Edward Oakes Jewelry, ca. 1930
GUEST:
My grandmother grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and these originally belonged to her, and she passed them to my mom after she'd gotten married. And then when my mom passed away, I inherited them. I know apparently the jeweler always had oak leaves on his pieces of jewelry, and I think we have about four or five pieces.
APPRAISER:
Well, that's great. You're very fortunate, because the man that made this is Edward Everett Oakes, and his work is highly collected, and it's very distinctive. And you're correct-- the hallmark of his work is oak leaves. He was born in 1891, and he died in the late '50s. And he had a son, Gilbert, who also worked with him. And now his granddaughter, Susan Oakes Peabody, also continues to work. The bracelet has a signature, and it's an oak leaf with the word "Oakes" in it. And his son Gilbert is an oak leaf with "Oakes," and then it has an acorn. And the granddaughter-- the same thing, but it's got two acorns. So they carried on the tradition, and they all worked in similar styles. In 1923, he won a medal at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, which is one of the oldest societies in America. And right after that, the Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased one of his pieces. It's supposed to be one of the first times that a living artist had a piece purchased by the Metropolitan. And it's still on display today. The bracelet is done with amethyst, collet-set within oak leaves. And then there's a little gold on top-- a brushed gold. I've never seen a bracelet by him like this. He usually works in stones and links, but not a cuff. This is quite unusual to see a solid silver cuff. The ring is not signed, but it's definitely by him. Again, look at the oak leaves, the stones-- this is jade and pearls. And what I think is distinctive about this ring, and his rings in general, is he tried not to use prongs. So what he did is, he raised the leaves from behind and used them as the prongs. And I love the combination of the coral, the green and the pearl. And I would date these probably to the 1930s possibly. It's hard to date it exactly. I would say they're in the same category price-wise, because the ring combination-- I love the color, and that red coral is unusual. So I would say you're probably looking at $3,000 to $4,000, each piece.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
And that would be an auction estimate. Is that surprising?
GUEST:
I really had no idea what... They're more sentimental value than anything.
APPRAISER:
They're wonderful examples of American Arts & Crafts jewelry by a master jeweler. So thanks for coming to the ROADSHOW.
GUEST:
It's certainly nice to know a little bit more about them.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
