2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Hayley Anderson)
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow. An Antiques Roadshow guest laughed when she discovered the true value of a broken carriage clock. Filming at Thirlestane Castle in the Scottish Borders, BBC expert Richard Price met with a guest in front of a crowd to take a closer look at her treasured item.
However, from the very beginning of the appraisal, Price wasn’t exactly the most complimentary of the object. He stated: “Now please don’t think me rude but I have to say this is in pretty scruffy condition. Why?” The guest replied: “I have to agree with you and that’s a sad thing, I have no idea, because I inherited it in that condition about 50 years ago from my late husband’s aunt.
“She knew I had always loved it and when we got married, she said ‘you must have this.’ “It has always sat on my desk not working, I know, it’s awful isn’t it?” Price elaborated: “Well let’s kick off by saying it’s French and it is a miniature carriage clock. “I call it a clock, but it’s a timepiece, because it’s a non-striking clock and anything non-striking we call a timepiece.
“And the joy of it is the porcelain panel, you’ve got the dial, the sides and the back door all porcelain. “Let’s open the back. You can see the movement there, that’s the original lever platform at the top.
“The case is what we call a cannalee and the date is about 1885, maybe a little bit later.” He turned over the clock in his hand to then see a stamp which signified it was created by “one of the best makers”, Drocourt of Paris, “so that proves this is a really nice little object.” But despite this, the expert made it clear that a lot of work needed to be done to the item before it could be of any monetary value.
He commented: “This is the joy of this thing, it’s what we call in the rough and I’m going to tell you what we need to do to make that into top retail. “First of all, the movement needs to be completely cleaned and overhauled. “The case needs to be re-guilded, most importantly, this panel needs to be re-done and re-painted and re-completed.
That’s the expensive bit.” Summarising, he remarked: “When it’s done, it’s going to be £4,000 in retail condition.” The guest began to laugh: “I will certainly see what it costs to get done, because I just love it and it’s very special to me.
” Price said: “It’ll be a lot more special when it’s working!”, as the owner agreed: “I know, I can’t wait to see that.” Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer..
