Mario Buccellati Jewelry Suite, ca. 1950
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GUEST:
My sister and I have collected this jewelry that belonged to my grandmother. She was born in 1900. She lived to be 100, and she had really good taste, and my grandfather enjoyed buying jewelry for her. I'm curious about especially this piece. I didn't really see that one till she had passed away, but I loved that one. I'm kind of the only one in the family, the only one of the sisters, who really was attracted to that one.
APPRAISER:
And you told me who made this jewelry.
GUEST:
It's, uh, "Boo-keh-lah-tee." Am I saying it correctly? Buccellati in, from Italy.
APPRAISER:
I'm going to gently correct you. It's "Boo-cheh-lah-tee." This is not just signed Buccellati, it's signed Mario Buccellati.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Big deal.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Because he's where the company starts in Italy, you're right. He continued his business in New York. He opened in New York in 1951. He dies in 1965.
GUEST:
Okay. Uh, s...
APPRAISER:
The family continues to run the business, but this is clearly signed Mario Buccellati. These pieces were probably made in, in the 1950s. He was nicknamed the Prince of Goldsmiths. Everything is handmade. All the pieces here are made of 18-karat yellow gold. The earrings, the bracelet, and the pin.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
They're oak leaves. The m, metal is rolled out. It's gently dapped and shaped to these forms. The spine for the stems is all engraved into it. That type of engraving work, that type of a filigree, they perfected this. The jewelry is light, yet springy.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And it, it has just the right a metal that it's gonna withstand the use over many years. You just know it's them when you see it. How do we know it's Mario Buccellati? If we flip it around, you can clearly see on the, on the back of the leaf clip that it not just says, "Buccellati," it says, "M. Buccellati." Okay? Now, the pin that you like, they're sapphires.
GUEST:
Sapphires!
APPRAISER:
Yeah. Buccellati wasn't known for using the best-quality stones.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
But they used stones that had this wonderful color that he liked. And what's interesting, they're really not pink. They're, like, magenta.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
I love it.
GUEST:
Thank you, I, I do, too.
APPRAISER:
They may...
(both laughing)
APPRAISER:
At an auction, the bracelet in the center would be, the estimate, $3,000 to $4,000.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
The oak leaf clip pin, $1,200 to $1,800.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Women love their earrings.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
Even though they're smaller than the pin, they would probably be $1,500 to $2,000...
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
...at auction.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
The pin you're in love with.
GUEST (laughing): Yeah.
APPRAISER (laughs): Wait till your sister hears this. It's probably worth as much money as the bracelet. $2,500...
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
...to $3,500.
GUEST:
Oh, very, very nice.
APPRAISER:
At auction, as a group, $8,000 to $12,000.
GUEST:
Well, that's really nice to know. We really love it. It just, it's, it's our grandmother. I'm very excited. I know my sister will be excited, too.
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