Tiffany Studios Chamberstick, ca. 1905
Watch
GUEST:
My great-great-grandmother lived in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in the late 1800s. They moved to Chicago, and they were a pretty well-to-do family. Then they lost everything they had in the Great Depression.
APPRAISER:
They didn't lose this.
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
And you don't know at all how the damage occurred over all those years.
GUEST:
No, I don't.
APPRAISER:
So this is a Tiffany chamber stick. The bronze is a little bit as is, but not enough to really hurt the value. So we want to talk about what hurts the value. The shades are Tiffany opalescent glass. So one of them is chipped, and one isn't. What I'd like to do, if you could help me, is to unscrew the screws.
GUEST:
Sure.
APPRAISER:
And take these shades out so we can see the perfect one and see the damaged one. And they just lift out. And I, I-- I have-- I'm the winner. I have the damaged one.
GUEST:
(chuckles)
APPRAISER:
So this is your fitter rim.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And yours should be perfect. We're going to turn this over, and we have the Tiffany Studios mark right here with the number 5640. And that's a pattern number. These are circa 1905.
GUEST:
Circa...
APPRAISER:
Now, if we'll put this back down.
GUEST:
Great.
APPRAISER:
And if you could carefully put your little end in. You've done this a few times, I know.
GUEST:
Sure.
APPRAISER:
And even though we're missing one screw on the one I'm doing, it still holds it tight enough, but you definitely want to replace the screw.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The bottom parts are bobeches. And they hold blown Tiffany glass in there. So when we get talking about damage on important pieces, we have to get down to the nitty-gritty of damage. You can see that this particular bobeche has cracks and chunks out of it.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
It happens to be one of the most difficult restorations you can find on a piece.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
About all you could do is find a new bobeche. Not an easy task. What happens to value when these things occur? In the condition that this is in, in a fine retail establishment, you would find this in a range of $3,000 to $4,000.
GUEST:
Wow, that's, that's...
APPRAISER:
That's pretty good for all that damage.
GUEST:
That's very good. Yes, it is.
APPRAISER:
If it's possible to find a bobeche, now your piece would be worth $12,000.
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.
