Ici. Ici.

Ici.

He points out some damage, offers 500, but she won't shift on 550. What are you going to do, James?

I can come back. Merci.

So James walks away again.

He knows that spending nearly two-thirds of his budget on one lot is an enormous gamble.

To take his mind off it, he seeks solace in a good cheap vase.

I guess this is 1960s, but it's a classic bit of French glass.

Flowing lines, very sculptural.

Two things that I think are always good to go for in a foreign market

are, one, foreign things, maybe English things,

that make more in England because we recognise them.

Also, things that are really, really common here and quite rare there.

So they're almost two extremes and you see these all over the place in France.

Not so much in England, so the theory is that as the supply in England is lower,

let's hope the demand is higher.

James pays 17 euro for the vase. That translates to ?15.45,

but has it taken his mind off that expensive clock?

No, it hasn't. Elsewhere, Bingo is still struggling with the prices.

Not that he can't afford them, but that he can't understand them.

He's found a set of six chairs he'd like to buy for 200 euro, but the dealer speaks no English.

We could be here for a while. Le francais...tres difficile pour moi. Deux cents euro. Non.

Non? Non?

If you want to know which corner of a foreign field is forever England, it's in Bingo's head,

but with the help of a friendly bilingual shopkeeper, he manages a purchase. My price.

Deux cents cinquante.

OK. OK? OK.

Merci, monsieur.

I have just bought a lovely set of six chairs. Typically French.

This is a sort of plastic weave. It's rather jolly colours. We've got this red and cream.

And they're good, solid fellows. Made of light materials. And we've got a date here - 1995.

That is a surprise. I was hoping for 1950s, '60s.

I thought, "Oh, good. It's dated." And there it was, 1995.

Je suis desole.

When can I cry?

You have to cry in your own time. Poor old Bingo, confused by the prices,

confused by the dates, confused by France in general.

He pays 250 euro or ?227.27 for the set of six bistro chairs.

That's almost a third of his budget. Will he see a profit? Time will tell.

Now James Lewis has a brain like an encyclopaedia of antiques.

There are very few objects he won't recognise, but one has tweaked his curiosity.

I think it's something to do with making cheese. It looks like some sort of cheese press.

Combien? Trente euro.

Trente. 30 euro. Vingt?

Oui? Merci.

My spending isn't getting higher. But your choices get weirder. Some sort of cheesy pressy thing

for 20 euro translates to ?18.18 and James moves straight onto an equally odd purchase.

At least this time he knows what it is. It's a candle mould.

So the wick goes down one hole, up over these little indentations here and down the other side.

And then they're pulled tight here through these holes.

Once you've snapped it shut, you pour molten wax through the top.

What's it worth? Well, 120 euro they've got on it.

I'll see what he'll take for it.

Bonjour, monsieur. Bonjour. Trop cher! Hundred?

I was thinking 60, but... 70, it's yours.

You've got a deal. Thank you. James knocks the dealer down

from 120 euro to 70.

That's ?63.64 for the candle maker.

How is he going to sell these quirky objects on? And will he be able to make a profit?

Well, his rival, having accidentally splashed out a third of his budget on a set of modern chairs

is now back on the trail of a proper antique and has one in his sights.

Look at this table. It's over 100 years old. It is.

It's Ottoman, it's Turkish.

Missing its blocks here. It's a bit tired. Tres fatigue.

We've got some nice inlay here. Mother of pearl. Mother of pearl.

Yeah. Lovely colours to it.

My price is...cent quatre-vingt. My goodness!

So James offers 180 euro and nearly gives the man a heart attack.

If you like it, I make it 200 euro.

200 euro? OK.

Acheter. I buy. Merci, monsieur.

Well, they settle on 200 euro. That's ?181.82 for the antique table,

although once again James is about to get a nasty surprise as no sooner does he walk round the corner

than he finds another stall full of Turkish tables and yes - sorry, James - they're cheaper.

That's interesting. Another stall.

This is the Ottoman empire.

150. Haven't you just paid 200 for one of those?

I think I paid too much for mine. Yeah, you paid 200!

Cent...vingt? Cent trente.

Cent trente? Oui, monsieur. The other table was older so cost that little bit more,

but this one is newer so he spent less, at ?118.18.

