Sapphire & Diamond Star Brooch, ca. 1880
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GUEST:
My mom passed away in 2009, and that's when I inherited it. It was given to her by her mother, and I think it might have been my great-great-grandmother's, also, I'm not sure.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
GUEST:
But my great-great-grandparents were wealthy industrialists in Passaic, New Jersey. And I know that my grandmother went on the, uh, tour of Europe that all the fancy people used to go on. But, otherwise, I don't know anything about it. It's got a pink stone that, I have never seen a pink stone anywhere before, so I thought I'd bring it.
APPRAISER:
Do you ever wear it?
GUEST:
No, I wore scrubs to work, so it didn't quite go.
(both laugh)
APPRAISER:
It's in the form of a star, and that form was very popular in the late 19th century. It was probably made about 1880. Now, the star form was common. What's not common is all these colors used in the star. Most of the stars that we see from this period are in pearls or in diamonds. That pink stone in the middle is a sapphire.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
A lot of people think sapphires only come in blue. But, but they come in pink, and this is just an especially great pink. It's just a beautiful, well-saturated, almost purply pink color. It's a really beautiful pink sapphire, one of the better ones that I've seen. It's about, I'd say, somewhere between two and three carats.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And then it gets even better, because around that pink sapphire, they have put yellow diamonds.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
And there's about two carats of yellow diamonds. And then around those are white diamonds.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
We did test it, and it's, tests for about 18-karat gold. The stones are old-cuts. The sapphire is an old- circular-cut sapphire, and the diamonds are old-European-cut diamonds, which were really popular in the period. Also what I like about this piece of jewelry is the back, because it's not just a brooch. It has a little retractable pendant loop that you can push up. And if you ever noticed that pinwheel shape in the back?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
If you twist that, it unscrews the whole brooch fitting so that you can wear it as a pendant without the brooch part poking you.
GUEST:
Oh, I didn't know that.
APPRAISER:
It's a really great piece, and it's an unusual piece. And it's in really, really wonderful condition. The only thing it doesn't have is a signature or a hallmark.
GUEST:
I know. I couldn't find one, either.
APPRAISER:
Which is disappointing, because would love to know who made it, or at least where it was made. My suspicion is that it is American. At auction, this would be estimated in the $30,000 to $50,000 range.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness-- really!
APPRAISER:
Mm.
GUEST (chuckling): I am totally surprised. Oh, my goodness. Really? (stammers): Wow. (laughs) I am amazed. Oh, my gosh. (chuckles) That's fantastic. Oh, my gosh. (laughing) That's amazing. How much did, did you say?
APPRAISER:
At, at, at auction, $30,000 to $50,000.
GUEST:
Well, I better start taking insurance out.
APPRAISER:
If you're going to insure it, I'd probably insure it around $80,000. (gasps):
GUEST:
Wow. That is a complete surprise. (laughs) I'm shaking.
(both laugh)
GUEST:
Wow, Kaitlin, that is amazing. Thank you, oh, my God. (laughing) (exhales) I can't wait to tell my daughter. (both laugh) She's gonna drop dead. (laughs)
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