Historical Glass Diamonds Specimen Set, ca. 1910
Watch
APPRAISER:
On the Roadshow, we always like things that come in interesting boxes. Your particular item here, it's embossed on the front cover. It says "historical diamonds." So I was hoping it was filled with diamonds.
GUEST:
(chuckling): The real thing.
APPRAISER:
The real thing. Inside the box here are examples that are made out of glass of some of the world's most famous historical diamonds that were known up till about the early 1900s. And so we have the Koh-i-Noor, the Sancy, and the blue one here, this is the Hope Diamond, and this is the one that I was hoping was real. (chuckling) But these are all glass examples. Now, you are also fortunate enough to have here a letter which describes all of the stones in detail and their history. These sets were very popular in the late 19th century, early 20th century, and in reading the documentation, the last reference is about 1905 in terms of the history of the diamonds that they're speaking of. So I gather that this set was probably made around 1910, 1915.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Now, normally when we see these collections, they don't come with the documentation, and normally there's a stone missing, because these were made and retailed mostly for jewelers so that they would show their clients a little bit of an educational side, what some of the important diamonds were. Also in the 19th century, some of the museums carried these as examples of stones in their collections, too, so if you went to a museum where one of these diamonds may have been, you could also buy the entire set.
GUEST:
Oh, really?
APPRAISER:
They were sort of novelty items, and a lot of jewelry stores had them in the 19th century. This particular set came from a dealer out of New York City. These were probably cut in Germany, in an area called Idar-Oberstein, which is known for gem cutting. And with these sets, in the last ten years there's been an increase in popularity for collectors. Can you tell me how you came about this set?
GUEST:
A friend of mine showed it to me 25 years ago, and when I moved back to Montana, he died, unfortunately, but it was willed to me. I was very surprised. And in that 25 years, I've looked for another one and I've never seen another one.
APPRAISER:
This set is complete, with documentation. At auction, a set like this would bring somewhere between $6,000 to $12,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER:
And because your set is in good condition, probably the higher end of that figure.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh. Thank you, Peter. I had no idea.
APPRAISER:
It's quite a bit of money for glass.
GUEST:
It is. That's amazing.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, yeah.
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.
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.
