Cartier Ruby & Diamond Compact
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APPRAISER:
You really have to thank your mother for this beautiful miniature box?
GUEST:
I do. She and I just came across it a couple months ago when she actually gave it to me. But she purchased it for me when I was a small child at a tag sale.
APPRAISER:
How long ago was that?
GUEST:
25 to 30 years ago, in that area.
APPRAISER:
Your mother's been holding on to this about 25 years before she gave it to you?
GUEST:
Yeah, well, we kind of forgot about it. We were going through her jewelry a couple months ago and I took it out and I said, "Hey, this is nice."
APPRAISER:
Why did she buy this?
GUEST:
Well, I am her only daughter and it was such a girly thing and we were at a tag sale and she thought I'd like to play with little pretty things.
APPRAISER:
A few dollars for a play toy for you to play with. Did you play with it when you were young?
GUEST:
I did. I remember playing with the box. I thought the box was really neat-- pretty, shiny.
APPRAISER:
Well, the box is very interesting. And when you open it up and you find something more interesting inside, you say to yourself, "Wow." And of course the box says it's from Cartier. And if you look real closely on this-- have to open this up... Right over here on the lid, you have all those names: Cartier, Paris, London and New York City, which is automatic, a great piece of jewel... of artwork. I consider this artwork with the green enamel and the red enamel flowers that go around the outside. The white enamel is impeccable. There is not a scratch on it. So you didn't play with this too much. There's a mirror inside which is pretty bad-- can be replaced-- but the best part about it is that is a natural ruby.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And the tiny little diamonds that go around the outside are all tiny little rose diamonds.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
This basic compact was probably in some very wealthy lady's purse. And your mother paid three dollars for it, something like that?
GUEST:
Something along those lines. She said she wouldn't pay much because it was going to be something to play with.
APPRAISER:
So a Cartier box like this at auction can easily go for anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
It's a great present that your mother gave you.
GUEST:
It sure is. Thanks, Mom! You can't have it back.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
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Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
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