I have that Tales of the Gun episode recorded, so perhaps I'll pop it in tonight as I grade some papers. Going from memory:
The ornate Sears Colt 1873 revolver was made as a presentation 'eye catcher' model. It wasn't sold, and stayed in Sears' storage for years. The singer Mel Torme, who was a fellow gun nut, was doing some research on Colt revolvers and found out about the Sears revolver, and he promptly purchased it.