6.5 Ct. Yellow Mine-Cut Diamond Ring, ca. 1900
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GUEST:
My grandmother bought it many, many years ago. I've been keeping it in the bottom of my sock drawer. My husband finally
said that he thought it probably deserved to be in the safe deposit box, so that's where it's been recently.
APPRAISER:
Personally, I think I would agree with him.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It's a very pretty piece. What do you know specifically about the stone or the setting?
GUEST:
I know that the stone is a yellow diamond, and that's really all that I know.
APPRAISER:
Did you have the piece appraised for any estate purposes when you inherited it?
GUEST:
No, I inherited it from my mother, who inherited it from her mother.
APPRAISER:
It's a really beautiful cut, and it's what we refer to as an old mine cut diamond. It has fewer facets than the round brilliant that we know and love today. But in this instance, you have really beautiful fire. And the piece displays a lot of different colors within the stones, because the facet sizes are nice and large. It is a really pretty piece, just the center stone as is. And what's nice is, it's not in a yellow mounting or setting that would amplify the yellow. It's actually in a platinum-and-diamond Edwardian setting that complements it beautifully. It's a beautiful setting, most likely American made. Now, the center stone is about 6.5 carats. It's something that you might consider having certified by the G.I.A. to see how yellow it is, or another company that might do a certification. You have no idea at this time what the stone is worth?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
And you and your husband, when we just asked as a guesstimate, you were...
GUEST:
Yeah, I figured a couple of thousand, and he said probably closer to $5,000.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, if we were talking per carat, that might be appropriate. At this moment in time... It's a beautiful ring, probably closer to about $10,000 to $12,000 per carat. At auction.
GUEST:
I beg your pardon?
APPRAISER:
Yes. If it were a piece that were to come in to auction, you're looking at an auction estimate of about $70,000 to about $90,000.
GUEST(choking up): Oh, my.
APPRAISER:
It's stunning.
GUEST:
Thank you so much.
APPRAISER:
You're very welcome.
GUEST:
Oh, my...
APPRAISER:
Thank you for bringing it in.
GUEST:
Thank you.
APPRAISER:
Do you have any other questions?
GUEST:
Um, do you have a tissue?
APPRAISER (laughing): Unfortunately, no. I'm so sorry.
GUEST:
Oh, my.
APPRAISER:
Enjoy it, and put it in the vault.
GUEST (laughing): Yes, ma'am.
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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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.
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