share with us? we'd love to hear it! send me an e-mail, or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. >> she's a jet-setter in the golden age of travel... >> pan am flight attendants were iconic. >> did she fit the bill? >> i think shecreatedthe bill. >> ...bringing back these from around the globe. >> indonesian, african, chinese -- they came from everywhere. i thought she was a smuggler, which made it even more exciting. >> what?! >> are they just silly trinkets... >> is there a big market for beads? >> there's a big market for beads. >> this is the real deal? >> this is the real deal. >> ...or historical treasures worth a mint? >>thedalai lama? >> yes. [ gavel bangs ] >> bidder 561 is for $11,000. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, thrilled to be on my latest adventure, here in san francisco. the woman at the heart of this story also loved to travel and took home the smallest of souvenirs from every place she visited. those tiny keepsakes could add up to abigpayday for her heirs. >> my name is lise mousel. for over half a century, my glamorous aunt naomi traveled the world in style. she always had a surprise for us, but the biggest one came after she passed away. [ knock on door ] >> i want to know more about those surprises, so i meet lise and her mother, carol, at the condo where aunt naomi lived for more than 30 years. lise now calls the place home. oh, i love the way it's

decorated -- minimalist. >> it wasn't always true, when naomi was here. >> really? >> yes, there was stuff everywhere. there was furniture and there were antiquities, and then there were the beads. >> beads everywhere. >> beads? >> beads. >> naomi lindstrom's story begins in a tiny logging town in british columbia, canada, where she's born in 1924. sister carol comes along nine years later. were you rich or poor? >> we were poor. naomi used to love to tell the story that if we needed a grouse for dinner, she'd take the shotgun and go and get it. >> but the backwoods life is too small for naomi's big dreams. by 18, she's a pre-med college student in seattle. >> she had one quarter left, but it was summer, and she saw a sign from united airlines saying "we're hiring." she thought, "i'll do it for the summer." >> what do you think it was about that sign asking for people to sign up to be

stewardesses that attracted her? >> it was the travel. she always was an adventurer. >> naomi instantly falls in love with the globe-trotting lifestyle. she was hooked. >> she was hooked, and she never regretted it. >> in 1952, she jumps ship to pan-american airways -- not just the most prestigious of carriers, but a cultural icon. pan am was founded in 1927 as america's first international airline. an innovator in the use of jet aircraft, pan am becomes legendary for its luxury, panache, and above all, its classy, gorgeous stewardesses. pan am flight attendants were iconic. did she fit the bill, lise? >> oh, good lord, i think she createdthe bill, actually. >> how'd she look in her uniform? >> oh, she looked gorgeous. she looked gorgeous until she

retired. >> the stew's life gives naomi the chance to see the world. during layovers, while her stewardess friends sit by the pool, naomi immerses herself in the local culture, which leads to a new hobby -- beads. that's how she befriends jamey allen -- over their shared love of the small mementos. what do you think naomi's fascination with beads was? >> she liked the fact that beads put you in touch with the culture that you admire or are interested in. >> in some cultures, they're money. in others, magical charms. for naomi, they slide easily into a suitcase and through customs. >> they are mankind's oldest portable art form. >> naomi soon identifies the perfect way to add to her bead count -- archaeological dig sites. and her $10 per diem from pan am comes in quite handy.

>> at that particular point in time, the archeologists weren't interested in beads, and for $10, she could get a lot of beads. >> what if she needed the money to eat? >> oh, she knew that she could find somebody who'd buy dinner for her. >> naomi's tiny keepsakes soon include glass beads from china, jasper from south america, stone beads from the middle east, and countless more from around the world. these red coral beads come from india. naomi gets them in 1959 after striking up an acquaintance with a famous passenger. filmmaker and broadcaster lowell thomas is on a mission trip to aid the dalai lama, and naomi tags along. thedalai lama? >> yes. naomi was working in first class. she met lowell thomas. he was looking for somebody who could buy, inexpensively, all the supplies to build houses for the refugees. >> that is amazing.

over the decades, naomi stockpiles her beads in her san francisco condo. >> i thought she was a smuggler, which made it even more exciting. >> what?! >> she was this kind of bigger-than-life, independent woman who did exactly what she wanted, and i thought she was magic. >> she never married? >> no, she never did. she had many proposals. she had so many diamond rings that she took all the diamonds and made one band. >> from different guys? >> all from different guys. >> by the early 2000s, naomi is long retired from pan am, and her world travels have come to an end. but even into her 80s, she's still feisty as ever. >> she was probably about a year beyond needing full-time care, but she kept sending her caregivers home. so mom and i decided that the best thing to do was to have a family member live with her, and i was portable at the time and eager because i loved her so much. >> lise lives with her aunt naomi for the next year. then, in march 2014, just weeks

shy of her 90th birthday, naomi peacefully passes away. she names her sister carol her sole heir, who, in turn, makes lise trustee of the estate. that's when they learn aunt naomi's little trinkets are a lot more than that. >> well, we were all astounded. we still were not prepared for what we found. >> i almost had a heart attack. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. which of the following was not a requirement for pan am stewardesses during the golden age of flying? the answer when we return. it's easy to think that all money managers are pretty much the same.

