Gordon Brown's favourite antique is always the last piece he bought. At the moment, it's a marine chronometer, a device invented by English clockmaker John Harrison in the 18th century to measure a ship's longitude accurately.

"I just love the stories and the history of antiques," says Brown, 58, a panellist on ABC TV's The Collectors. "For me, it's like time travelling."

He says the biggest mistake people make with antiques is over-restoring them. He recently inspected an early colonial Gothic bookcase and felt a sinking disappointment as he got closer and realised the client had sanded it back and polished it, thus reducing the value from about $30,000 to $8000.

"There was a period during the 1990s when that look was popular - over-restored, highly polished, no marks on it, so it looked like a reproduction, with 10 coats of lacquer," Brown laments.

He is equally scathing about the current trend for "vintage" items from the 1950s and 1960s. "This stuff was not well-made," he says, noting that after the 1850s most things were machine- rather than handmade. Today's disposable approach to many items also horrifies him. "You're meant to just throw things away and I find that appalling. There'll never be a time again when things are handmade like they were [before 1850]."

As for current trends, Brown, who runs an antique shop in Hobart, says the Russians are buying back Russian silver and the Chinese are buying back Chinese antiquities. "With the wealth of some of these countries, they want to buy back their heritage."

Stiff, stuffy Victorian antiques are still out of favour and minimalism is on the wane. "I wouldn't say clutter is back but tasteful decoration is," Brown says. "Nicely decorative or really practical pieces of furniture are in demand." His passion for antiques began at 17 in his native Scotland when he flunked his university entrance exams. He met "an interesting man", who worked as an architect, an artist and an antique dealer, and he offered Brown a job, on ?4/10/- a week.

By 21, Brown was running his own antique shop and in 1989 he followed his brother to Tasmania, bringing a huge container of antiques with him.

"I resonated with Tasmania," says Brown, who investigated Queensland but couldn't stand all the cane furniture. "Tasmania was about the right size, a clean environment and a great place to bring up kids."

His break into television came when Channel Nine reporter Charles Wooley strolled into his shop (then in Cygnet, near Hobart) one day and discovered that Brown's family had holidayed regularly on Scotland's Isle of Arran, where Wooley grew up.

The pair became friends and, after 12 years, Wooley said to Brown, "We really must do something with you in television." A pilot television series, Gordon Brown The Treasure Hunter, never went to air but it led to a weekly slot on A Current Affair for 18 months and then to the role he's held for the past four years on The Collectors.

Brown credits his late mother as his main inspiration and stalwart. She rose to become the manager for Scotland of a large catalogue retailing company, with what Brown describes as "a can-do attitude".

"Nothing would stop her if she put her mind to it," he says. "I used to get called arrogant by the teachers but Mum never tried to knock it out of me. She'd say: 'Go for it."'

The big questions

Biggest break Meeting my mentor [at 17]. He set me on my way to find my niche and something I really enjoyed.

Biggest achievement Bringing up my kids [now aged 17 and 18]. My son has just won a bravery award for diving into the ocean to rescue a friend who was knocked from the rocks. And my daughter is just lovely. They've never given me a moment's bother.

Best investment My home in Hobart, which I bought about seven years ago. It had burnt down and I spent 11/2 years rebuilding it.

Worst investment I'm not famous for making bad investments, I'm a Scot. But it was probably a moped hire business I ran in Scotland for about 18 months. With Scottish summers, it was not a good idea.

Attitude to money I just see it as a tool. I like antiques, I like things that have stories about them. I'm much happier with a nice antique than a share portfolio or money in the bank.

Personal philosophy In TV, you can be overawed by the number of people involved; you can get a bit stressed. So I always tell myself: "Enjoy yourself, Gordon." I try to have a good laugh and not take myself too seriously.

Biggest regret Not getting into TV earlier. I love doing it.