BBC Flog It! guest floored by valuation of mother's 'fabulous' rare items

Flog It! guest Diane was left in amazement after learning the valuation of her late mother’s rare items.

Alongside her niece Hazel, she was greeted by expert Charlie Ross who analysed her treasured goods before taking them to auction.

After Charlie revealed he knew about her miniature antique toy chest, the guest admitted: “That’s wonderful, I know nothing about it.”

She explained: “My mum unfortunately died recently and when we were cleaning out her things, we found this trinket box and some things in it."

Diane shared that her mum “never spoke about it,” and noted: ”It has some French words on the bottom.”

Charlie confirmed: “It is indeed French but it's not all French. What you've got here is a wonderful mixture of European countries.

“You’ve got a French casket, an inset into it are some Italian plaques … and these wonderful micro-mosaic portraits of dogs and if you open it up she’s got a few little things inside.”

He continued: “That is also Italian - micro mosaic … and we’ve got a little brooch here and you’ve got here a little rouge pot. We’ve got Italian, French and this is English, it's 1922.”

After analysing the item, Charlie noted: “It’s a charming casket and typical of the Grand Tour and the extraordinary thing is the quality of the plaques.”

“It is just gilt metal but nevertheless its a pleasing shape and would have a value.”
He then remarked that the item could buy the youngster “several ice-creams,” and asked Diane for her estimation to which she responded: “Maybe £20, £30 for that?”

Charlie stated: “Well I think we can exceed that, I certainly think you’re between £100-£200.”

The guest was stunned as she exclaimed: “Really! Oh that’s fabulous.”

Pointing at the contents, the expert added: “I think these are sort of added extras but I think these two micro-mosaic panels of the dog portraits are worth £50 each because of the quality.”