Deal concluded – “He didn’t see anything?”, “Shouldn’t accept!”, “The estimate is biased…”: Expert auctioneer’s “forgetting” annoys internet users

Selling is like an emotional roller coaster. This Tuesday afternoon, on France 2, viewers saw the expertise and sales room of the program “Affair conclusion” presented by Julia Vignali. Today’s buyers, Bernard Dumaiguet, Marie du Sordet, Johan Henard, Jerome Lefranc and Caroline Pons saw a parade of colorful items! Sylvie is the first seller to introduce herself today. This amateur pastry chef, originally from Dubs, came up with a vase with typical Japanese decorations from his mother for more than 60 years. Appraised by Harold Hessel, this vase comes from a late 19th century production and mentions a longue which attests to the age of the object. Estimated at 700 euros, the Sylvie vase fetched 1150 euros in the auction room to the delight of Bernard Dumaige! For her part, Fanny, another vendor of the day, came up with a light fixture that became too dangerous and too cumbersome for her interior. The 39-year-old mother discovered that her lamp, given to her by a friend, dated 1962 and was designed by the Castiglioni brothers, a family of Italian designers. The light, which combines marble, a long metal rod and a plastic sphere, was estimated by Delphine Fremaux-Lejeune at 150 euros. It would eventually be sold to Marie du Sordet for 350 euros! But the sale that certainly attracted the most attention today was that of Adam, a young sailing enthusiast who came up with a pair of iconic armchairs…

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“Too much faith in auctioneers? I don’t!”

Originally from Menton, the young man wants to buy his dream boat as part of the sale of his two chairs. Julia Vignali and Jerome Duvillard, the auctioneers in charge of the appraisal, were full of praise for the pair of armchairs! “You know what? I think they’re called ‘deal’ seats to see the show!” The host, sitting comfortably in a chair, said Jerome Duvillard. To explain the origins of this pair of chairs by Marco Zanusso, Adam admits he picked them up when he recently bought an apartment in Italy. Today she wants to redecorate this apartment… and therefore get rid of these chairs. Trim, edges, legs… Jérôme Duvillard seems to have analyzed things thoroughly.

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According to it the only defects are found: small moth holes. As for the rest, the auctioneer assures: these chairs are “in their original condition”… and therefore marketable! Time for an appraisal: “It’s hard to find a fair estimate. A pair of seats like that, well upholstered, can cost up to 5000/6000 euros,” said Jerome Duvillard. Enough to make Adam jump! “But that’s your estimate?” Julia Vignali asked him. “Oh no!” The auctioneer replied. If the current market really prefers 20th century icons “in their original form”, it’s hard to predict what work will be done on these items. Under these conditions, Jerome Duvillard chose to offer a more reasonable estimate: 1500 euros for the pair. No cold showers at this stage for Adam, satisfied with this estimate. Unfortunately for the youngster, in the auction room, buyers would notice a flaw that hadn’t been noticed moments before during the appraisal: one of the chair’s legs was glued back. So serious repairs need to be considered to restore the chair to good condition. Hence Jerome Lefranc acquired the pair for 500 euros. “I still feel a sense of disappointment because the estimate was three times higher,” Adam said bitterly in an interview. The apparent oversight on the auctioneer’s part has angered internet users: some of them even noted that this situation has happened before…