An Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned at the price of his ‘over the top’ Alaskan-themed gold belt buckle.
During the PBS series’ special visit to Alaska, the guest, presented his massive accessory for appraisal.
The expert appraiser, Kevin Zavian, left the guest wide-eyed with excitement as he revealed the belt buckle was worth a whopping five figures.
The belt, adorned with remarkable details and craftsmanship, including what could be a mammoth tusk and pure gold nuggets, was bought in an auction a few years ago for approximately $5,700. But the belt, Zavian said, is worth up to $40,000.
‘This is so Alaskan that, in the right auction, I think something like this could be $20,000 to $40,000,’ he said in the PBS episode.
An Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned at the price of his ‘over the top’ Alaskan-themed gold belt buckle
The belt, adorned with remarkable details and craftsmanship, including what could be mammoth tusk and pure gold nuggets, was bought in an auction a few years ago for approximately $5,700
But the belt, Zavian said, is worth up to $40,000
Zavian joked: ‘It’s a belt buckle, it’s rather large. Of course, I threw it on the scale. You almost broke my scale.’
‘There’s five troy ounces of gold here. A substantial amount of gold,’ he continued.
He pointed out the meticulous workmanship, from the carefully soldered nuggets to the tusk embellishment, which he said could very well be a mammoth tusk, indigenous to Alaska.
‘These nuggets, they’re soldered to a base of gold so even though it looks like they’re all just laid in there, it’s a lot of work and labour.’
‘You got this nice embellishment of a twist wire. I love this part, that this is a mastodon tusk.’
He pointed out the meticulous workmanship, from the carefully soldered nuggets to the tusk embellishment, which he said could very well be a mammoth tusk, indigenous to Alaska
‘Could be mammoth tusk. At first, I thought it was wood. But tusk is such a thing in Alaska. All the elements here, except for the diamonds, are truly from Alaska.’
‘So then you have this beautifully executed frame and it has this nice form and shape. It’s riveted on, which shows extra care that the jeweler gave it.’
‘I love the little bit of engraving on the corners. Just everywhere you look, it’s got this beautiful little sign of quality and that somebody took care making this.’
The guest was gleaming when he heard the news.
Antiques Roadshow is the longest-running British television series about the appraisal of antiques, beginning its broadcast on February 18, 1979.
The program began life as a 1977 BBC documentary about a London auction house doing a tour of the West Country in England.
Another Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned to learn that his vast collection of medieval keys was worth thousands, in the latest episode of the BBC show.
Another Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned to learn that his vast collection of medieval keys was worth thousands, in the latest episode of the BBC show
The episode, which aired on Sunday, saw a guest bring along the huge number of keys he’d accumulated after receiving one from his grandfather when he was a child
The episode, which aired on Sunday, saw a guest bring along the huge number of keys he’d accumulated after receiving one from his grandfather when he was a child.
Explaining that some of them dated back to the 15th century, he’d built the collection by picking up the keys at car boot sales, before tracking down more selective pieces from private sellers and auctions.
As expert Marc Allum perused the collection, sharing that he was impressed at the size of the collection, and made the surprise admission that all of the keys could be worth over $25,000.
The guest appeared somewhat surprised by the huge sum, but remained tight-lipped on whether he’d consider selling his huge collection.
