20th-Century Jewelry Collection
GUEST:
Well, I've been just picking up pieces here and there at antique shops and estate sales and some people have just given them to me. And I just take them home and stick them in a drawer.
APPRAISER:
Do you ever wear them?
GUEST:
Well, at Christmas time!
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
or some holiday, but I wouldn't wear them to, you know, go grocery shopping.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
My daughter did wear some of these.
APPRAISER:
Okay
GUEST:
She wore them more than I did.
APPRAISER:
Which ones did she wear?
GUEST:
This one...
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
and maybe this one.
APPRAISER:
Okay. And how long have you been collecting them?
GUEST:
Oh, about 30 years.
APPRAISER:
We'll start with the brooch on the lower left. It's a costume piece of jewelry, and it's probably from the 1940s to '50s, set with paste stones. The value is just about $50 to $75 on that one. Then on the upper right side here, this double circle brooch, this really classic motif, is set with paste stones as well, so it's costume jewelry. Missing a few prongs, so the value of that is not much more than about $25 to $50.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
But then, interestingly, it turns to precious jewelry, which is diamond and cultured pearl. And these would be probably from the 1950s, set in platinum, and they're very wearable and very salable today on the market as well. Value on these is going to be between $800 to $1,200.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
The brooch that your daughter wore is a clip brooch. It is in one piece right now, but we can separate it and put it into two pieces, so it could be worn as a lapel brooch. This style was very popular in the 1920s to 1930s. The geometric stones, the triangular-shaped stones here, the baguette cut diamonds, along with this sort of angular motif, really tells us that it's art deco. The value on this clip broach for auction, is going to be between $2,500 and $3,500.
GUEST:
Hmm.
APPRAISER:
The broach on the upper left side is set with diamonds. The calculation, approximately seven carats total weight of diamonds.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
The center stone is a carat, it's set in platinum with these very delicate, knife-edged platinum bars, to sort of showcase all the diamonds. So I would say that when this was made would be the early 1900s, because of the sort of snowflake, very delicate motif. Value on this would be, at seven carats, at auction, between $5,000 to $7,000.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
Do you remember how much you paid for the more expensive one?
GUEST:
I didn't pay any more than $10 for anything that I bought. That would be the highest. And I'm not even sure if I paid $10 for that one.
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.
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