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>> it's "b." pan am did not require applicants to have traveled abroad. the three other answers really were requirements. >> pan am stewardess naomi lindstrom circumnavigates the world, amassing a huge assortment of beads from everywhere she goes. after her death in 2014, her

sister and niece are rummaging through her san francisco condo, wondering whether their inheritance is filled with treasures or trash. >> i was desperate to get things cleared out. it was overwhelming because i didn't have a clue what i was looking at. >> do you take a garbage bag and just get started? >> it was tempting. it was really tempting. there was drawer upon drawer upon drawer. and when you opened them, every drawer was just overflowing. >> she converted closets into bead drawers. these are beautiful. >> it's not just loose beads stashed everywhere, but hundreds of bead necklaces. >> we probably spent the better part of two days just taking the necklaces out and laying them across the beds. >> the handmade pieces range from glamorous to exotic to simply bizarre. >> this is a necklace that naomi

wore. it's dogs' teeth. >> dog teeth -- that's a new one. thousands upon thousands of beads. it's simply overwhelming for carol. when you looked at all the beads, what was your first reaction? >> "wow. what have we gotten into?" >> but help's just a phone call away -- to naomi's friend and fellow bead enthusiast jamey allen. >> well, we were all astounded. we were not prepared for what we found. >> jamey's first step is to catalog the collection. >> jamey and i spent months together, going through drawers, with me helping him sort and saying, "jamey, what's this? jamey, what's this?" >> the beads may look alike to lise, but not to jamey's discerning eye. he's able to deduce a bead's cultural origin by studying its material, shape, color, and markings.

for instance, the distinctive reddish hue on this strand reveals its provenance. >> these beads were made in burma. >> how do you know? >> whereas most amber is yellow, burmese amber is more often red. so, you can determine a lot of things visually -- by the color, by the clarity, by the uniformity of the color. >> other hints help determine a bead's age -- erosion signs, texture, and rarity. another clue -- older beads typically have larger holes, due to the lack of sophisticated cutting tools. >> beads were made by hand, and they were made by artisans, and they were made one at a time, and they had a lot of skill and time invested in them. >> jamey's analysis yields a stunning conclusion -- many of naomi's beads are not only very old, but rare. ancient items include 17th century glass trading beads from venice and these amber ones from the chinese qing dynasty.

>> they probably were originally in a mandarin court necklace about 150 years ago. >> other beads, he tells them, are even older. there's west african quartz more than 1,000 years old, pre-columbian ceramic from peru, and afghani beads from the 3rd millennium b.c. are these museum-worthy? >> absolutely. there are many, many museum-worthy pieces in the lindstrom collection. >> i had no idea. i mean, to me, it's a bunch of beads. >> a bunch of beads that jamey says might be worth their weight in gold. >> a well-made bead from 3,000 years ago is a very valuable thing. >> but justhowvaluable? >> before i knew it, she was practically hyperventilating. >> i was just overtaken by the beauty of everything that she had. >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you.

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>> so, which of these beads is typically the most valuable? it's "c." imperial jade is a prized material symbolizing water and life. in 2014, a jade necklace sold in hong kong for more than $27 million. >> after the death of her glamorous aunt naomi, a retired pan am stewardess, lise mousel and her mother, carol, are astonished to learn the exotic details of naomi's vast bead collection. >> it spans about 5,000 years of history and everything from

indonesian, african, chinese, japanese, european. they came from everywhere. >> naomi also created one-of-a-kind necklaces from her tiny treasures -- beaded jewelry that now might be worth a small fortune. did you have any idea how much they were all worth? >> no. i knew nothing about beads. >> she finds out when she invites rhonda harness of michaan's auctions to naomi's san francisco condo. >> when i walked in the house, i was just overtaken by the beauty of everything that she had. you just don't see these items. the collection is phenomenal. >> it's immediately clear to rhonda that this is one of the top bead collections in america and deserves its own stand-alone auction -- which i'm previewing today, just hours before the big event. what are you wearing, to start? >> i'm wearing an ancient tibetan necklace of coral.

>> from what i understand, the piece you're wearing has an estimate of $30,000. >> that is correct. coral is so popular right now, and you just don't see it -- the size, the color, the quality. it's almost impossible to find. >> is there a big market for beads? >> there's a big market for beads. beads are the first jewelry that was ever worn. beads were worn before clothes were worn. >> they were also used as charms -- like this ancient tibetan dzi bead, said to bring good luck and ward off evil. i see people walking around new york city with evil eye bracelets. this is the real deal? >> this is the real deal. >> what would this little bead go for? >> well, we have it very reasonably priced at $1,500 to $2,000. this is an incredible necklace right here. they're ancient beads from afghanistan, and they're glass beads. >> its pre-sale estimate -- $3,000. this really caught my eye.

