An Antiques Roadshow guest was amazed at the price of his over the top gold Alaska themed belt buckle.
During the PBS series’ During a special visit to Alaska, the guest presented his enormous accessory for review.
The expert appraiser, Kevin Zavian, left the guest wide-eyed with excitement when he revealed the belt buckle was worth a whopping five figures.
The belt, decorated with remarkable detail and craftsmanship including what could be a giant tusk and pure gold nuggets, was purchased at auction a few years ago for about $5,700. But the belt, Zavian said, is worth up to $40,000.
“This is so Alaskan that I think something like this could fetch between $20,000 and $40,000 at the right auction,” he said in the PBS episode.
An Antiques Roadshow guest was amazed at the price of his ‘over the top’ gold Alaska-themed belt buckle
The belt, decorated with remarkable detail and craftsmanship, including what could be a giant tusk and pure gold nuggets, was purchased at auction a few years ago for about $5,700.
But the belt, Zavian said, is worth up to $40,000
Zavian joked, “It’s a belt buckle, it’s kind of big. Of course I threw it on the scale. You almost broke my scales.”
‘There’s five troy ounces of gold here. A significant amount of gold,” he continued.
He pointed out the meticulous craftsmanship, from the carefully soldered gold nuggets to the decoration of the tusks, which he said could very well be a giant tusk native to Alaska.
“These gold nuggets are soldered to a base of gold, so even though it looks like they’re all just laying there, it’s a lot of work and effort.”
‘You have this beautiful decoration of a twist wire. I love this part, that this is a mastodon tusk.”
He pointed out the meticulous craftsmanship, from the carefully soldered nuggets to the decoration of the tusks, which he said could very well be a giant tusk native to Alaska.
‘It could be a mammoth tusk. At first I thought it was wood. But tusk is such a thing in Alaska. All the elements here, except the diamonds, really come from Alaska.”
“So then you have this beautifully executed frame and it has this beautiful shape and form. It is riveted, which is a testament to the extra care the jeweler took.’
‘I like the little bit of engraving on the corners. Everywhere you look there is a nice sign of quality and that someone has taken care to make this.’
The guest beamed when he heard the news.
Antiques Roadshow is the longest running British television series about the valuation of antiques, broadcast on 18 February 1979.
The program started as a 1977 BBC documentary about a London auction house touring England’s West Country.
Another Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned to learn 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 his vast collection of medieval keys was worth thousands, in the latest episode of the BBC show
In the episode, which aired on Sunday, a guest brought in the huge number of keys he collected after receiving one from his grandfather as a child.
In the episode, which aired on Sunday, a guest brought in the huge number of keys he collected after receiving one from his grandfather as a child.
He explained that some of them dated from the 15th century and had built up the collection by picking up the keys at car boot sales, before tracking down more selective pieces from private sellers and auctions.
Expert Marc Allum viewed the collection and said he was impressed by the size of the collection, surprisingly admitting that all the keys could be worth more than $25,000.
The guest seemed somewhat surprised by the enormous sum, but remained mum on whether he would consider selling his vast collection.