Jewelry

Art Deco Jewelry, ca. 1920

Appraisal: Art Deco Jewelry, ca. 1920

Transcript

GUEST: They actually originally belonged to my great-aunt Indiola on my mother's side. Aunt Indiola was married to a gentleman by the name of Clem Keys, who was a very important airline promoter and financier back in the early part of the century. They lived in high-society circles in New York, and I believe that's where my aunt acquired them. Later passed them on to my mother and eventually to me.

APPRAISER: What we have here are a number of very interesting examples of what we consider Art Deco jewelry. This is an engraved rock crystal and seed pearl and diamond necklace. It's engraved in a neoclassical scene. This here is an Art Deco bracelet encrusted with diamonds; a brooch with a Ceylon sapphire and a diamond openwork design. The pearls here are natural pearls, which are very sought-after in the 1920s, with a diamond clasp. And last, in front here, we have a diamond ring. Now, your diamond ring is unique. It's a large stone. It's an elongated rectangle with cut corners. This stone fits under the category of diamonds that we refer to as Golconda, from India. And with Golconda stones, they have a particular phenomenon that occurs to them-- when they are exposed to light, when they're in daylight, they get super-white. Most diamonds are graded on a scale of D through Z, but even a Golconda would be a D-plus in terms of color-- it would be high, high up there. These stones are white, the light dances in them. They're very, very sought-after stones. When you talk to a connoisseur of diamonds, and if you say you have a Golconda stone, this is the type of thing that makes them weak in the knees, basically.

GUEST: Ah, great.

APPRAISER: So, all these pieces date from the 1920s. The bracelet itself would be mid-1920s to the late 1920s. Now, there are no hallmarks on the item, but based on the craftsmanship, the type of workmanship, I would tend to think that this piece was American. The brooch, also-- no hallmarks, but appears to be American, as well. The pearls, these could be retailed by anybody during this period, and there's nothing indicative that says they're European or American, but more likely than not, since they were in New York, it was manufactured probably in the United States. The diamond pendant necklace may be European. This is much more in the European taste. And in terms of the diamond ring-- there are no hallmarks on that, either-- it was manufactured in the United States, as well. The first item here, the fair-market value on this would be between $5,000 and $7,000 on the necklace.

GUEST: Great.

APPRAISER: The sapphire and diamond brooch, value on this would be between $10,000 and $15,000.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: The pearl necklace would be between $20,000 and $25,000.

GUEST: Whew!

APPRAISER: And the bracelet would be between $40,000 and $60,000.

GUEST: Oh, my.

APPRAISER: Now, for the diamond, our valuation for that at auction would be between $70,000 and $90,000.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: I really appreciate your bringing them in today.

GUEST: Well, thank you very much. It's great to hear these kinds of values.

Appraiser

Peter J. Shemonsky

Updated Value (2019)

$213,000 - $265,000 Auction

Updated Value (2021)

$159,000 - $222,000 Auction

APPRAISED VALUE (2006)

$145,000 - $197,000 Auction

Event

Honolulu, HI

Theme

Things to Use or Wear, Traditional Crafts

Form

Jewelry, Necklace, Pin

Style

Art Deco

Appraiser Speciality

Jewelry

Material

Gems and Minerals, Diamonds, Pearl, Sapphire

Update: June 28, 2010

After this segment aired, a viewer wrote in to point out that Peter Shemonsky's translation of "Golconda" was incorrect. It does not mean "mountain of light," but rather "a source of great wealth." The viewer also questioned Shemonsky's reference to the ring's diamond as "D-plus in terms of color." Shemonsky responded saying, "In regard to gemological nomenclature, the viewer is correct in that there is no such thing as a D-plus stone; I was using the terms D-plus and super-white to illustrate that in comparison to a D stone, a Golconda stone appears whiter due to the nature of these stones. Since this may or may not be related to fluorescence it was not mentioned as such, as not all Golconda stones are fluorescent. Some people refer to it as luminousness, and exactly what causes this phenomenon has been a long-debated subject, but all who have handled and are familiar with these stones do agree on one thing: they possess a visual characteristic unlike comparable stones from other regions."