At least he's getting through his budget. James Lewis is struggling to find anything he likes.

He's probably got something on his mind. I'm thinking about that clock and those candlesticks.

I'm going to see if they're still there. Fingers crossed, she'll give me a bit of a discount.

Even more fingers crossed she hasn't sold them. How many fingers?!

I don't want to look too keen or the price might go up!

You've been in the shop three times! That's hardly playing hard to get.

Cinq cent? Oui. Oui?

Cinq cent. Merci.

500. The clock and the candlesticks. My heart's beginning to pound a bit.

That's not surprising. 500 euro is ?454.55,

a massive chunk of his cash. When the dealers do that, though, you just know they think they have

a real moneymaker on their hands.

We've got a portico clock, made in alabaster. Made around 1820,

1850. Got more flowers and this great band of stylised lotus leaves,

something that you see in classical architecture all over the place.

If you've got a clock on your mantelpiece and it doesn't have a bell or a gong, it's not a clock.

The definition of a clock is it tells the time, but also chimes.

If it doesn't chime, it's a timepiece. The candlesticks are made from ormolu.

Very fashionable in France. Ormolu is gold-plated bronze.

Two great pieces of French 19th-century art,

but both of them inspired by what was going on 2,000 years earlier.

Was James buying with his head or his heart? It feels like a gamble.

That one huge budget-busting buy could make or break him when it comes to selling on.

So let's check the stats to see where things are on the spending.

Remember, our duelling dealers started the day with ?750-worth of their own euro.

So far, James Lewis has invested in five purchases and spent a whopping ?588.18,

leaving him just a paltry ?161.82 still to spend.

His arch rival, James "Bingo" Braxton, on the other hand,

has so far made four purchases at a cost of exactly ?600,

leaving him with ?150 in his kitty.

Aha! Some purchases. You find me.

Very nice. What do you think? I don't like the chairs. I like this. The barrow? No, the chairs!

Very expensive chairs they were. How much? They were 41 euro each.

Each?! Each! Oh!

How have you done? I've spent quite a lot, yeah.

How's the French coming on? Oh, magnifique. Parlez vous francais? Like a native!

Sur le marche. I'm off. Go on!

So off they pop on the final round of buying here in France.

Bingo has a bit of catching up to do and needs to find a decent antique after his bistro chair boo-boo.

A real treasure is what he needs. His rival is giving no quarter, scouring the stands for bargains.

Bingo has to concentrate. Concentrate!

Oh, forget it. What IS he doing now? Yes, what IS he doing?

He's trying on a dirty old mac!

And falling for salesman's flattery!

Like Humphrey Bogart. Humphrey.

Humphrey Dumpty, more like!

Good. Look this.

C'est bon. And what's worse, Bingo is thinking of buying it!

120 euro. Non! Yes, of course! Monsieur...

What cost in shop? In shop, plus cher. But you're not in the shop!

It's the street and second-hand!

It's a great coat, isn't it? Yes.

Quatre-vingt dix? Yes, yes!

Just say no, Bingo! Quatre-vingt dix, good. C'est bon.

Good! Merci, monsieur. Too late. He's done the deal.

90 euro. That's ?81.82.

Bingo Braxton, explain yourself.

This is a lovely coat. I'd hate to buy it in Regent Street,

but there we are. It feels almost like a second skin. I've only just bought it for all of 90 euro.

Zut alors! My coat, my phone, my glasses! Quick!

For goodness sake, what's he like? It's one thing losing your shirt, but coat, glasses and your phone?

That's a different matter.

Across the way, James Lewis has purchased a carved Spanish galleon for 100 euro,

?90.91 to you and me. It comes complete with all sorts of bits and pieces

and will be a right old jigsaw.

Model boats like these have been made for a couple of hundred years, really.

The majority of them that we see are 20th century.

This one has a few things about it that make me believe it's slightly earlier.

The choppy sea - they're normally on a stand.

The fact that it's carved out of a solid, rather than made of parts.

And what a great job. A boat with the sea like that, in perfect condition,

is worth ?500 or ?600.

Damaged, I'm still hoping it might be worth three, but it might be a bit of a choppy ride to get there.

As the boat clears out James's wallet, he calls it a day,

leaving his eccentric rival a free run at the market. Will he pull something out of the bag?

