Rikers Gold Bracelet, ca. 1900

Appraised on: July 16, 2005

Appraised in: Houston, Texas

Appraised by: Adam Patrick

Category: Jewelry

Episode Info: Houston, Hour 3 (#1006)

Originally Aired: February 13, 2006

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (1:46)

GUEST: This bracelet was given to me on my birthday, passed down to me from my mother, and it came from her aunt, and it was passed to her from her mother.

APPRAISER: And do we know what country they came from?

GUEST: My great-grandparents were from Germany.

APPRAISER: Do you think the piece came from Germany?

GUEST: I'm not sure, but I believe they probably had it before the came to the U.S.

APPRAISER: Okay. It's actually an American piece. It's by a company called Rikers and Company. They're based in Newark, New Jersey. You can actually see on the clasp, there is a 14k, which is the American gold mark. And underneath, there is a mark for Rikers and Company, which is a sword with an R above it.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: And Rikers Company made some wonderful things from around 1890 up until around 1910, 1915. And this was done in about 1900s-- 1912. The piece is an art nouveau style. It shows a dragon set with old mined diamonds. It's all done in 14 karat yellow gold. Did you have any idea as to a value on the piece? Has anyone ever told you anything about it?

GUEST: No, I took it to have it just evaluated, because we weren't sure. And someone did tell me that they were old diamonds, but they weren't willing to give me an appraisal.

APPRAISER: The conservative price on this that the piece would probably fetch is around $8,000 to $10,000.

GUEST: Wow!

APPRAISER: Did you like that? It's an incredible piece. I mean, it really is.

GUEST: That's awesome.

APPRAISER: It's absolutely superb. And you had no idea?

GUEST: No, it's actually been in a safe deposit box since the '50s. It wasn't even taken out until my great-aunt was very ill.

APPRAISER: It's an absolute wonderful piece.