Emerald, Diamond & Gold Necklace, ca. 1875
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GUEST:
I brought a emerald and diamond necklace that has been passed down for five generations. This is my fifth great-grandmother. Funny enough, I used to play with this necklace as a kid. One day, I saw this picture with it, and it was crazy, 'cause, you know, she was wearing the necklace in it, and it gave me a spark to get into, like, family genealogy and stuff.
APPRAISER:
Wow.
GUEST:
So this is a thanks to that. (both chuckle)
APPRAISER:
Well, and, and so, now, wh, who was she?
GUEST:
Sh, her name was, um, Madeline Emma Tuttle. She had a plantation in the 1870s that she ran.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh. What I love about this picture, and what, what, you mentioned calling her... Maw Tuttle.
GUEST:
Ma Tuttle. Yeah. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
(laughs): Which I thought was, was great. She's wearing the necklace in the photograph, which is fabulous. The necklace is made of 14-karat gold, diamonds, and emeralds. The piece is not signed by a maker, but it is stamped 14-karat, which generally means it was probably made in America. All of this chain here is handwork. The piece is really kind of drippy on. It feels good to, to hold and to wear. It represents a high craftsmanship. You have a total of five emeralds. The center emerald here is about half a carat, and it's likely... They h, they're very vibrant green. They're the kind of green that, in the trade, we normally associate with being from Colombia. That strong, verdant green. Surrounding all of the, the emeralds are old-mine-cut diamonds. So that firmly dates the piece to the end of the 19th century, probably around about 1870, 1880. But what I think is so fabulous, and what fits in with y, the beautiful, rich story of your family, is that these links in between the emeralds are fleur-de-lis.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Which obviously is the insignia...
GUEST:
(chuckles)
APPRAISER:
...of Louisiana, so I think that when your great-great- great-great-great-grandmother...
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
...wore this in her portrait, as an early Louisiana settler, it was probably a choice, because, uh, she was proudly saying, "I'm from Louisiana." So, I also venture to think that the piece might have even been made in Lou, Louisiana. I would say, in a retail market today, it might be worth as much as $10,000.
GUEST:
Okay! Pretty good!
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