A star from Antiques Roadshow has insisted he would not be selling the “priceless” item he brought to the BBC show.
The antique valuation show returned to our screens once again on Sunday (June 9), with host Fiona Bruce behind the helm. Several other much-loved faces also returned to the show, including antiques expert Richard Price.
With the showing coming from the picturesque Windermere Jer Museum in the Lake District, hundreds of people filled the area, hoping to make some cheeky cash on their old and forgotten items. One guest in particular caused eyebrows to be raised as he brought in his golden-lined item.
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In the latest episode of the BBC show, Price inspected the antique, before giving his full thoughts on what he made of the item. “Well a very, very beautiful, engraved watch on both sides so it’s what we call a hunting case watch.”
(Image: BBC)
He continued: If it’s got a very beautiful dial as well, which it has, look at that lovely silver dial I can say pretty categorically that it is for the Spanish market.” When asked about where he got the watch from, the guest had said it had been gifted to him by a Spanish woman who was a friend of his family.
“One day she said, ‘I got no one to leave it to, you have it,'” which left Richard chuckling. “Well, what a lucky couple you are,” he said in response.
He added that whilst inspecting the trinket, it was “absolutely typical” to have come from Spain, thanks to its ornate design and 18-karat gold that had come from the 1860s. The guest then added that there was a “chime” in the watch, but admitted he had no idea what the sound was meant to represent.
(Image: BBC)
Richard continued to give his appraisal: “Firstly, it’s signed by a Swiss mechanical Lucien Dubois and it has three squares. One is to set the hands and then it has the normal waiting in the direction of the arrow and then it has a third winding square which will be for an independent seconds.”
Price also explained that the timekeeper that had designed the watch was Joseph Barolos, who had devised a way of telling time through quarter-hours, which designated the chiming. He explained that while that element of the watch is currently not working, by being able to remember it working means that some minor work could be carried out to get it back to tip-top condition.
It seems that the value of the watch itself depended greatly on whether the watch could chime on each quarter-hour, as when Richard gave his assessment, the guest was left gobsmacked. “If this is Joseph Barolos’ patent, we’re talking about a very rare thing.
(Image: BBC)
“If it’s there, I’m going to quote you £7,000 to £10,000,” he said. “If it’s not, we’d be looking at £2,500 to £3,000 minimum right; so either way, lovely gift.”
Much to his amazement, the guest was baffled by the valuation, before he quipped: “Oh yeah, but it’s not for sale.” Price quickly interjected, laughing: “That’s what you all say!”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