>> it's pre-columbian, and it's beautiful beads of crystal carnelian. very rare to find these. can i put this on you? >> please do. why wait? >> it looks like it was made for you. >> and it could be mine for $6k. rhonda tells me that memento from naomi's time helping the dalai lama should also attract attention. >> i have had so much interest in it. i feel this is going to do very well. >> the pre-sale estimate -- more than 10 grand. while this central asian necklace from 700 b.c. is appraised at $18,000. there's no telling what the entire cache will bring in. ready to find out? that's next. are you nervous? >> i'm terrified. >> with that, we will begin. >> i am hoping that i've done everything i could have done up to this point. >> $500 is bid. online at $500. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it.

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>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> $200 to start. do i have any takers for $200? $200 right there. $225 now. $225. do we go $250? >> in march 2016, the naomi lindstrom collection hits the auction block at michaan's in alameda, california. the treasure trove includes ancient beads and necklaces spanning more than 5,000 years of history that the pan am stewardess acquired from around the globe and bequeathed to her sister carol... like these ancient beads excavated in mali. >> these are at least 1,000 years old. >> wow. unfortunately, this day is gonna cost me some money. >> i'd say collect it now, because you'll never see it again. >> naomi would be standing there with her chest out, her head back, and a big smile on her face, saying, "yes, i did this."

she'd be so proud. she'd be thrilled. >> naomi felt all of these things were her babies. and today, we're looking for a lot of good homes. >> $475. >> $475 now. $475's the bid. go $500? >> the auction gets going. some of the pre-sale estimates are right on the button. >> lot number 4418 -- an ancient afghanistan glass bead necklace. >> those afghani glass beads i tried on... >> $3,000. [ cash register dings ] >> 4359, tibetan coral bead, gilded silver needle case necklace. and we'll start the bidding off on this at $6,000. >> $6,500. >> that necklace from naomi's time helping the dalai lama... >> bidder 561 is for $11,000. >> whoo! >> way to go. >> [ laughs ] >> whew! >> yeah. >> this is fun, isn't it? [ laughter ] >> it's even more fun when items go way above their appraisals. many do. remember that tiny tibetan spiritual bead priced at $1,500? >> and we'll start the bidding

off on that at... >> this is the best one. >> $1,500 is bid. $1,500, $1,600, $1,700, $1,800. >> $1,900. >> $1,900, $2,000 -- >> $2,250. >> $2,500. $2,500. now go $2,750s online. $3,000 the bid. we're holding at $3,000. on the floor with $3,000. >> $2,250. now go $2,500. $2,500. $3,500 is on the floor. $3,750s online. no advance. >> $4,000. >> $4,000 still bidding online. $4,250. now go $4,500. >> $4,500. >> $4,500 is bid. online at $4,500. [ gavel bangs ] sold online for $4,500. >> that's triple its pre-auction estimate. more big sales follow... >> chinese white jade necklace. and we'll start the bidding off on that at $1,000. >> ...like this chinese white jade necklace... [ gavel bangs ] >> $4,250. [ cash register dings ] >> ...and an ancient himalayan strand that earns $5,900. [ gavel bangs ] >> bidder 604 for $3,000. >> the auction goes on for more than five hours. >> last call -- $3,750.

>> nearly 300 lots, thousands of beads on the block. [ gavel banging ] in total, the auction earns more than 300,000 bucks. when you first looked at this collection and think, "ohhh! there's a lot of beads," and then you walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars. that was an incredible gift from your aunt. >> oh, my gosh. it really was. and she'd be happy that people thought her things were interesting enough to buy them. >> and that may be just the beginning. many top-tier items that didn't hit their reserve will be re-offered down the line, like that ancient tibetan coral strand, the central asian stone necklace, and these mongolian beads. >> the plan is to market the heck out of it. and then we'll just hope that the right buyers are there on that particular day, looking. >> day of the auction, did it feel like naomi was there? >> shewas. >> excuse me?

>> i had her ashes in my purse. >> she went to the auction. >> absolutely. she wanted to be put in a lake in british columbia, and i called mom and said, "would it be okay with you if we kept half of her ashes out and took them with us?" and she said, "sure. why not?" i think it's the best memorial service we could have given her. >> a fitting tribute to the pan am stewardess and her precious keepsakes from a life adventurously lived. on $10 a day... >> $10 per diem. [ laughs ] >> so, if lise brought half of aunt naomi's ashes to the auction, what happened to them afterward? well, once they gave naomi one final day with her precious beads, they decided to scatter the rest in places dear to naomi's heart. some will go in the soil outside her condo, while others will be sprinkled from this balcony over the city san francisco that she loved so much. bon voyage, naomi.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." i'm jamie colby. remember -- you can't take it with you. >> they're cars you never heard of. >> he liked to buy unique cars -- kissels, grahams, overlands. he always used to say, "i don't want to meet myself on the road." >> it's a great hobby. keeps you out of the beer joints. >> do you have your foot on the brake, teacher? just in case? >> i haven't jumped out yet. >> these heirs hit a fork in the road... >> so that is a point of contention. do you donate cars here? do you have an auction? >> it's really tough to get every sibling on the same page. >> yeah, i'd say we're no different. >> ...until they hear an emotional voice from the past. >> when we go by his gravesite, he's probably on high spin mode up there. >> it's just money. can't take it with you.