- 5/31/2025
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00:00Behind the doors of our mansions, castles and houses, lie piles upon piles of forgotten treasures.
00:14I've been looking for that for two years.
00:17I can't get away from them. They are simply everywhere.
00:20Am I a hoarder? Yes.
00:22But when tough times come knocking...
00:25When you're saying movement, what's it doing?
00:27Come and have a look.
00:28How much does this school cost?
00:29I'd try to think.
00:31Do they have a hidden gem that could be their salvation?
00:34Not sure what's in there. Could be anything.
00:37I'd love to think that there was a master painting in here.
00:41They will need the best in the business.
00:43People do call me Mr. Miscellaneous. I just love all sorts of objects.
00:49It's all about creating a look. That's what really sells.
00:53Rock stars, A-listers, they're all in my little black book.
00:56Experts determined to track down valuable finds...
01:00The book alone would command an incredible amount of money.
01:04Oh, wow. Okay. Well, that's a big name.
01:07Ooh, this is a bit of money.
01:09...and deliver life-changing sums.
01:11So...
01:12Oh, my goodness.
01:14This is the only copy anywhere in the world.
01:18It's unbelievable.
01:19Today, Clive's on his way to Leicester to help a couple deal with a hoard that has taken over their home.
01:35I'm only a few minutes away from going to meet Rita and Hugh.
01:44And, from what I understand, they have acquired a considerable collection of interesting items.
01:54Always, always full of excitement when you do these kind of things.
01:57And, hopefully, today, we're going to find something awesome.
02:09I remember these on Nana's wall when I was a little girl.
02:14So those have been around for a long, long time.
02:17At their home, Rita and Hugh are living amongst a mountain of boxes.
02:22There should be a lid to that somewhere.
02:27It's like a Chinese or Japanese urn.
02:29The problem is, the lid could be anywhere.
02:32Six years ago, Rita inherited an enormous collection of antiques from her stepfather, Norman, a celebrated clocksmith.
02:44Norman's passion for clocks started when he was a child.
02:48His mother, Gracie, got him a job as an apprentice in Clerkenwell, which is where all the watch-and-clock businesses were in London.
03:02Time progressed and he opened his own shop.
03:06It was called Old Times.
03:08And he would take in repairs, he would buy and sell.
03:12And he always had this mindset that things were going to be worth more in the future.
03:19Which led to him hoarding because he was going,
03:22Oh, yeah, this might be worth £50 now, but in 10 years' time, it might be worth £500.
03:29However, you can have too much of a good thing.
03:36And Norman, as he got older, he became really reluctant to sell the things that he had been buying.
03:47So, Norman would have packed this 1985.
03:52You know, when you think about it, it's been sitting in a box.
03:55I mean, I always wondered what he must have seen in this.
03:58Maybe did he see value?
03:59Yeah, yeah, I mean, he was a human magpie.
04:04Norman used to teach me, used to love to try and share his knowledge.
04:09Even when I was a little girl, he'd take me to auctions.
04:14So, I've got these things around the house that really, really make me smile
04:19and think about the good things in my childhood.
04:22It's amazing, but it's overwhelming.
04:27To be honest, I think it's too much for us to deal with, really, because...
04:31It's too much for any ordinary person to deal with.
04:34There are items in the collection that I would struggle to part with
04:40because those are items that I love, and I mean, I really do love them.
04:48The unruly collection has sentimental value,
04:52but it's cost them thousands in storage, and it's taking over their home.
04:58I don't know about you, but I need a cup of tea.
05:02Rita and Hugh know they need to sort it out, and they need help.
05:06Oh, let's go.
05:07I'm too old for this.
05:09Antiques expert Clive prides himself on his knowledge and his contacts.
05:18Identify the treasure, turn it into cash.
05:21That is what I'm good at.
05:23So, if there's a hidden gem to be found, he'll root it out.
05:26Get the right one.
05:33Don't want to go knocking on the wrong door.
05:35Done that before.
05:37I am excited.
05:38Let's go and find out about all the items they've got.
05:42Let's hope there's something special in there,
05:44and maybe change their lives.
05:50Suburbia.
05:51Who knows what it's going to reveal?
05:53Ooh, lots of interesting things already.
06:01Hello, hello.
06:02Hello, come on.
06:03Nice to meet you.
06:05Oh, my goodness, come straight in and see something gorgeous straight away,
06:08apart from you two guys, of course.
06:10She's heavy.
06:11Delightfully heavy, I think, is what you say, isn't it?
06:14Yeah.
06:14Love these things.
06:16Yeah, so, Norman, who was my stepfather...
06:19Oh, yeah.
06:20..brought this home when I was about ten years old,
06:24and he had no intention of selling it, but it was very naughty,
06:28and he put it in the shop window, because he owned a clock shop.
06:32Yeah.
06:33And we had people ringing on the door.
06:35Constantly coming around.
06:37Yes, going, how much is the elephant?
