Eastern European Diamond Pin
Watch
GUEST:
This brooch belonged to my husband's great-grandmother in Russia. She passed away before her daughter could come to America, but it was one of the few things that she brought over with her when she came in 1911.
APPRAISER:
The thing is, there's no definitive hallmarks on it to say that it is Russian, but it's most definitely Eastern European. And I heard you saying you were wondering if they're diamonds or not.
GUEST:
Yes, we've always thought that they were glass.
APPRAISER:
All right, well, there's a meter I have here, and if the needle moves up into the green, they're diamonds. If it doesn't move, they're glass. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to come over here and I'm going to push this stone right here. It doesn't move, it's glass.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Interesting, right?
GUEST:
Well, that's exactly what we thought, so...
APPRAISER:
Right, right, but you know what? You thought wrong.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Because I want you to watch this, all right? Watch the center stone.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
That's a diamond.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
That's what they call a rose cut diamond. Usually, they're set very low in an all-silver mounting. The bottom of the stone is foil, so to make it reflect. And we never get to show people what it really looks like from the bottom.
GUEST:
This one's flat.
APPRAISER:
It's flat, they're like a surfboard. So if we take it to show everybody, because it's flat, it's not as much as it looks like. It looks like it's a three- and-a-half carat diamond. It probably weighs about two carats. Just in the center stone, you have $2,000 to $3,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
That's actually the desirable part of the pin.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And then you have another $500 in the mounting with the other diamonds.
GUEST:
So aside from that one stone, the rest of them are also diamonds?
APPRAISER:
They're also diamonds, yeah.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness, wow.
APPRAISER:
So at auction, the whole thing would probably be $2,500 to $3,500.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
It is diamonds.
GUEST:
Awesome.
APPRAISER:
(laughing): Pretty cool, huh?
GUEST:
Very cool.
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.
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