An Antiques Roadshow guest was left flabbergasted by the ‘ridiculous’ five-figure value he received for his “fairly derelict” watch.
The BBC show, which returned with a new series on Sunday (September 3), saw the antique experts travelling to Swanage Pier and seafront to value people’s unusual items.
But while guests usually bring on items in fairly good nick in the hopes of getting a high valuation — one bloke tried his hand with a rare Omega watch that had quite literally been run over by a lawnmower.
READ MORE: Antiques Roadshow guest ‘nearly faints’ after finding out how much £277 item was valued
However, despite its unfortunate fate, expert Richard Price was quick to reassure the couple that the timepiece was salvageable and valuable.
(Image: BBC)
Price explained: “As you know this was the first watch worn on the moon but there is an unfortunate word in the watch-making industry for if something is in a very poor state.
“We call it derelict and this is fairly derelict. How did it get in this condition?”
The guest replied: “It unfortunately went through my lawnmower. We had a burglary and they must have dropped that in the grass as they left. My wife found it later in the compost bin.”
He added that he had bought it between “late 1965 and early 1966” and that it was “secondhand at the time”.
(Image: BBC)
The camera showed the watch up close – which had been left in three pieces: the strap, the clock face and the case back.
But despite the damage, expert Richard confirmed that the watch would still be worth thousands if the couple got it repaired.
“Assuming you can get these pieces in good condition with that strap, I see it being retailable for towards £18-20k,” he said, adding that the “strap on its own is worth £3k”.
The guests were rightly left stunned as they assumed the item was beyond repair and worthless.
The male guest said: “I’m amazed, I’m excited, I mean I came along here convinced it was basically beyond repair, a bit of rubbish really. My son will be excited because he wants to inherit it.”
(Image: BBC)
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Viewers were left shocked too as they immediately took to X (Twitter) to share their views on the valuation.
One stunned user wrote: “Just the Omega metal watch strap > £3k, flippity jibbins.”
Another wrote: “I’ve been down the garden so I might have missed it but ridiculous price for a broken watch.”
A third commented: “A watch that’s been through a lawnmower is worth more than mine?!”
Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