06:39How much is the elephant?
06:41You go, no, the elephant's not for sale.
06:43No, no.
06:43Rosie's part of the family.
06:45She's staying.
06:46We don't...
06:47But don't sell her, and why should you?
06:48No, no.
06:48It's really nice.
06:49Yeah, and do you think that's Rosewood?
06:51Oh, for sure, yeah.
06:52Yes, good, good.
06:53I'm just glad, because it was me that called her Rosie the elephant.
06:56Oh, yeah.
06:57A nice, solid chunk of it, really, isn't it?
07:001920s, 1930s kind of period.
07:02Yeah, yeah.
07:03Yeah?
07:03If this sets the standard for the rest of the house,
07:06I think we're going to have an exciting day.
07:08I'm glad to hear it.
07:09Fantastic.
07:09Great.
07:10Is it this way?
07:11Yes, straight on.
07:12So, aside from clearing and making space in your own home,
07:28you're going to raise some money.
07:29What's the plan with that?
07:32Three years ago, that was when I discovered
07:35that Norman wasn't my biological father.
07:38Right.
07:38I did a DNA test and discovered that my family
07:44had ended up settling in America.
07:49Yeah.
07:50And I've not actually met my birth father yet.
07:53Oh.
07:53And I'm hoping that one day we'll get the call
07:56and we want to be able to say, that's fine,
07:58we can be on the next flight,
08:00which, at the moment, we couldn't do that.
08:02But what is so beautiful is the fact
08:06that my stepfather's legacy to me
08:10means that maybe I can meet my birth father.
08:15Oh, absolutely, yeah.
08:17It does seem to be...
08:18Sorry, I didn't mean to do that.
08:20Sorry.
08:22Well, it's a lovely, genuine reason
08:25to go and create some value
08:27from this stuff that's blocking up your hair.
08:30Yeah.
08:31It looks like I've got a busy day ahead of me.
08:33Are you guys happy for me to just go and have a wander
08:36and see where I can get started?
08:38Yeah, absolutely, please.
08:39Brilliant.
08:39Just feel free.
08:41Let's...
08:41I'm going to start in here.
08:46Oh, my goodness.
08:49It's everywhere, isn't it?
08:51I think £20,000 would be a reasonable amount
08:58for us to be looking at raising.
09:01Clocks and clocks and clocks.
09:04Looks interesting.
09:06We have no idea what is in some of the boxes here.
09:11Literally, we've never looked in them.
09:14You never know what we're going to find.
09:15And also, you know, that's part of the excitement.
09:18So, this is an adventure.
09:22Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry.
09:27This is probably half of Norman's clock collection.
09:35I'll go and have a rummage.
09:37Go for it.
09:38Suck it.
09:41French made, French looking,
09:44circa 1900, maybe slightly earlier.
09:47And, um, perfect.
09:49We're happy to find those all day.
09:51Always going to be able to sell those.
09:55The golden age of the mantel clock
09:57began in the late 1700s.
10:00They quickly became a staple household item.
10:04Ranging from basic and affordable
10:06to lavish and ostentatious.
10:10Some of the very best had their intricate mechanisms on display.
10:15And others were crafted from fine materials like porcelain.
10:19Examples of such clocks from the 1700s
10:22have fetched over £1 million at auction.
10:24Oh, that's got some weight to it.
10:321920 sort of thing.
10:34It's quite a nice-looking clock.
10:37There's some good stuff in here,
10:39but there's also some absolute rubbish.
10:42I'm hoping perhaps there's something really nice inside.
10:47So I would just make the day.
10:48What is in here?
10:53Norman's collection contains timepieces
10:55from the past 180 years.
10:58Does it come any more art deco than that?
11:01That's probably a £500 clock, quite frankly.
11:06That one there is a 400-day clock,
11:09concept being that it would run for 400 days.
11:12Hmm, clock's world is starting to look better and better.
11:19But in the barrage of clocks...
11:22We're stepping up, aren't we?
11:24Clive is yet to find a stand-out timepiece
11:26that could raise big money for Rita.
11:33What have we got in here?
11:35Look at that.
11:44A little ship's wheel movement,
11:46rocking backwards and forwards.
11:48That's a joy to watch, isn't it?
11:50Quite a popular thing, this ship's wheel concept.
11:54We've got this beautiful glass with the bevelled edge.
11:58You can see it all round.
11:59So, yeah, I think that is the best clock we've seen yet today.
12:08How are you getting on?
12:09Hey, guys.
12:10To tell you the truth,
12:11I'm hypnotised by this little ship's wheel.
12:14It's quite a nice thing, isn't it?
12:16It is, lovely.
12:17It was one that Norman has always said,
12:20this is special.
12:21It's a delightful clock.
12:23Nice, saleable piece.
12:25And I have seen these up to about £2,000.
12:30So, it's definitely one for further research.
12:33OK, yeah.
