An Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless after discovering the astonishing value of an ‘ugly’ old clock – and following its transformation to its original state, she was so thrilled she planted a kiss on the expert’s cheek.
During a recently repeated episode of the BBC show, filmed in Cardiff, expert Richard Price took a closer look at the guest’s 270-year-old clock.
At the start of the segment, Richard asked the guest: ‘Let me ask you then, why is it so dirty? Do you not look after it?’
The guest admitted: ‘No, it lives in a box in the attic because it’s so ugly.’
Richard jokingly replied: ‘Really? Who banished it up there?’, to which the guest revealed it was his wife who had exiled the timepiece.
He explained he inherited the clock from his uncle around five years ago – but it went ‘straight into the attic’.
An Antiques Roadshow guest was left speechless after discovering the astonishing value of an ‘ugly’ old clock – and following its transformation to its original state, she was so thrilled she planted a kiss on the expert’s cheek
During a recent episode of the BBC show, filmed in Cardiff, expert Richard Price took a closer look at the guest’s 270-year-old clock which had spent years gathering dust in the attic
Despite its grimy appearance, Richard said: ‘Underneath all this filth and mess, we have the most wonderful bronze bull.’
In a separate interview, the guest’s wife was equally candid about her thoughts on the unwanted heirloom.
She admitted: ‘My husband inherited the clock from his uncle and when he brought it home, I wasn’t impressed at all.
‘It was very ugly, very dirty. We didn’t realise how dirty until we were told how dirty it was on the Roadshow. I thought that’s the colour it was supposed to be.’
The guest confessed he hoped it might be worth a couple of thousand pounds because it was pretty old – but Richard soon blew that estimate out of the water.
The expert revealed: ‘Even in this state, I think your initial offer would be in the region of £20,000.’
‘Twenty?’ the stunned guest repeated, before Richard confirmed: ‘£20,000 in the rough like this.’
Appearing lost for words, the guest remarked: ‘Good heavens… when they double, triple, quadruple the value that you have in mind, it’s just unbelievable.’
Despite its grimy appearance, Richard valued the clock at £20,000. However, the surprises didn’t stop there – he added that if the clock were cleaned and restored, it could fetch between £30,000 and £35,000
And the surprises didn’t stop there – Richard added that if the clock were cleaned and restored, it could fetch between £30,000 and £35,000.
The guest said: ‘Good heavens above. My wife will never believe it.’
His wife recalled: ‘I said “Oh, how did you get on?” He was quiet, awfully quiet and his lip was quivering a little bit.’
The guest told the Roadshow team: ‘And I managed to get out – blurt out – the fact that Richard Price had said “Oh in its present state it’s worth £20,000.” But when I got to the £30,000 mark, I was getting a bit too excited and a bit emotional.’
Determined to give the timepiece a second life, the couple enlisted expert John Jillings – though the process was not without its challenges.
John explained: ‘It was obviously rather worrying, the fact that it had been in the attic for such a long time and there may have been a little bit of damp there but considering, it’s survived very, very well.
‘When we removed the springs from the barrels, they were actually signed and dated by the manufacturer for February 1754. So this is exciting, because it’s another thing we can use to date the clock quite accurately.’
Determined to give the timepiece a second life, the couple enlisted expert John Jillings to restore it to its original condition – and were thrilled with the result
When the restored antique was unveiled, the wife was overwhelmed: ‘Oh that’s fantastic. Oh you’ve done a great job.’
She then embraced John and gave him a kiss on each cheek as a thank you for transforming the once ‘ugly’ item into a masterpiece.
Revelling in its new look, she gushed: ‘Oh it’s beautiful, it really is. You would never have believed that it would have looked as good as this. No, it’s absolutely marvellous. Now it’s not quite so ugly.’
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and to stream on iPlayer.
