Diamond & Natural Pearl Pin, ca. 1920
GUEST: My sister and I recently inherited some jewelry from my mom.
Her grandparents and great-grandparents had a lot of jewelry.
This piece just kind of caught my eye, I thought it was different.
APPRAISER: were they from?
GUEST: Originally from England, but then lived in Manhattan.
APPRAISER: I love the design of this.
It's just so beautifully perfect.
It's like a North Star, the shape.
It's very simple.
It's platinum.
It has old European cut diamonds.
What you notice about it most are what?
GUEST: The pink pearls.
APPRAISER: So, pink, and what else?
GUEST: And, and the blue.
APPRAISER: And the blue, and the white.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: These are natural pearls.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: This is truly a gemstone of the sea.
Most likely from places like the Persian Gulf.
Natural pearls in white, the bigger they get, the more expensive they are.
But they're a little more common, and I love the fact that they're here.
But two matched pink ones?
Wow.
And that's nature at its best.
And I guarantee you they didn't find two matched pink ones together.
It may have been years before somebody matched those up.
And then the one in the middle.
You know, you see a lot of black ones.
You see ones that are dark, they're gray.
We're out here, and it's not even sunny out, and you see the blue hues?
I mean, it's fabulous.
And then we turn it around, and there's a pin.
So this would've been worn as a pin, which was very common back then.
You pull the pin out and this bail flips up.
This is so you can slim what most likely would've been a thin platinum chain.
You can see the cups, how they took the time, probably an extra day in production or two, to sit there and engrave them, for something that almost nobody's gonna see.
It's probably around 1920.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISAER: Yet it's so contemporary.
I love that-- when jewelry's kind of evergreen, then it just, it's always right.
I really, truly thought that this piece would have a signature, it's that fabulous.
GUEST: No idea who...?
APPRAISER: No idea who made it.
(chuckles) Natural pearls, being what they are, are, are worth more than regular, cultured pearls.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: In these hues, they're kind of special.
The center pearl, that, that beautiful bluish, silvery gray, is seven-and-a-half millimeters.
That's a nice size.
Auction price today would probably be $10,000 to $15,000.
(sputters, laughs) GUEST: Oh, that's pretty good.
(laughing) (laughing) Yeah, wow.
A little bit more than, uh, than I thought.
I thought nothing, but, yeah, that's, that's amazing.
APPRAISER: A retail price would probably be all of $25,000.
GUEST: Wow, wow.
(laughs) Wow, that's amazing.
APPRAISER: You and your sister are gonna have to share it.
GUEST: We're gonna have to fight over it.
(both laughing) APPRAISSER: Oh, you're gonna fight over it.
I said share, not fight!
GUEST: We'll share it, we'll share it.
(laughing) APPRAISER: We'll take turns.
$10,000 Auction
$25,000 Retail
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Understanding Our Appraisals
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."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
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.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