12:34Good result with that one.
12:35Yeah.
12:42In Leicestershire...
12:44It's like an assault on the senses.
12:46Antiques expert Clive is trying to find £20,000 of treasure
12:51to help send Rita to the USA to meet up with her birth family.
12:56I really like these.
12:57Yeah.
12:58It can be £100 to £200 each.
13:03Meanwhile, vintage fashionista Paula
13:06is heading to Sunderland on a mission of her own.
13:10I'm so excited today because I'm going to see someone
13:13who's got a huge wedding dress collection.
13:16I have a feeling there are going to be plenty of treasures to be found.
13:36Retired dressmaker Kevin has been showcasing his lifelong obsession
13:40at charity events for over 40 years.
13:42The edging on this feels beautiful.
13:46I know it is.
13:49His latest is set in the hall of a magnificent historic college.
13:55In a fashion show, this is the part where I do all the talking.
13:59So, while the model walks round,
14:01I tell everybody about who wore the dress and when they wore it
14:03and where they wore it.
14:05And people are interested.
14:08The whole point of the collection from the very beginning
14:11was to help raise money for whichever charity or school or church
14:19that needed to raise money.
14:24So far, we have actually raised more than £600,000.
14:32Kevin's top model for his fashion shows is Mavis, his wife of 22 years.
14:37He's the boss, he tells me what to do and I do it and that's our partner.
14:43See, that's not true really, that's just for a bit of a laugh.
14:47No, we work very closely together.
14:53I love wearing all the wedding dresses, which woman wouldn't?
14:58Kevin's vast collection has been amassed over decades.
15:11I think I probably could be described as a bit of a hoarder.
15:16Exactly how many, I've never counted.
15:19I guess it's sort of 400 gowns.
15:22It could even be more than that.
15:24Every time we do a fashion show,
15:29several people will come to him and say,
15:32Kevin, would you like my wedding dress?
15:33Kevin, would you like my wedding dress?
15:36And he just takes everything that comes.
15:39I don't know if Mavis minds sharing the home with the collection.
15:43I think it's probably a case of Mavis is used to it now
15:46after all of these years.
15:54With a growing hoard, the couple are in need of help.
15:59I like to find exquisite things
16:02and I know exactly where to take them to sell them.
16:06Arriving at Mavis and Kevin's house,
16:09vintage clothing expert Paula is hoping to find a way of raising money
16:13to help them escape their unbridled wedding dress collection.
16:17I don't know where he keeps them, but I'm about to find out.
16:20I can't wait for this one.
16:20Hello, hi, I'm Paula.
16:25Lovely to meet you.
16:26Lovely to meet you.
16:27Please come here.
16:31Straight away, I can see some fabulous pieces.
16:37This is gorgeous.
16:41Then we move over here to something that's a lot more plain,
16:44but then also it's got the lovely embellishment of feathers, or is it...?
16:47It's just marabou.
16:48Amazing.
16:49And then in here, this is your living room.
16:52More stunning dresses.
16:54The collection has taken over every corner of their house.
16:59It's quite crammed.
17:01You can't get in the house for wedding dresses,
17:03and the time comes when you have to think,
17:05no, I either stopped doing this and get rid of all of these,
17:09which was definitely a no-no,
17:11or you then have to look for somewhere to store them.
17:15This one looks 1930s, or?
17:17It's 1930s.
17:18Goodness me.
17:20Absolutely beautiful.
17:21The problem is, Kevin, is I want to try them all on now.
17:28Wedding dresses.
17:29Do you think this is something that got into your blood,
17:32that, you know, was in your...?
17:33Oh, I think so, yes.
17:34I was 17 when I made my first wedding dress,
17:37and I'd then tell my mother I used to wait till she went to bed
17:41and got her sewing machine out.
17:43So you're self-taught at that point?
17:45I was at that point, yes.
17:47It sounds as if it was such a burning passion for you,
17:50this idea of creating and making, Dean.
17:52Yeah.
17:53My grandmother was a tailoress.
17:55When my grandmother died,
17:57we found about eight wedding dresses that she had made,
18:01and my aunt just said,
18:03oh, put them all in the bin,
18:04and I was horrified and said,
18:06no chance, I'm taking them home.
18:08And the collection went from sort of eight to 30,
18:11up to about 400, where it is now.
18:15Oh, my goodness.
18:16What is the problem at the moment?
18:19Is it the fact that the collection can't be seen?
18:23It would be nice to have somewhere larger
18:26to be able to display them more,
18:28because, really, they are just in a storage space.
18:32Do you have any idea of how much we need to raise for that?
18:35Somewhere in the region of £50,000 to £20,000.
18:38I can see you nodding along there, Mavis.
18:42Is this something you really want to see happen?
18:44It would be really, really good,
18:46because when we were married,
18:49Kevin said, can I put some things in the garages?
18:52So I said, how long for?
18:55And he said, oh, I promise everything will be gone in two years.
