Verdura Flower Brooch, ca. 1954
GUEST:
I found it at an estate sale in south Mississippi. I saw it, thought it was absolutely beautiful. I paid $5,400. It's a Verdura brooch. According to the box that it was in, it's from 1954.
APPRAISER:
I'm an old-time jeweler, and I knew Mr. Verdura. He passed away in 1978, but he made some fabulous, fabulous jewelry. And he loved color. He loved insects, he loved flowers. And he was a Fifth Avenue upstairs jeweler. That to me is like the top of the line. You have a Verdura flower pin here. In this particular piece, you have diamonds, which are all full-cut, all set in platinum. You have emeralds, which are South American emeralds, which are green. It's 18-karat gold, and your amethysts are of the top quality of Uruguayan amethyst. They have that purple-blue in them. And Verdura, when he made this piece, he made it so beautifully. In the back here, all these little set screws come apart.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
So you can take the flowers off, repair it, and put it back together again.
GUEST:
Oh, how interesting!
APPRAISER:
It's very easy for a jeweler to repair this, if it ever breaks. But he made it like a piece of rock.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
A piece like this, if it came up for auction and we advertised it right, could easily sell anywhere from $25,000 to $35,000.
GUEST (gasps): Oh, my goodness! Oh, wow.
Appraisal Details
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