Izabel Coles Jewelry & Drawings
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GUEST:
Izabel Coles is a cousin of my mother's. She did her work in New York City. I never met her; my mother knew her very closely. She designed, I was told, for Tiffany's for about seven or eight years. And then she decided to go on her own and she opened her own shop on 57th Street in New York City.
APPRAISER:
Well, that was the center of the jewelry business in the 30's and 40's, which was when she was working. This is the scrapbook that contains about 35 to 40 drawings that she did. And she drew them with the hope of having Tiffany make them. And we have some jewelry that is based on the drawings that were done. Just as there were several different artists that designed for Tiffany, so were there several companies that made the jewelry for Tiffany & Company. In this instance, we don't have any reference to who the company was that indeed made these pieces. Why don't you tell us about your beautiful brooch?
GUEST:
My mother left a note that it had been designed for her grandmother, which would be my great-grandmother. She was a lady that lived in New York City and they had performances in their home. I have piano sheet music of the musicians that would come and play, and I imagine maybe she wore the brooch.
APPRAISER:
We have another drawing of a beautiful aquamarine ring and brooch, and here indeed is the ring that's in the drawing.
GUEST:
This ring was designed for my mother for her 16th birthday. And she was born in 1909, so that would be 1925.
APPRAISER:
Both of the jewels are 18-karat gold. And the aqua is a very large-size aqua. It could be almost ten carats. And it's flanked on either side by demantoid garnets--picking up the theme of the green with the blue-- and then a very, very pale what appears to be citrine. Now we go fast forward and we're moving into the 40's. And tell us about this wonderful necklace.
GUEST:
This necklace was designed in the 40's and was made out of safety pins because it was wartime and materials were scarce. And she wanted to show, I think, that you could still have a beautiful necklace with very little investment into your materials. This is Izabel. And she's wearing another design of the safety pin. She did it indifferent colors. This is a pin and another bracelet.
APPRAISER:
And this was her own personal box that she designed for her pieces of jewelry.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
I would estimate the total of all of this, in the retail market, for $40,000 to $60,000.
GUEST:
No. I'm doing what everybody says they won't do.
APPRAISER:
Are you in shock?
GUEST:
Yes, I'm in shock. Izabel, congratulations.
APPRAISER:
Congratulations, Izabel.
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