19:00My car's still parked on the drive.
19:03And it's 22 years now.
19:04Hauler's task is to raise enough money
19:08so that Kevin can rent a studio space
19:11to store and repair the whole collection.
19:15After you.
19:15Thank you very much.
19:17I am so excited about this.
19:18I'm not sure what I'm going to find.
19:20Here we go.
19:22OK.
19:23Ooh.
19:26Already I'm seeing...
19:28I'm sort of seeing what we're going to be dealing with.
19:30Oh, my goodness.
19:32Kevin!
19:32Ah, gosh, look at that.
19:45In Leicestershire,
19:46Clive has already discovered
19:48a unique example of a carriage clock.
19:50It's like an antique store
19:52run by somebody who's really badly organised.
19:56Oh, my goodness.
19:57But with £20,000 needed
20:00to realise homeowner Rita's dream
20:02to visit her birth family,
20:04he needs to investigate the hoard further.
20:07What have we got here?
20:10It's got a nice weight to it.
20:13Tag, phonographed.
20:15I can't believe how good the condition is.
20:18Not even a scratch on the face.
20:21Something like this could make a few hundred pounds.
20:26Crazy.
20:27What have we got in here?
20:30Let's have a look at this.
20:32These are little micro-mosaics.
20:35Jolly collectible.
20:36You know, when Victorians were travelling round Europe,
20:40enjoying all of its splendour,
20:42and you want things to bring back,
20:43this is the equivalent of a fridge mac.
20:50The Grand Tour was a European journey
20:53of cultural enlightenment
20:54taken by British aristocrats,
20:57a tradition which started in the 1600s.
21:01Visiting the finest art and antiquities,
21:04they would return with miniature souvenirs
21:06of the places they had seen.
21:10Last year at auction,
21:11a Grand Tour micro-mosaic of the Forum in Rome
21:14sold for nearly £10,000.
21:20They've definitely got value,
21:22so worthy of a bit more investigation.
21:26Who knows?
21:26Might find a box of another 200 of them at this rate.
21:36I'm not even going to go in there.
21:38Yeah?
21:39That's just bonkers.
21:41Gigantic shield.
21:50Let's have a look.
21:54It's a Milton shield.
21:57Produced originally for the Great Exhibition.
22:01This is a copy of the Milton shield,
22:04one of the finest examples of metalwork created in the mid-19th century.
22:09It features John Milton's Paradise Lost,
22:12and the original is held in the Met Museum in New York.
22:15There were numerous copies.
22:18Some good, some not so good.
22:23You know, it could go from £1,000 to £10,000 or more,
22:27so I'd rather like it.
22:29Imagine that in your downstairs bathroom.
22:32Yeah, it'd look nice, wouldn't it?
22:33You found the shield, I see.
22:36I have indeed, and, you know, a beautiful thing it is.
22:41Every year, out came the silver dip, the cotton wool,
22:45and I'd be going over it and making sure I brought out the silver,
22:49the copper, the brass.
22:50Is this an item for sale, or is this not?
22:54No, that's staying in the family.
22:56Right, OK.
22:56That is not something that we're thinking about parting with.
23:01With the shield off the table, Clive needs to keep searching.
23:05Oh, gosh.
23:07If he's going to find Rita the money she needs.
23:10Look at all this.
23:11Where do you start? Where do you go?
23:14And with such a huge horde to look through,
23:17that's a massive challenge.
23:18With the best will in the world,
23:21I'm just scratching the surface,
23:24and this is more than you can do just on one day watching,
23:29without missing stuff, and I don't want to miss stuff.
23:32So I'm only going to have a chat and see what they think.
23:34Oh, I can make it up off the floor.
23:38It's too big a job for just one man.
23:41So Clive thinks the best way forward
23:43is to get a specialist team in
23:45to help identify and catalogue the high-value items.
23:50Take into consideration the breadth of what has been collected.
23:55I think an auction is probably the way forward.
23:59That's the way to do it.
24:00Are you happy for me to kind of move forward from here then
24:03and get this underway as a process?
24:06Yes, please.
24:07Excellent.
24:11Decision made.
24:12The mosaics and clock will be sold separately,
24:15but the rest of the collection will be assessed
24:17before going under the hammer.
24:22In Sunderland...
24:24Kevin!
24:25Paula's search is underway.
24:27Does this go all the way back?
24:28This goes all the way back.
24:30Filled with wedding dresses.
24:31Wow.
24:33I believe you do.
24:33Oh, my word.
24:35Well, you're a passionate collector, Kevin,
24:37I'll tell you that.
24:39It is jam-packed.
24:43This overflowing garage
24:45is why Paula needs to help Kevin raise £20,000
24:48to rent a studio space
24:50to store and repair the collection.
24:52I can see some treasures already,
24:55but I'm looking for something
24:56that might indicate
24:57that it's actually a designer dress.
25:00Maybe couture made, even better.
