1976 Fancy Intense Yellow Diamond Ring
Watch
GUEST:
Well, I brought my engagement ring, which was given to me about 35 years ago, I guess. My fiancé and I were trying to decide what kind of ring to get, and he very generously offered to take me to New York City, so we went to New York and went to meet an elderly gentleman who sold stones. And out of his safe, he brought many little packets of white paper and unrolled them all and showed me so many different things, and this is the stone I picked.
APPRAISER:
Oh, I see. And what attracted you to this stone?
GUEST:
Well, I think the color was really striking. I didn't know anything about... much about colored stones, and there were a lot of very pretty white diamonds, but when he told me this was a diamond and I saw that it had color to it, I just was amazed by that. I had no idea.
APPRAISER:
And so, can you tell me what you know about it?
GUEST:
Well, I know that it is almost 3.4 carats, and somewhere in the abyss of my house there is the certificate from the Gemological Institute. I just remember the words "intense" and I think "fancy," because I had never seen those words associated with jewelry, so it stuck in my mind.
APPRAISER:
And have you had any kind of appraisal done on this stone before?
GUEST:
I have not. I picked the stone and I did not know what the cost was.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's great to have the Gemological certificate, and it sounds like they said it was fancy intense yellow. When did you get the certificate? How long ago did you get it?
GUEST:
Well, it came shortly after we got the stone, so the certificate must have been 1976, '77, somewhere in there.
APPRAISER:
Some grading standards have changed, especially for color diamonds, since then, so I think sometimes it's worthwhile to have the stone resubmitted and have them reevaluate the color. It may come out a little different, but I can't imagine it grading any lower than a fancy intense yellow.
GUEST:
So there's higher grades than fancy intense?
APPRAISER:
Yes, yes.
GUEST:
I see.
APPRAISER:
Within yellow diamonds, you can go from light yellow, fancy light yellow, fancy yellow, fancy intense, fancy vivid and fancy deep.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
So that's where it falls in the range. But it's a really beautiful color. The yellow color is really impressive. Our opinion was that it was easily fancy intense. There's a possibility it could grade fancy vivid, no guarantee. And the clarity of the stone is very nice. The cut of the stone is a modern round brilliant cut.
GUEST:
Oh, I see.
APPRAISER:
If it were to grade, again, a fancy intense or better, natural yellow diamond, I could easily see this selling for about $140,000 to $160,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my God! Oh, my gosh! I just can't even believe that!
APPRAISER:
It's a really beautiful stone. It's a really special stone.
GUEST:
Oh, I can't believe it. I'm not going to be able to get up out of my chair.
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.
