During Thursday night's episode of BBC's Antiques Road Trip, antiques valuer and auctioneer Izzie Balmer earned a massive profit after spending just £5 on two tiny gold pendants. Izzie and
co-star Ishy Khan headed to the Derbyshire Dales to buy and sell antiques, including visiting the Matlock Bath Illuminations and Derby's Pickford's House Museum, among other places. At Armstrong's Mill antiques store, Izzie found a jewellery box listed at £30 but noticed two gold pendants that caught her eye. The expert only had a look in the store out of habit and didn't expect to find anything, but to her surprise, she found a piece of gold.
The nine-carat gold pendant had a precious white opal in the middle, and Izzie noticed a better play of color under the lens. The pendant had a bale stamped K18, which meant it was 18-carat gold. She proceeded to ask the dealer what deal he could do for the two pendants, and he informed her that she could have any item in the jewelry box for £2.50 each, so she took out the pendants and paid him £5.
At the auction, the bidding started at £55 before steadily climbing up to reach a final price of £100, earning Izzie a great return on her £5 investment. She said she was pleased with the profit she made and explained that the pendant was worth the risk, depending on the price. All profits from the show go to Children in Need.
This episode's success follows another episode where two presenters, Irita Marriott and Mark Hill, were left amazed when an item sold for 11 times its purchase price at auction. The £20 vintage London Bus sign sold for an 'amazing' profit, causing the hosts to jump up and down with joy. When the auction came to an end at £240, Mark said he was happy with his purchase.
Antiques Road Trip is a British television show that features antique experts traveling across the UK to buy and sell antiques, with all profits going to the BBC's Children in Need charity. The show is a spin-off of the popular program Antiques Roadshow and has been on air since 2010. Photo by Daniel Naczk, Wikimedia commons.