20th-Century Sporting Motif Reverse Crystal Jewelry
Watch
GUEST:
When I was a teenager, I was involved in riding hunters and jumpers. And the hunter and jumper people collected these. And so my father, for my 16th birthday, bought me one, and at that time they came uncut. You just... you bought the crystal and then you had it set in whatever setting you wanted. Over a period of two-and-a-half years, between '46 and '48, my father bought me the five that are in the bracelet. Probably 15 years ago or so, my sister-in-law, who had the earrings, she sold those to me.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
This is called sporting motif jewelry. It's a reverse crystal bracelet. And the technique is really interesting. The jeweler actually takes a piece of rock crystal that's been rounded and smoothed out and he carves it from behind. He carves out the exact image and then it's painted from behind as well. At that point, it's backed with mother of pearl. So you can see a little bit of the shine behind the actual crystal-- that is mother of pearl. And then it's joined together with a stirrup strap and this snaffle bit, which is a really great motif. So it's all in keeping with the actual piece. We've got a hound dog, we've got a horse, a fox and completed with the other two at the end as well. When we go to appraise these, we always take a look at the quality of the carving and how well it's done and executed. The detail on the dog and the little whiskers are really crisp. I can tell you've taken really good care of it. It's in really good condition. Reverse crystal can get scratched easily. And then we have the matching pair of earrings, too. The are very popular in the sporting jewelry world. As far as I know, they're not making too much of it today. Now, as far as value, do you have any idea?
GUEST:
No. I know that at the time they were bought, the unset crystals cost $50.
APPRAISER:
Okay, all right. And then you had to have them set. Well, I was speaking with my colleagues and if this were in a retail arena, the bracelet with the matching pair of earrings set in 14 carat yellow gold would retail right around $3,500 in today's market.
GUEST:
Thank you. Yeah! That's really wonderful.
Appraisal Details
Current Appraised Value: $5,000 (Increased)
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.
