En Tremblant Dragonfly Pin, ca. 1950
APPRAISER:
How did you come by this jewel?
GUEST:
My husband bought it for me in auction about 55 years ago.
APPRAISER:
Do you remember how much he might have paid for it 55 years ago?
GUEST:
I believe it was $500.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's called a dragonfly pin, and it has another kind of name. It's called a tremblant. And the reason they call it that is because the wings of the dragonfly are assembled on springs that are hidden underneath and they were worn up on the shoulder. They would pin it right on the shoulder.
GUEST:
That's exactly where I wore it.
APPRAISER:
That's where you wore it. I know you bought dresses just the right color to match this jewel.
GUEST:
That's right.
APPRAISER:
And when you moved, these springs would simulate a dragonfly in flight. It was an ingenious construction. This is a noted art form. This is an Art Nouveau jewel. These were known from the turn of the century. The dragonfly was a very popular design and the enamel is a specific type of enamel that is called plique-à-jour enamel. That is enamel that is transparent like stained glass, and the light shines through it, in addition to which they've bordered the wings with rose-cut diamonds set into silver. And we have a blue stone at the top and a red stone with diamonds surrounding it and green eyes that are enameled. And the body of the piece is chased and engraved to simulate the texture of an insect's body. Now, ordinarily, we associate these jewels with Art Nouveau from the turn of the century. But we looked carefully at this jewel and we turned it over. If this was a 1900 jewel, there are things that we would look for in the construction, and one of the most obvious things we would look for was some kind of damage, some kind of telltale evidence that this was an extraordinarily delicate piece that had actually been around for almost a hundred years, even if 50 of them were spent in your jewel box. And we started to run into a problem looking at this piece because, in actuality, the condition was too good. The other thing that we found was that the blue stone at the top was glass and not a real sapphire. And the conclusion we came to was that it is a very, very good replica of an Art Nouveau plique-à-jour dragonfly with virtually the same craftsmanship but not done at the turn of the century, really done about the time that you bought it in the 1950s.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Could you guess what this might be worth?
GUEST:
I haven't any idea.
APPRAISER:
Not a clue.
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Now, you bought it for $500. If it was a real one, it might be worth about $20,000, but even so, in gold and in diamonds, this magnificent plique-à-jour that's already 50 to 60 years old... I think this would still easily fetch about $3,000 to $5,000 as a copy. So you did pretty good for your $500.
GUEST:
Well, I guess so, and I thank you very much.
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.
