Verdura Gold, Platinum & Diamond Ring, ca. 1965
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GUEST:
So, my grandmother was an Irish baby nurse and, like, housekeeper, right here in the area, worked for some really wealthy families.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh. Um, I must have been, like, three years old...
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
We went to visit her at work.
APPRAISER (chuckles)
GUEST:
At this old woman's house. And the old woman just took the ring off and gave it to me.
APPRAISER:
Well, you must have been darn cute, because this is a really nice gift to give to a three-year-old.
GUEST (laughs)
APPRAISER:
This is a Verdura gold, platinum, and diamond cocktail ring. Fulco di Verdura was an Italian jeweler who came to great prominence in the middle part of the 20th century, really, right at the beginning of the war era. Verdura actually designed the Maltese cross that Coco Chanel made very popular in her costume jewelry. He also did collaborations with other important jewelers like Paul Flato. But he was also an independent jeweler and signed his pieces with his last name, Verdura. So his designs are, are generally sort of sophisticated, chic, but very bold. It's about five carats of diamonds total weight. This probably came out of the firm in the 1960s. So, because of the fact that it's signed and in the current market, which is very hungry for pieces that are signed by Verdura, great example of sort of a typical ring that epitomizes his style, at auction, I would expect it to sell between $7,000 and $9,000.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
And I would expect it to the higher end of that estimate or even better.
GUEST:
Well, um...
APPRAISER:
It's a, it's a great thing.
GUEST:
I'm glad I kept it safe.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. (both laugh)
GUEST:
Wow, thank you so much.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, of course.
GUEST:
It's so tiny, I don't think I could have ever worn it.
APPRAISER:
It is a small size, and if you do ever have it resized, just be careful to not get rid of the mark.
GUEST:
Okay.
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