Emerald-cut Diamond Ring, ca. 1955
GUEST:
Well, I inherited it from my great-aunt.
APPRAISER:
Okay, and what year did you get it?
GUEST:
I got it 1997, late 1997.
APPRAISER:
All right, so that's about 11 years ago.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And what did they value it at?
GUEST:
It was about $20,000 when we had it appraised.
APPRAISER:
And they told you the size?
GUEST:
Yes, I can't quite remember. I think it was over three.
APPRAISER:
This is an emerald-cut diamond ring probably done in the 1950s, and we measured it, and it came up to be just under four carats.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And I wish I could have gotten another little bit out of it.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
Because at four carats, the price really jumps.
GUEST:
Oh, really.
APPRAISER:
But, in this 11-year period, the price of stones like this has gone up dramatically. The color, we think, is sort of an I color. It's still white, but just going towards a little bit yellow, and it's very clean. So we're giving it an I VS2. So, in the market today, you're probably at almost $40,000.
GUEST (gasps): Really, wow.
APPRAISER:
So you've really got a treasure.
GUEST:
That's great.
Appraisal Details
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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."
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