A guest on the Antiques Roadshow had a bit of a shock as he found out the true value of a clock he had obtained in London decades ago. The clock had been purchased for a hefty amount back in 1998, but the true value would prove to be a lot higher. On Sunday’s edition of the BBC show, the man explained he had purchased the clock for £6,000, admitting he thought that was a lot of money for the item, saying: “I just really liked it. I thought that’s lovely and something that’s very unusual and that was it. It’s actually been sitting on my sideboard for over 20 years and keeps good time.” Sitting down with the show’s expert, he was told the unusual clock had been made in 1905: “I’ve seen a tremendous amount of Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts clocks in my time, but I’ve never seen one quite like this. “What I think is so exciting about this period and this style is that people were sick of the Victorian style. Arthur Lazenby employed these great designers working for Liberty’s in London.” The expert added: “This was high fashion and would in its day have been very expensive. The thing I’m really excited about is this copper face being off-centre and these flying birds. It is so unusual.” When trying to put a price tag on the clock, the owner was taken by surprise. The expert said the estimated value of the item, were it to be auctioned off today, would be between £15,000 and £20,000. The guest, who replied to the valuation saying: “Goodness me. I’m very surprised. Extremely surprised” insisted he would continue to enjoy the peculiar item, despite learning of its true value.
