Jewelry

Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Ring, ca. 1970

Appraisal: Van Cleef & Arels Diamond Ring, ca. 1970

Transcript

GUEST: So this was my mother's ring. This was from her second marriage. She was married to a man from Beverly Hills, and she met him in San Antonio. And within a couple of weeks, I think, they eloped. I think it was just a couple of weeks of knowing each other.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: And when she came back, they went on a trip to Beverly Hills, where he had a home there, as well as in San Antonio.

APPRAISER: So when did your stepfather buy this for your mother?

GUEST: I think it was around 1971 or 1972, is what I'm guessing-- probably closer to 1972.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm, and you said that you had a nickname for the diamond.

GUEST: Yes, it was the-- she was married to a man named Denny. And she always called it the Denny Diamond.

APPRAISER (laughing): And did the marriage last long?

GUEST: Um, they were just married, I think a couple of months, maybe.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: Maybe six months at the most. She was either the fourth or the fifth wife. At least she has a nice wedding... Nice ring to show for it.

APPRAISER: She kept the diamond.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: She was a smart woman. (laughs)

GUEST: Yes, she never, she never took off this diamond. It stayed on her finger.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: And she just never, never-- she refused to take it off. She was very sentimental about it.

APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: Maybe the diamond.

APPRAISER: (laughing): Not the marriage.

GUEST: Not so much the marriage-- not the marriage so much, but...

APPRAISER: Well, it's one of my favorite cuts of diamond. It's called an emerald cut, and emerald cuts first became popular in the '20s, because it's a very clean, modern cut. You have these beautiful step cuts in the front, and then these linear facets beneath. So it doesn't have the brilliance of the traditional round brilliant cut, but it really shows off the clarity of the stone. And that was one of the first things I noticed about this stone, was its incredible clarity, And that means its, its lack of inclusions. All diamonds-- well, most diamonds-- have some kind of inclusion. It's just a natural process of how they grow in the earth. But this diamond is very, very clean to the eye. I had, I had a problem finding anything inside it, which is very rare in a diamond. I also looked inside the band for a signature, and there wasn't one. But your mother was very smart, and she kept her paperwork.

GUEST: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Which said that this was sold by Van Cleef & Arpels.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: It was probably signed at one point. Sometimes, when rings are sized...

GUEST: I had it sized, to make it larger.

APPRISER: There you go. Sometimes the signature's right at the back of the band, and a jeweler will just take that signature off. So it would be hard to prove that it was from Van Cleef & Arpels, but, again, your mother was really smart, and she kept her paperwork. So the stone is a little over five carats. Again, it's a very, very clean stone. It's a relatively white stone. It's probably about an I color.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: This has a classic setting for an emerald-cut diamond, which is a four-pronged setting, and then at the side are two tapered baguettes.

GUEST: Mm-hmm, and I know it's platinum. Set in platinum.

APPRAISER: It's platinum. Oh, it's certainly platinum, yes. So the last time you had it appraised-- you had it appraised was?

GUEST: Well, it's... 1973.

APPRAISER: 1973, and how much was it then?

GUEST: $20,500.

APPRAISER: Okay, well, it's gone up a little bit since then. Do you have any idea what he paid for it?

GUEST: No. Just from the appraisal...

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. ...

GUEST: in '73, it could have been close to that amount.

APPRAISER: Okay, so close to the $20,000.