Lucien Hirtz Enamel & Gold Brooch, ca. 1910
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GUEST:
(laughs) I love Art Nouveau. And when my daughter was born, my husband's grandmother gave me this pin.
APPRAISER:
How old is she now?
GUEST:
Oh, she's 24. I've already promised her, when she gets married and has a child, that this will go to her.
APPRAISER:
When this came to the table, I thought to myself, "Well, that's a heck of a piece of Art Nouveau jewelry." European Art Nouveau jewelry. And, specifically, it looks like French Art Nouveau jewelry. We do have French marks on it. You can see a little s, half-stroke eagle head on the top of the pin...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...along the pin stem. And every separable part on this has a French eagle mark. We'll find it on the C-clasp.
GUEST:
Gotcha.
APPRAISER:
That's the French mark for 18-karat gold. And the artist has signed the piece in the counter enamel. And his name is Lucien Hirtz.
GUEST:
Hirtz.
APPRAISER:
He's seminal in the use of enameling and decorations...
GUEST:
Gotcha.
APPRAISER:
...in the world of French Art Nouveau jewelry.
GUEST:
Gotcha.
APPRAISER:
And French jewelry. Hirtz is born in 1864.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And at the age of 21, he became a resident designer for Falize.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Falize is one of the most important enamelists of French Art Nouveau jewelry. We have portraits of women here and this floral-carved gold. He was multitalented. He could work in classical forms, he could work with insects, he can work in Japanism. He was very well-respected in his time. He won the gold medal...
GUEST:
Ooh.
APPRAISER:
...at the Paris International Exhibition of 1900.
GUEST:
Wow, that's amazing. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Big time. He joined Boucheron in 1893, and he was given the job of doing some of their most important commission work. He was the man.
GUEST:
He was the cat's meow. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
He was the cat's meow. There is a maker mark on it...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...sort of half-struck. It's in a diamond shape on the side of the brooch. And I really can't make it out. He did similar work for Falize and Boucheron.
GUEST:
Gotcha.
APPRAISER:
A brooch like this, by him, circa 1906 to around 1915...
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
...in my opinion, is worth, at retail, $20,000 to $30,000.
GUEST:
You're kidding.
APPRAISER:
Not kidding. However... (laughs):
GUEST:
That's crazy.
APPRAISER:
However, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...has a larger example. It's called La Gaité. And this is a very close variation of that portrait in miniature. It's stellar. And this is a wearable portional miniature of that piece.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm. Now that we know that, I would place a retail value on this piece of between $30,000 and $40,000.
GUEST:
Wow. (laughs) I was not expecting that. I, I thought it would be, you know, maybe $1,000 or $2,000. Wow. (laughing) I'm so shocked. That's amazing-- oh, wow. (laughing) I'm sorry.
(both laugh)
GUEST:
That was not at all what I was expecting. (laughing)
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