This is a flat weave fellow, generically known as kilim.

You keep these hot colours with vegetable dyes. Definitely over 100 years old.

This is just a sack, a useful thing for carrying stuff in.

If I can buy that for under 100 euro, I will be a happy man.

And, indeed, he successfully negotiated a stunning price of 70 euro. That's ?63.64.

With the stallholders packing up, Bingo also throws in the towel,

apart from one last smaller purchase.

Whilst in France... Bonjour, monsieur. Ah, c'est bon!

Yes, and that comes out of your other pocket, Bingo! Now it was fiercely fought here in Paris.

Both boys struggled with the steep prices, but did they do what they set out to do? Well, let's check.

Both our auction actioneers set off for France with ?750-worth of euro in their wallets.

James Lewis ended up buying six items and spending a fraction over ?679.

His arch rival James "Bingo" Braxton likewise will be returning home with six items.

However, he ended up outspending James Lewis by parting with ?745.46.

Now all they have to do is return their goods to the UK and sell them. How do they think the day went?

We've got quite a bit. We have. It's quite a good haul.

You've gone for trendy. I've gone for traditional.

I see this fabulous clock. I like that. Was that cheap? That and the candlesticks were...

500 euro. Plus cher.

And that. A ship of the line with a very naturalistic base.

That's what I liked about it. The base. What do you think will show your best profit? Best profit?

Probably my hot-coloured rug. Kilim. What did that cost? That cost me 70.

But I'll get two large cushions out of that with some backing. Ah, OK.

I think I can add value to that. Yeah.

Anyway, good luck, James. Good luck.

So our two adventurers return home from their continental excursion.

They must now convert all that potential into pounds as each tries to make the biggest profit

and bring home a victory. But before the selling struggle starts,

Messieurs Braxton and Lewis retreat home to assess their wares.

In Bingo's Sussex bunker, how's he feeling about his foreign buys?

Here you find me sitting amongst my Paris market.

To my right, domestic France, to my left, almost French colonies.

My lovely carpet, this is a kilim, a flat weave fellow.

I'll get two cushions out of it. I'll have to unstitch these

and put a soft linen backing on them.

My lovely tables, I spent some money on these. 200 euros on that fellow and then I went along the way

and I bought that for a lot less. 130 euros.

Who could resist these lovely three-legged tables? This collapses.

It's got some age, the zinc top. Six of these lovely bistro chairs.

These represent very much the Rolls-Royce of bistro chairs. And this is a classic trenchcoat.

No gentleman should be without this. Quiet, methodical Bingo working out how to put his best foot forward.

But over at the Lionheart's lair, Mr Lewis is also sifting through his sellables.

Of all the things I bought in Paris, this is the one that's going to take all the time.

I was so chuffed with it, I thought, "?100 seems fine." I shouldn't have given up Sea Scouts.

My candlemaker, I've already got loads of people interested.

The pestle and mortar. I can't find any examples of French ones that look like it,

but I can't find any North African ones either. Then the cheese press.

Really, really good thing. People who collect kitchenalia like it,

but also people with dairies that still make cheese at home.

The thing I haven't got a clue what to do with is the glass bowl. It really isn't me.

The candlesticks and the clock, by far the best things,

but at the moment... no interest at all.

So, for me, it's time to find a buyer.

That's the name of the game, James. Both must now find buyers.

They'll scour the land for the best deals, knowing no deal is sealed until the cash is in their hands.

And flying off to an early start is Bingo, who takes the white table to Julian,

a Tunbridge Wells brasserie owner, hoping for a healthy profit

on the ?72.73 he paid for it at the French market.

A rather lovely thing, isn't it? Proper French? Proper French fellow.

A wrought iron base. The three legs, always sitting true. Zinc top.

No, it's nice. It seems right that it should come back to a brasserie.

It does. I'd love to offer you 50. What about 80? Em...

70 and I'm a happy man.

In the middle, in the middle.

Wey-hey! I've made two quid.

Not quite the profit he was hoping for, but it's better than you think.

He's actually made ?2.27 on the table.

James Lewis is up next as he takes his cheese press to Adrian and Alan, who run a dairy farm.

Having paid ?18.18 for the cheese press, will he be able to squeeze out a profit here?

