Edwardian Cartier Tuxedo Set, ca. 1915
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GUEST:
My dad was from a farming community in Peebles, Ohio. My relatives moved there in the late 1700s. He hated the farming industry, he hated being a hick, and he went to the one gentleman in town that taught him how to be more refined. He came out to San Diego in 1931 or 1932, when he was 16 or 17, liked the city, went back, told his brothers and his parents he was moving there, went to the gentleman that had polished him a little bit, and the gentleman either gave him this set or he purchased it. We don't know exactly. I remember as a child seeing it in the '50s. My father passed away in '69, my mother passed away last year, and I found it in my mother's belongings.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's interesting that you say he wanted to be a more refined gentleman, because what we have here is definitely refined. This is a gentleman's Edwardian cufflink and stud set from Cartier. These were made in the early part of the 1900s. We know that as the Edwardian era. It's about 1915. What we have is a 14-karat gold cufflink with carved rock crystal. In the center are platinum settings with rose-cut diamonds; a sugarloaf, which means a rounded top, sapphire. This is a cufflink. This is for the shirt stud. This is for the gentleman's vest button. These little hooks secured these in place. The cufflink, of course, went through the cuff button, but the piéce de résistance is the fact that you have the original box. The box is marked "Cartier, Paris, London and New York." On closer examination, the 18-karat gold cufflinks have French hallmarks on them, so we know they were made in France and brought to America. Now, this is the top of the line.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Did he ever wear the set?
GUEST:
Yeah, he wore it all the time in the '40s. He liked to dress up. He had tuxedos, and he would wear it.
APPRAISER:
In a luxurious retail setting, this set would bring $12,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
(laughing) Oh... oh!
APPRAISER:
At an auction, it could go even more.
GUEST:
Really? Amazing.
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
This is absolutely fabulous. My dad would be really, really pleased. (laughs)
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