GUEST: My husband gave it to me ten years ago for our anniversary. I know it's 11 carats of sapphire, five carats of diamond, in a platinum setting, and it's marked Cartier.
APPRAISER: Okay, great. That's good basic information for it. I wanted to point out a couple of things, starting with the sapphire.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Looking at the type of sapphire it is, it's a beautiful bright blue pear shape sapphire. This type of sapphire generally is a Ceylon sapphire. Now, do you have any paperwork on it or anything, or a certificate from a gem lab stating its origin?
GUEST: When he bought the ring, they gave him an appraisal from 25 years ago, and it was listed $34,000.
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: That's all we have.
APPRAISER: And how much did he pay for it?
GUEST: Less than $15,000.
APPRAISER: Okay, great. And where was it purchased?
GUEST: In Knoxville, Tennessee. From an estate sale, a person from the estate sale.
APPRAISER: Okay, great. And that's all the information that was provided?
GUEST: That's all we know.
APPRAISER: Well, I'm very curious, because I do believe that this could be a Ceylon sapphire. It's a Sri Lankan stone formally known as Ceylon, and it's the type of sapphire that hails from that area. It's a very bright blue, beautiful, intense cornflower blue.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Surrounding it are these beautiful pear shaped diamonds and fancy cut diamonds all around the mounting. And I do believe that it's probably made in the 1950s to 1970s. The Ceylon sapphires right now are bringing an all-time high for auction records. I would say for auction purposes, you would be looking at an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
GUEST: My gosh. I don't believe it. It's fantastic.
APPRAISER: It's great.
GUEST: It's beautiful. Is that just for the sapphire, or for the whole ring?
APPRAISER: Well, the sapphire really dictates the value.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: But the fact that it is signed Cartier does help as well.