25:02But the details, it's all in the detail.
25:07In 1840,
25:09the detailing in Queen Victoria's wedding dress
25:12caused a craze of crinoline and lace
25:15that has been replicated by brides ever since.
25:17And vintage gowns with special provenance
25:24have become big business.
25:26Recently, Elizabeth Taylor's first wedding dress
25:29sold for over £120,000.
25:36Now, this looks like something from the 1950s, I would guess.
25:42The fact that it's strapless, boned, and has a wide skirt.
25:48I can imagine a 1950s enthusiast
25:51desperately wanting to get married in a dress just like this.
25:59The market for vintage dresses and pre-worn dresses
26:02is so huge at the moment for several reasons.
26:05People want to think sustainably about wedding dresses,
26:08but also the vintage aesthetic in general.
26:11People love the idea of emulating the past,
26:15the 1920s, the 1930s.
26:19This is too beautiful a collection
26:21to be left in a garage.
26:25I feel as if I have almost a personal duty
26:28to honour the women who've worn these dresses.
26:31But as lovely as these dresses are,
26:34I just hope that Kevin has a big-ticket item,
26:39something in the rest of his collection,
26:40because I'm not sure we're going to get it here.
26:43And we need to get him his £20,000.
26:52Hello, Dave.
26:53In Leicestershire...
26:55These boxes ain't packing themselves.
26:59Antiques expert Clive has plumbed his contacts
27:02and enlisted expert help.
27:04That's quite pretty with the porcelain panels.
27:07In his challenge to raise the £20,000 that homeowner Rita needs...
27:11That, that, that.
27:12..to travel to the States and visit her birth family.
27:15A ram's head wall mask.
27:17Every house needs one.
27:18I bet you've got a ram's head on your wall, haven't you, Clive?
27:20I've got one in the downstairs toilet.
27:22There you are.
27:24North-west auctioneer Adam Partridge and his team...
27:27..are spending the day going through the bungalow
27:30and selecting the choicest items.
27:33Two carriage clocks.
27:35Hundreds of them.
27:36One thing you don't see with the glamour of being an auctioneer
27:40is the amount of stuff you have to sift through
27:42cos you don't just find treasure
27:44without having to kiss a lot of frogs first, do you?
27:49The bubble wrap is rattling
27:51and the boxes are moving out the door.
27:53Yeah.
27:54What's it feel like?
27:55I must admit, I have got a slight feeling of sort of panic
27:58and I am thinking, am I doing the right thing?
28:02But I've just got to just kind of take a deep breath
28:06and let things go.
28:10But as Rita wrestles with her emotions,
28:12watching van loads of lucrative loot drive away
28:15to be catalogued for auction...
28:17Clive can't take his foot off the gas.
28:22He's got grand tour micro-mosaics to sell.
28:26Ed?
28:27Can you hear me, sir?
28:28How are you doing?
28:29All right, thank you.
28:30And he knows they are one of his colleague Ed's specialisms.
28:35Micro-mosaics?
28:36You've dealt with them before.
28:38Yeah, I mean, are they grand tour?
28:41Yes.
28:41Do you know anybody who is a buyer of these?
28:44I have grand tour collectors.
28:46Right, OK.
28:48Maybe float them in front of your specialist buyers
28:50and at least then we've got a starting point.
28:52We need you to see, like, the condition and stuff.
28:54Yeah.
28:54Yeah, I'll pass them on.
28:56Thanks, mate.
28:57Cheers, bye-bye.
28:58Good news.
28:59Moving forward.
29:05In Sunderland,
29:07ex-dressmaker Kevin's overflowing garage
29:09has failed to offer up a designer wedding dress
29:12good enough to fund a studio space
29:14to store and repair his collection.
29:17Here we are.
29:17But the dresses aren't just contained at home.
29:21It's spilled out into a large storage unit nearby
29:24and that's racking up costs.
29:27Oh, my goodness.
29:28At least they're on rails.
29:34They're on rails.
29:37So, what do we have here?
29:47This rail looks as if it's filled with...
29:49I mean, these look antique and vintage.
29:51This looks like an older collection.
29:53It is.
29:54Oh, my goodness.
29:55I love this one.
29:57That's beautiful, isn't it?
29:58And that lace work is stunning, isn't it?
30:00Beautiful lace, yes.
30:01Beautiful.
30:02So, that's 1950s.
30:03Yeah.
30:06So, Kevin, I've never come across a wedding dress collection before
30:10and I have to say it really has made me think
30:12because my dress literally is in a hatbox in my wardrobe.
30:17It's something that I probably wouldn't choose now
30:19but it is of its era.
30:21It's of the late 90s, early 2000s
30:23and it's so interesting when you're choosing a dress
30:26you don't think you're choosing a historical piece
30:28but you are.
30:29Yeah.
30:30That's a lovely one.
30:34Wow.
30:35That is stunning.