I guess this is the sort of thing that a farm wife would have used in her kitchen.

Her husband would have made it. A little bit missing. This would have formed a well.

That puts the money down. It does, very much so.

I think it adds to the character.

Look at the size of that wing nut! It does get quite a lot of pressure down.

So you seriously have force on it? Quite a lot of force. So is it of interest to you?

We wouldn't use it, but it is interesting historically because we hope to have a visitors centre

that tells the story of cheesemaking in the Peak District. What do you think it's worth? A good ?30

of anyone's money. Yeah. I don't think so!

How about 80? If we were stretched to 50, you'd be getting a good deal. You're getting a good deal, too.

And you've got one. I'm happy. Shows me a profit.

Cheers. James presses the flesh and makes a passable profit of ?31.82,

leaving him with a nice cheesy grin.

There are some deals that just feel absolutely right.

It's not all about profit. It's finding the right home for them. This was one of those deals.

Yes, but it is the profit that will win you the contest, a fact that Bingo is all too aware of.

He's still in Tunbridge Wells with his two Turkish tables.

He hopes Peter, a dealer in arts and crafts, will buy them. These mighty tables, why do you like them?

We always try to carry a stock of these Ottoman inlaid tables.

They were really in fashion in the 1890s. Right. But continued to be made into the 1920s.

I think they're early 20th century.

Have you got any others? Let's bring this one over and perhaps we can compare them.

The range of inlaid Ottoman tables, these are towards the lower end.

I know they need a bit of work, but I know also that they are quite fashionable

and I had to pay some money for them. I'd be looking at 120 quid.

My bottom price on these would be 450. Yeah.

Sorry, James. No? That's all right, Peter.

I'll have to work a little harder.

So Bingo's failure to sell only strengthens his resolve.

He may be walking out with the tables, but he's now got a plan to do a little restoration.

Peter's left me with this ebony and mother of pearl. I've a busy couple of days restoring these.

I think it was the condition of the items that stopped a sale,

but, when done, hopefully I'll get my price.

Having so far sold one table and failed to sell two more, what next?

Ah, yes, six chairs. He takes them to Charlie, a holiday home owner,

hoping to make something on the ?227.27 they cost him.

If you come away on holiday, you want to relax and sit down on these fabulous fellows.

And how old are they? They look like they have the wear of the 1960s,

but I turn one over - 1995!

So shall we try them for comfort? This is the benefit of the tub-shaped chair. The comfort.

It's an aggregate of flimsy materials that flexes.

If I made you an offer of, say, ?40 a chair? ?40? Can I squeeze 50?

50 a chair? 50 is good. 50 is good? Thank you. Thank you very much. Excellent.

So a sit-down deal and a comfortable profit of ?72.73 for the chairs.

James Lewis definitely isn't sitting down on the job. He's in Derbyshire to sell his cast-iron candlemaker.

I've come to Tissington in the heart of Derbyshire.

A very small village that's well-known for its arts and crafts.

In particular, well dressing, but also candle making.

So will Candle Annie want to give him a profit

on the ?63.64 that he paid for it?

Feel the weight of that.

Yeah, that is really, really... heavy. Isn't it?

I've never seen one like it. It's fascinating.

And I think that it was more than likely used in households, for people to make their own candles.

Not a commercial thing. No.

Before he goes in with his asking price, James's tactic is to prove that the mould still works.

The wax is just its neutral colour. OK. What colour would you like? A maroon-y red. Maroon-y red?

Perfect.

So do we just pour it down the edge? Yeah. Just pour it into that hole.

As if you're pouring a cup of tea.

How long will this take to set now?

About half an hour. Right.

Because it's cast iron, will that take longer? A little bit, for being metal.

Made in our special candle maker. Our mould.

Lionheart candles. There you go! A new range!

You'll have to have a little picture of me as a lion. A big sticker.

Is it useful? Do you want it?

Or is it just a pain in the bum? I'd quite like it. OK.

That's good, then. Expecting to haggle, bear that in mind. Yeah. 200.

I was thinking more of...145. Are you ready to go up from there?

A tiny bit. 146?

I'm not going to argue. That's fine. Really? You've got a deal.

That shows me a profit. I'm happy. Shall we look? Go on.

