By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

HOOVER – Fine art and antiques appraiser Gary Piattoni has appraised on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. On Sept. 14, Piattoni visited Somerby at St. Vincent’s One Nineteen to appraise locals’ antiques and heirlooms.

Piattoni took the time to give his professional opinion to each paintings, figurines, furniture and more.

“I put prices on things for a living, so don’t take it personally,” he said before he began.

Piattoni gave tips on resources available for researching the worth of antiques. He recommended visiting Abebooks.com to find the price of antique books. He also uses Liveauctioneers.com for research purposes.

Two locals brought in antique dolls for Piattoni’s appraisal.

“People college things they remember as kids,” he said.

The highest appraisal of the Antiques and Heirlooms program was a Meissen-imitation bowl, complete with hand-painted flowers and detailed cherubs as feet for the bowl. Piattoni appraised the German bowl to sell for $800-1,000.

Martha Lawrence brought classical music records from 1904 to the appraisal.

“There were so many interesting stories. I wish I had brought something other than these,” she said, gesturing toward the records, as Piattoni said the records were only worth a few dollars apiece.