Diamond & Emerald Conversion Ring, ca. 1920
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GUEST:
My great-great-aunt was a traveling companion to a very wealthy woman, Charlotte Cardeza. They traveled the world for many, many years, and one of their voyages was on the Titanic. Charlotte, my great-great-aunt Annie, and Charlotte's son Tom were dining when they got the call that the ship was sinking. And they did survive. They were on lifeboat number 19. And what you see there was a cufflink that Tom wore. After they were rescued, he had the cufflinks made into two rings, one for his mama and one for himself. Later, he decided that he really didn't need this ring, and he would give it to my great-aunt, who supposedly, according to family lore, offered to give up a seat on the lifeboat for Tom. Obviously, they all did survive, so they all got on the lifeboat, and it's been in the family ever since.
APPRAISER:
I think it's a really successful example of a conversion from a cufflink to a ring. This piece really spoke to me, because of the quality of the stones. We have a beautiful emerald-cut emerald in the center. Based on the color and quality of the emeralds, my guess is that the origin is Colombian. The top part of the ring, which was originally the cufflink, was made in 1910, somewhere in that period.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Which makes sense.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Because we know that Tom was wearing these cufflinks in 1912. The diamonds that frame the emerald are transitional-cut diamonds, between old-European-cut and old-mine-cut. These transitional-cut diamonds are also typical of that period. The band, constructed of yellow gold and platinum, was made later. In the late teens, early '20s.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Where was Tom living? Do you know?
GUEST:
Germantown, Pennsylvania.
APPRAISER:
That makes sense.
GUEST:
Yeah, right out of Philadelphia. Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
My guess is that this conversion was done right in Philadelphia.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Unfortunately, it's not signed.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So we don't know exactly who made it.
GUEST:
Who, okay.
APPRAISER:
I love the inscription-- so Tom had the jeweler inscribe on the side, "Saved from the Titanic," with the date, April 15, 1912. As well as... "Tom" and "Mama." This pierced band is exquisite craftsmanship. It is so beautiful, it is so well done, and it's really unlike anything I have ever seen.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Especially when paired with such a fine Art Deco cufflink. At auction today, I would expect it to bring somewhere in the $6,000 to $8,000 range.
GUEST:
Hey, wow. All right.
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