Look at those! Absolutely gorgeous!

Well done, mould.

That is so satisfying. Not only have I made a profit,

but that candle mould is going to go into use and have candles being made again.

Perfect ending!

# Mama, I'm sho' hard to handle now... #

So James makes ?82.36 on the candle mould and as both our battling competitors wax on

and wax off, let's find out who's burning brightly and who's getting on everyone's wick.

James Lewis has only sold two items and has made ?114.18.

Bingo has also sold two items for a profit of ?75.

So there really is everything to play for, but both our boys will want to pull out all the stops.

James Braxton braves the great outdoors for his next sale at a tepee field in Eastbourne.

That carpet bag I bought in Paris is now two lovely cushions

with the addition of this lovely French blue linen on the back.

We've a soft side and a hard kilim side.

Always one to maximise his profits with some clever shenanigans,

James has turned his bag into a pair of cushions which he hopes will fit into these tepees for hire.

Including restoration costs, he's so far spent ?66.64,

but will tepee park owner Sarah give him a profit?

Let's have a look. Have a seat. Thank you. Very Indian style.

You can see I'm an Englishman. I'm not used to this.

I got these in Paris. It started off as a bag.

These bags were used for everything. All the things that a nomadic tribesman would use.

Quite coarse, isn't it? It feels very robust. It does.

So what are you looking for? I would really like about... Yeah, 130-150, I think.

How about 80 for the pair? 80 for the pair? That's quite low.

What about 120? Call it 100 and we're there.

What about 110 and I'll do it? Go on, then. 110 it is.

Bingo makes a cushy profit of ?43.36 for the cushions.

What extraordinary lengths our dealers will go to for sales!

James Lewis is hoping to sell his pestle and mortar next and has travelled to a distant land,

full of mystery and ancient magic. I've come to Marrakesh. No, not THE Marrakesh.

Marrakesh in Derby, to sell my Moroccan pestle and mortar.

I paid about ?36, ?37 for it, but, do you know, I have no idea what I want for it.

So we'll just play it by ear.

Yes, James Lewis has brought his pestle and mortar to a Moroccan restaurant

where he hopes owner Steve will want to buy it. I think it's much nicer than the majority of them we see.

They're normally plain. Normally plain. Normally that shape.

And we get an awful lot of them. And a lot larger.

I think this is probably for spice and not for pharmaceutical use.

You want to barter.

I think we should... If we were in Morocco we would. I normally run away! I love it!

I will offer you 100.

130. This is my last and final offer...

But that doesn't matter. You're in Marrakesh. True.

110. 120.

What's the... 115 and that IS my final offer. Deal.

Deal. I'd have taken 100, but as we're in Marrakesh I just had to haggle.

James getting more than he hoped for and making a spicy profit of ?78.64 on the pestle and mortar.

And he isn't stopping there. He's caught a few fair winds in this selling storm so far

and he successfully sells the 1960s glass vase for a profit of ?13.55 to Stephen from Nottinghamshire

who wants it for a centrepiece in his dining room.

Next, James blows into the capital city, hoping someone goes overboard when paying for his wooden ship.

The Tudors fought the Spanish Armada for decades and they never reached London. Well, until now.

My Spanish galleon is here, right in London's heartland.

I'm hoping that a ?90 investment will result in doubloons of profit.

James has painstakingly repaired the ship and has now set his sights on Shane,

the manager of a central London pub called The Ship Tavern.

Do you like it? It's absolutely beautiful.

It's something that I've not seen before with the carved solid waves. No, exactly.

When I first saw it, I thought, "How wonderful. I'll put it together."

Now I hate it.

I hate it.

The sails took me... You don't want to know how long

to try to reassemble that from a bag of bits.

So what would you do with it? Where would you put it? Probably above the fireplace here.

We have another ship already there. What do you think it's worth? Two, maximum. Carved out of a solid?

Not out of a kit. All the way from Paris. All the cannon are there. Little mother of pearl hatches.

260, then.

250.

250. You've got a deal.

Well, I'm in danger of sinking with my treasure chest full of profit, but the wind's in my sails

and I'm just hoping it's plain sailing ahead. Well, a profit of ?159.09

leaves James with only one item to go. Bingo had better get his skates on,

especially still with those tables. After a bit of elbow grease, he's back in action.

