Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger Perfume Flask, ca. 1960
GUEST:
I received it as a gift from one of my relatives after my mother passed. It wasn't hers, it was just something given to me by one of my other relatives.
APPRAISER:
And I want to show this to everybody to see what you've brought. You've got this lovely box that opens up. And so inside, we have this object. The question is, what is this?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And so what we have here is a perfume flask, and the flask is in the shape of a stylized guard. He looks sort of like either a Swiss guard or an Italian guard. And what's nice about it, it's set with emeralds and sapphires, and on this side, there's a star with some diamonds and a ruby. And he's got some little diamonds set into the crown of his headdress. And his head unscrews. And this is the dipper for the perfume. So you would put a little bit of perfume in here. Probably made in the 1960s. It was meant to sit on either a lady's dressing table, or you could actually carry this in your purse if you were going out for a dressy evening.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The box says, "Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger". And Jean Schlumberger as a designer that Tiffany had in the 1950s and 1960s. He passed away, but they're still doing designs from his design book. So Schlumberger is a very important name to the Tiffany brand. And also, on the bottom of the piece, too, it's signed "Schlumberger" as well. Now, there were a number of versions of these.
GUEST:
There were?
APPRAISER:
The exact same form, but some have jewels, some don't. Some are elaborately set with jewels. So yours is quite a nice one with all the jewels that it has. Have you ever had this piece appraised?
GUEST:
No, I received it as a gift last year, but I didn't know if it was real gold. The box was cool, and it said "Tiffany", and I said, "Well, I don't know if that's real or not, but..."
APPRAISER:
Well, it's a lovely presentation box, certainly. So the piece is 18 karat gold, and these are very collectible.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
And at auction, if this item were to be auctioned, I would put a presale estimate on this of between $8,000 and $10,000.
GUEST:
Seriously?
APPRAISER:
Yes, yes. They're highly collectible.
GUEST:
Thank you so very much. I had no idea. And, yes, I'm going to really thank my relative who gave it to me.
APPRAISER:
Yes, you should.
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.