Isn’t there something very sad about seeing a once treasured jewellery item have its value estimated at auction by its metal weight? Is everything merely worth its weight in gold?
For me, the idea that something with so much artisanry – a hand-crafted ring, a gold necklace, a beautiful brooch – is now being sold with a view to its scrap value, is akin to a tragedy. How do you put a price on the sentiment and memory that is embodied in the item, once presumably loved and cherished by its former owner?
As it heads to the crucible of meltdown, all those memories associated with it also burn away to oblivion.
I get it. In this age of decluttering – and especially the menacing ‘death cleaning’ (couldn’t the Scandinavians have come up with a kinder, more gentle name?) – we need a sense of ruthlessness. And I understand too that some ‘memorabilia’ doesn’t carry with it the right memories. Why, for example, would a divorcee want to hold on to a wedding ring from an ex-partner?
On TV’s dreaded ‘Flog it’, people are asked why they are ‘letting go’ of their items. ‘It was just gathering dust on a shelf.’ ‘The kids aren’t interested.’
‘And what will you do with the money?’ oozes the patronising host, all velvet jacket and insincerity. A holiday, they say, or give it to the grandkids. Occasionally, to buy some other vintage or antique piece, even though the cost of a fish supper for two is often as much as the sale value will deliver, once the auctioneer has taken his cut.
It is cheap and easy daytime TV. But however upbeat Mr Velvet Jacket tries to be, there is a deep seam of sadness running through it.
Watch out
The issue of value is brought home to me when I take a friend’s Waltham wrist watch to a clock and watch-repairer on the Yorkshire Wolds to see whether it is fixable. Ken is a warm-hearted but straight-talking Yorkshireman. He tells it like it is.
The initial signs are promising. Before even removing the casing, he notes that the mainspring is intact but spots that the hands are catching as they pass each other. Perhaps, I hope, that is the problem, easily fixable.
But immediately the gold back is removed he can see the real problem. The pivot on the balance is broken and the hairspring is damaged. The watch dates back to the 1920s or 30s. The chances, he says, of finding an identical replacement are at best slight. A specialist antique watch repairer might be willing to try but the costs, against the value of the watch, will be prohibitive.
I thank him for his diagnosis. And as he is reassembling the watch, he smiles. Always one to look for the positives, Ken says that given the current record high prices for gold, the watch might possibly realise £250 for its precious metal weight alone.
Clutter or valued keepsake?
It is not my call. My friend Mike has treasured this watch since he first donned it over 50 years ago. Then it cost the princely sum of £15 and subsequently served as his main timepiece for decades. Before he bought it second-hand, it had already had a long and productive life. But Mike is realistic too. He knows that getting the item back in working order now is not really a viable option.
So, does he realise its scrap value, or does he keep it safe in a drawer as a reminder, on the odd occasion he looks at it, of all the good times they have shared?
Clutter, or treasured memento? Or just worth its weight in gold? It’s a tough call. Only time will tell.
Whether you care for clocks and watches or not, you will absolutely love Rachel’s Walnut Cottage Tea Rooms (click on the link), nestled alongside Ken’s workshop in the Wolds village of Huggate. While Ken engrosses himself in mending timepieces, his wife Rachel bakes perfect cakes and scones, and serves delicious teas and coffees in the cutest fine bone china tea cups. I’ll not say more, for fear I am accused of being an ‘influencer’. Heaven forfend!
