Pendant & Tiffany Diamond Necklace, ca. 1920
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GUEST:
I don't know how it came into the family, but I know it's been used by four generations of women in my family, dating back to my great-grandmother, late 1890s probably. And it's a lovely necklace and pendant that can be changed into a brooch, and it is just a stunning piece and also very warmly felt by my family.
APPRAISER:
That's great. Now, let's talk about the pendant first. The pendant has two large diamonds, and it's quite obvious.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
In that piece, they weigh about a carat each. They're old mine diamonds. And then around it, you have another two carats of diamonds in platinum. And so, why don't we show them how that comes off.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I'll hold this.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
All right, now let me give you this.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
We'll get back to this pin...
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
…in a few minutes. So, here you have the way that this chain was intended to be worn.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
With this pendant.
GUEST:
That's my understanding.
APPRAISER:
Okay. I love the way the chain has what we call these little stations of old mine diamonds. They do a few rounds-- one, two, three, four, five-- and then they do a marquise. It all comes down to a neat pinnacle here, with another marquise diamond, and then you have this beautiful pendant. When we flip the pendant over, two things are going to happen. First we notice that over here it's signed, "Tiffany and Company."
GUEST:
Wow, didn't know that.
APPRAISER:
You didn't know that?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Ah!
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
But, not once... twice. Okay, it's signed again over here.
GUEST:
Fantastic.
APPRAISER:
"Tiffany and Company." That's how I knew these two pieces were meant to be together.
GUEST:
Sure.
APPRAISER:
It's all platinum, it's all handmade, it's very Deco. The time period, with it being platinum, it probably was made around 1920.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I want to show everybody that when we hit the button back here... There you go! And wow, it's a lorgnette.
GUEST:
There's a lorgnette, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Pretty cool, huh?
GUEST:
It is, it's lovely.
APPRAISER:
And this would have been used by a lady, certainly very fancy evening out. Maybe in Pittsburgh at Heinz Hall, going to the opera.
GUEST:
That's right, sure.
APPRAISER:
Now, this folds up. It's spring-loaded.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
So there's a lot of mechanics in here. You know, in all these years it's worked, and it's worked fine. It's a tough, tough thing to fix. The pin, also being a pendant, they make an attachment for it. And the attachment is good jewelry. It screws onto the back and it also becomes a brooch.
GUEST:
Good mechanics.
APPRAISER:
Good mechanics. This piece is not signed. It's obviously made by a good jeweler, but everything wasn't signed.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So now we come to the price. For the whole suite, including the other pendant, at auction, this would bring $30,000 to $40,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Wow.
APPRAISER:
That's a lot of money.
GUEST:
Yes, it is.
APPRAISER:
This is Tiffany, it carries the bulk of the pricing, but it's just absolutely stunning.
GUEST:
Oh, I think so as well.
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