30:39Beautiful fabric.
30:40This is Coco Chanel.
30:44This is Coco...
30:45Wow.
30:46Goodness me.
30:47This is just exquisite, amazing.
30:51I bought it about, probably about 10 years ago now.
30:55The story behind this was that
30:58the daughter of a leading British industrialist
31:00was marrying an MP in 1923
31:03and Coco Chanel was a family friend
31:06and Coco Chanel made the wedding dress as a wedding present.
31:10As the story goes, the bride had other ideas
31:14and she married the chauffeur
31:16and this dress was never worn.
31:18That's incredible.
31:20Amazing.
31:22And look at the detail on this.
31:25And what fabric is this?
31:26It was called winter velvet.
31:28Absolutely beautiful.
31:32Coco Chanel helped define women's fashion
31:35fashion for much of the 20th century,
31:36railing against past rigid structure
31:39and insisting that ladies' design
31:41should be luxurious and comfortable.
31:44Without her, there would be no Chanel suit
31:47or iconic little black dress.
31:49What makes you believe that this dress
31:56was made by Coco Chanel herself?
31:58It's her style.
32:00It's no homemade dress.
32:03It's a designer dress.
32:04You can tell it's made by somebody
32:07who knows how to make dresses.
32:09Well, I have to say, Kevin,
32:12if this dress is by Coco Chanel,
32:15I think we may have the answer
32:17to your problems.
32:20Oh.
32:21You never know.
32:22Amazing.
32:23Beautiful.
32:24Absolutely wonderful.
32:28Finding a vintage Chanel dress
32:31that may have been made
32:33by Coco Chanel herself,
32:35if that dress can be authenticated,
32:38then we're not just talking
32:39a few thousand pounds,
32:40we could be talking
32:41about tens of thousands of pounds.
32:43It would be very difficult
32:46to say goodbye to the Coco Chanel,
32:48but if it was going to raise
32:50a lot of money
32:51to look at premises,
32:53to help the collection along,
32:55then I think I would be quite happy
32:56to go down that route.
33:06Curio's expert, Ed...
33:08The craftsmanship's incredible.
33:10..has taken up Clive's challenge
33:12to sell Rita's miniature mosaics.
33:15This dog one really stands out for me.
33:18It's just so small and so detailed.
33:21It could probably make a little bit extra.
33:24I'm thinking £300, £350 for that alone.
33:29He's hoping the five pieces
33:30can add to the £20,000 Rita needs
33:33to fund a trip to see her birth family.
33:36I need to take some photographs,
33:39get some pictures out there,
33:40try and get myself a buyer.
33:47Meanwhile, in Amersham...
33:49You excited?
33:50I am.
33:51..on his own mission
33:52to raise money for Rita,
33:54Clive has arranged for her
33:55to meet one of his contacts.
33:59Oh, beautiful.
34:00This is lovely.
34:13Staggering.
34:15You just come in.
34:16The smell reminds me
34:18of Norman's clock shop.
34:20I feel really at home here.
34:22Clive is hoping that
34:24clocksmith Ashley Stretha
34:26might be interested
34:27in buying the carriage clock
34:28he found from Rita's
34:29late stepfather's collection.
34:33Hello.
34:34Nice to see you, Gay.
34:35Nice to see you.
34:35Long time, long time.
34:39It's always nice
34:40when they work straight out of the box.
34:42It is, it is.
34:43OK.
34:44Amazing.
34:45So this ship's wheel
34:46sort of arrangement
34:48basically replaces the pendulum.
34:50And it just visually looks
34:51much, much more interesting.
34:54For every three,
34:55four hundred clocks
34:56in this style
34:57only one would have
34:59this sort of pendulum arrangement.
35:01That's good to hear.
35:02Yeah, indeed.
35:04There's a nice mark on the back.
35:06An S, Marty and Co.
35:09Right.
35:10I reckon it's pre-1900.
35:12What else gives value
35:14to clocks like this?
35:15It would have originally
35:16been gilded, gold-plated.
35:18And you can see
35:19quite a lot of the gilding
35:21still here.
35:22Yeah.
35:22The problem with these
35:23is when people
35:25get their Brasso out,
35:26give it a good rub,
35:27it takes gold off.
35:29You're taking more off.
35:30So what,
35:31what does the price
35:33look like for you?
35:34I reckon around about
35:41the sort of 950 mark
35:43for a clock like this.
35:45I was hoping
35:45for a bit more than that,
35:47I have to say.
35:48Something between
35:49the 1,000
35:50and 2,000.
35:52Mm-hmm.
35:52So if you were able
35:54to push it to
35:56a little bit...
35:57I can probably
35:57push it to 1,000.
35:58That sounds fair.
36:09Yeah?
36:10Yeah.
36:11Fantastic.
36:11OK, so we're going to
36:12shake on it.
36:13Yeah, thank you very much.
36:16Definitely.
36:16OK, thank you.