I've done a little work to them, cleaned them up with ammonia and steel wool, reglued the blocks,

even cut one mother of pearl items. I still believe in them. And I think I've found somebody who loves them.

With the restoration work done, James takes the tables that have cost him ?301 to London

where he hopes Christopher, an interior designer, will buy them.

They're such a useful, functional table, as well as highly decorative.

And an incredible amount of workmanship in them with this inlay, mother of pearl and ebony.

They are very popular.

Are they? And getting harder to find. They're not quite a pair.

They're a near pair and people always want pairs.

Would 350...? Em, 325?

325. I could definitely sell them at 325.

Let's agree on that. Really kind. 325.

Finally! I'm so delighted. I've actually made a profit.

Those lovely Ottoman tables. All the way from Paris.

And after restoration costs, James makes ?24 on the Turkish tables, meaning he's down to his final item.

Agent Braxton is on a mission. His target: Bill, owner of a vintage clothes shop.

His weapon: the overcoat that cost him just over ?80. His aim: to make a killing.

It isn't quite the weather for this. Not really, so you're wearing it for a purpose. Yes, I am, Bill.

Do you recognise this fellow? Aquascutum, for Old England.

Incredible shop, right beside the Louvre. It was a flagship for the best of British gentleman's clothing

in Paris. Yeah, what the French think is the best of British. Aquascutum is a well-known name.

What would you give me for this? 70 quid? Not in a thousand years.

I'd buy it for 30, 40 quid. And an extra tenner for Old England. So that's 50 quid.

And that's really top whack.

Let's shake on it. All right. 50 quid.

Oh, dear! Bingo's first foray into fashion flops and he's forced to wear a loss of ?31.82.

At least he's all sold up, whereas his opponent still has his portico clock and candlesticks.

Having ummed and ahed about buying them, James eventually spent a massive ?454.55,

so this truly is a make or break deal. He'll have to find someone willing to pay big bucks

if he's to squeeze out a profit. So is Rob, an Ashbourne-based clockmaker, the man?

Alabaster and ormolu portico clock. And a pair of white marble and ormolu candlesticks.

I bought them as one lot together

and they look well together.

OK, that's very pretty. Lovely.

Sort of...1840? Something like that. That's what I thought.

For an alabaster one, it's in pretty good nick. Yeah. Not too bad at all.

They always have these marks.

I suppose the obvious question is how much are they?

How about...550?

Honestly, I wouldn't want to spend more than ?400 on it. Not being mean.

How much are the candlesticks? Maybe this might soften the blow.

I reckon I'd get ?350 for those at auction. They're wonderful quality ormolu.

How about if we said ?675 for the set?

Would you make it a nice round seven? Yeah. Deal. Brilliant. Thank you.

The Lionheart has made a fantastic profit of ?245.45 for the clocks and candlesticks,

showing that in this game you have to speculate to accumulate.

Before we find out who is minutes away from victory and who is second, let's see what they spent today.

Both set off to France with ?750-worth of their own euros in their wallets.

James Lewis bought six items and spent ?679.09.

His rival, James "Bingo" Braxton, also made six purchases

and, after a little restoration, ended up spending a total of ?749.46.

All the money from today's challenge will go to our dealers' charities,

so let's find out who is today's champion.

Hi, how are you? Hi, James. How did you find it?

Paris, it's quite expensive. Yeah. Just slightly!

My biggest profit came from the biggest investment, the clock and the candlesticks.

500 euros I had to spend. My most difficult item, that took the most time, were those tables.

A bit of restoration. Did you do it? I didn't really cut anything. Lots of cleaning.

One fellow offered me not the price I wanted. Oh...

So I had to take them to another fellow and I got the price.

Let's... One, two, three.

Wey! Well done. A convincing win.

Thanks. You took that fair and square. Thank you. Oh, blimey.

So James Lewis wins today, having found a better conversion rate than his rival.

Paris, it's a tough old market, that Saint Ouen.

?110. Not the greatest profit. James did very well.

As all the little sales go along, you don't think they'd add up to such a great total. I'm thrilled.

But tomorrow James Braxton has one final time to defend his honour and come out on top

as the two Jameses go head-to-head at the ultimate contest - the showdown.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd