Antiques Roadshow guest kisses BBC expert after being left amazed by value of 'ugly' clock

Daily Mirror

a day ago

An Antiques Roadshow guest had a two-word response to finding out how much his "dirty" clock was truly worth.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.
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An Antiques Roadshow guest was left almost speechless when he discovered the staggering value of a "filthy" timepiece his wife had branded as "ugly".
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The BBC daytime programme visited Cardiff to record another captivating episode, where expert Richard Price examined a visitor's ornate clock in detail.
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"Let me ask you then, why is it so dirty? Do you not look after it?" Price enquired.
The guest confessed: "No, it lives in a box in the attic because it's so ugly."
Price responded: "Really? Who banished it up there?", with the guest revealing "my wife".
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He explained that he had received the clock approximately five years earlier and it went "straight into the attic".
Price declared: "Underneath all this filth and mess, we have the most wonderful bronze bull."
During a separate interview, the guest's wife shared her thoughts on the unwanted inheritance.
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She remarked: "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."
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Also in a separate interview, the visitor revealed: "I had a feeling that the clock was going to be worth perhaps a couple of thousand pounds because it was pretty old."
However, they weren't prepared for its actual worth as Price announced: "Even in this state, I think your initial offer would be in the region of £20,000.
"20?" the guest queried as Price clarified: "£20,000 in the rough like this."
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The guest remarked: "Good heavens."
Once again in the separate interview, the guest said: "When they double, triple, quadruple the value that you have in mind, it's just unbelievable."
But that wasn't the end of the story as Price added that once it had been "lovingly cleaned" and restored, the price would shoot up to anywhere between £30,000 and £35,000.
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"Good Heavens above. My wife will never believe it," the guest replied.
His wife recalled: "I said 'Oh, how did you get on?' He was quiet, awfully quiet and his lip was quivering a little bit."
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He told Roadshow: "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."
The pair chose to have the timepiece professionally restored afterwards, though it proved to be quite a challenge, according to specialist John Jillings.
"It was obviously rather concerning, the fact that it had been stored in the loft for such a lengthy period and there may have been a touch of moisture present, but all things considered, it's survived remarkably well", he explained.
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"When we extracted the springs from the barrels, they were actually signed and dated by the manufacturer for February 1754. So this is thrilling, because it's another element we can utilise to date the clock quite precisely."
Unveiling the "moment of truth", Jillings presented the restored golden clock, prompting the wife to exclaim: "Oh that's fantastic. Oh you've done a great job."
She then approached Jillings to plant a kiss on each cheek in gratitude.
"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."