36:17Exciting.
36:18Perfect.
36:19Thank you, Clive.
36:22There's a little bit of me
36:23that's kind of yelling,
36:24what have you done?
36:26But I know it's going to go
36:27to a good home with Ashley.
36:31Really pleased.
36:33And in some ways,
36:34it's, you know,
36:35it's quite charming, isn't it?
36:36That clock dealer
36:37who's got so much stock
36:39wants to add another one to it.
36:42Norman was right.
36:43It was a clock worth having.
36:47Today, we're on our way
36:59to Kerry Taylor's Auction House.
37:01And Kerry Taylor
37:02is the leading auctioneer
37:04for all things textile,
37:05vintage and antique.
37:09Kerry established her reputation
37:10at just 21
37:11as the youngest auctioneer
37:13in Sotheby's history.
37:15She went on to create
37:16her own internationally
37:17renowned auction house
37:18and in 2022
37:20sold an early Coco Chanel top
37:22for a record price
37:24of over £100,000.
37:26So, I've got a box full of gorgeousness.
37:32I've got what we hope
37:33is an original Chanel dress,
37:35a Chanel wedding dress.
37:37So, if Kerry Taylor doesn't know,
37:39then no one will.
37:43Kerry, lovely to meet you.
37:45Lovely to meet you too.
37:46Come on in.
37:47Welcome.
37:47Thank you so much.
37:49So, here we have it.
37:51One of the best parts
37:53of my job
37:53is opening boxes.
37:54The exciting moment.
37:56What do you think?
38:07This is a very nice dress.
38:09You've got a dress here
38:10that's very typical
38:11of about 1930.
38:13A nice vintage dress.
38:15You have these lovely
38:17zigzag panels here.
38:19What about the possibility
38:21of it being a Chanel?
38:23Zero.
38:26Really?
38:27Yeah.
38:29Absolutely.
38:29Well, that's such a shame.
38:31And what tells you that?
38:33The velvet itself is...
38:35It's nice,
38:35but it's not the best quality.
38:38No silt linings.
38:39These seams.
38:42Chanel didn't use
38:42pinking shears like this.
38:44Right.
38:44With haute couture,
38:45especially with Chanel,
38:47who is a real stickler
38:49for quality for finishing.
38:52Sorry about that.
38:53Well, that's disappointing,
38:54but it's good to know.
38:56Not the result
38:57that Paula was hoping for.
39:00It's not authentic.
39:01It's not worth a lot of money.
39:03And it's definitely not Chanel.
39:05The problem is,
39:07with Kevin,
39:08is that it's not just
39:09monetary value.
39:11There's a lot of emotion
39:12tied up in these dresses.
39:15Returning to Sunderland
39:16to break the news
39:17is one job
39:18Paula is not
39:19looking forward to.
39:20Paula has had
39:29Kevin's wedding dress
39:31reputed to be
39:31Coco Chanel
39:32assessed by an expert.
39:34Otto!
39:35Shh!
39:36She's back in Sunderland
39:37to share what she's learnt.
39:38I'm quite excited
39:41to get some verification
39:42about
39:43what we think
39:45we know about the dress.
39:46What's the end result
39:47going to be?
39:50No, no, no!
39:52So, hello again.
39:53It's so lovely
39:54to be back here.
39:55It's lovely to have you again.
39:57Honestly,
39:57it's been a bit
39:59of an adventure,
39:59I have to say.
40:00I've been down to London
40:02to see Kerry Taylor.
40:03She understands couture,
40:05so she really knows
40:06what she's looking for.
40:09Now, unfortunately,
40:11what I do have to tell you
40:13is that she can't
40:14authenticate the dress
40:16as an original Coco Chanel.
40:18Oh, well.
40:19It's one of those things.
40:20But she said
40:21it's a beautiful period dress.
40:23It is a lovely example
40:24of a 1930s wedding dress.
40:27It's not an unhappy ending.
40:29It's not an unhappy ending.
40:30Not at all.
40:30At the end of the day,
40:33we've still got
40:34all the dresses
40:35and we've still got
40:36fashion shows
40:37to make people happy
40:39and help us
40:41to raise money
40:42for charity,
40:43which for us
40:43is what it's all about.
40:45That's so wonderful.
40:48It wasn't the result
40:49that we were hoping for.
40:51It's not about the money.
40:52It's about raising money
40:53for other people.
40:54So it's not a bad result.
40:56And maybe one day,
40:59a wedding dress
40:59will come along
41:00to help Kevin fund
41:01his studio space.
41:12In Macclesfield, Cheshire,
41:14auction day is fast approaching.
41:17And Adam Partridge's team
41:19are busy displaying the lots,
41:21including over 100 from Rita.
41:23This is where
41:28all the magic happens.
41:30Welcome to my parlour.
41:31Exactly.
41:32And I see
41:33lots of Rita's things
41:34in front of me.
41:35It's an interesting lot.
41:37That has a bit of a look to it.
41:39Painted blue and white,
41:40quite popular.
41:41But that's in nice condition,
41:42isn't it?
41:42It is.
41:42It is.
41:43We've only put,
41:44I think the catalogue
41:44could put £50, £80 on it.
41:46I think you could stick
41:47a nought on that,
41:48probably.
41:50This is quite a rare beast.
41:51Yeah, it's lovely,
41:52isn't it?
41:52Stopwatch.
41:53Yeah, very nice.
41:54A kind of romance
41:55of like Steve McQueen
41:57standing there next to the track
41:58or something like that
41:59during some movie.
42:01Him getting carried away.
42:02Holding one of these.
42:03Yeah.
42:04It's in at 600 to 800 days.
42:06Okay.
42:06That's a pick for me.
42:07I'd like to see
42:08four figures for that.
42:09That'd be exciting,
42:10wouldn't it?
42:10Yeah.
42:11I'm very confident
42:12we're going to make
42:14Rita a few quid.
42:14ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
42:26Morning, ladies and gentlemen.
42:27We've got about 800 lots today.
42:28We're going to try
42:29to do about 100 an hour.
42:31Rita's 117 lots
42:33have featured heavily
42:34over two days
42:35of auctioneering.
42:37It's so exciting.
42:38And she's come along
42:40in person
42:40to see her final
42:41few high-value items
42:43360, 380, 400.
42:45Go under the hammer.
42:48Are you going to be
42:49emotional about it
42:50or are you going to be all right?
42:51I mean, I'll be waving goodbye
42:53to some of my childhood there
42:55and I've got to try
42:57and be positive
42:59and think that they're going
43:00to be going to
43:01really good homes.
43:02Yeah.
43:02Knowing that those pieces
43:04are going to be loved
43:05and cherished by somebody.
43:07Yeah.
43:08It's getting out of the cold,
43:09so we'll have to do
43:10some auctioning.
43:1392, 65 I'm bid,
43:1565 pounds.
43:16With only 1,000 pounds
43:18raised so far...
43:1975, 80 in the room,
43:215, 90.
43:23She needs a successful
43:24sale day.
43:26400 pounds.
43:27In order to realise
43:28her dream of visiting
43:30her long-lost family
43:31in America.
43:32740, 760, 780.
43:35It all hangs on the sale
43:38of her stepfather's
43:39heirlooms.
43:41800 bid.
43:43Thank you very much.
43:49The Barnard snipe.
43:51What a lovely thing.
43:54460's bid, though.
43:55Nice.
43:56Nice.
43:56460.
43:57At 460.
43:59Any more now?
44:00Selling at 460.
44:01460.
44:02There we go.
44:05We're happy with that.
44:06A group of Chinese
44:08blue and white.
44:09300 and bid.
44:1020, 340, 360, 380, 4100.
44:1320, 40, 60, 85, 20.
44:15560, keep going.
44:17580, 600.
44:18780 back in at 780.
44:20780.
44:21800.
44:22Working hard here.
44:23800 is bid.
44:24880.
44:25Wow.
44:27Very rare stopwatch.
44:301,000 pounds.
44:32Be quick.
44:331,100.
44:34That's a good one.
44:361,150.
44:37It's gone up again.
44:381,200.
44:391,200 pounds.
44:42Good job.
44:44The final hammer has come down
44:46on Stepdad Norman's collection.
44:48The auction is over.
44:503, 8...
44:51Where's your calculator session going?
44:56Don't put any spurious numbers in there.
44:59Plus 600.
45:02Oh, my.
45:04Nearly 21,000.
45:06Oh, my goodness.
45:09Rita's afternoon lots have smashed their estimates.
45:16Right back at the beginning of this process,
45:19you said Norman bought some really nice things.
45:23And today's bid has recognised that.
45:26With the auction and her clock sale,
45:30Rita's made over £22,000 before fees.
45:34But there's a final surprise.
45:37Her miniature mosaics...
45:39Sold for £400.
45:41Yay!
45:42Rita's taken these articles,
45:44these bits of history that were lying around the house,
45:48and turned them into something really tangible.
45:50In this case, airplane tickets and hotel stays.
45:57It's given me a real sense of freedom
45:59to know that that opportunity is now there.
46:04It's just amazing.
46:06Makes me feel happy.
46:08It ain't all about the money.
46:10It's about more important things.
46:12A curved, cold-hearted beauty
46:22setting speed records
46:23whilst cruising to bonnie Scotland
46:24in luxurious comfort.
46:25Secrets of Flying Scotsman
46:27starts 20 past 8 tomorrow on Channel 4.
46:29For Matt Baker,
46:30it's guitars, grapes and glistening greenery
46:32with the Royal Seal of Approval
46:33Tuesday nights at 9 on More 4,
46:35starting a new journey across the British Isles.
46:38Back here next is Gogglebox.
46:42.
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