Charm Necklace
Appraised Value:
$2,500
IMAGE: 1 of 2
Appraisal Video: (2:41)
Appraised By:
Joyce Jonas
Jewelry
Joyce Jonas & Associates
Appraisal Transcript:
GUEST: My mother actually started this charm necklace for me when I was a little girl, so about 50 years ago. And, uh, she started it as a bracelet, and then I put the charms onto the necklace several years ago. I just have always loved it. Some of them are very important to me.
APPRAISER: Not many people have charms that go back to the Victorian era. Can you tell me a little bit about this?
GUEST: That is one of the ones that I don't really know a lot about. I believe that she got it at a garage sale, and I just know that she gave it to me in a little box and said, "This might be nice on your bracelet." It's a world globe.
APPRAISER: That's exactly what it is. It says "Europe," and it says "Asia." This charm, by itself, would be about $200 today to buy.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: So let's move down now to this nice little intaglio. It's a seal. And what can you tell me about this one?
GUEST: That's my favorite charm.
APPRAISER: Is it?
GUEST: The woman who actually gave that to me, her father founded Great Falls, with Paris Gibson. She was elderly when she gave it to me, and it was her... I want to say grandfather or great-grandfather's. Anyway, it was from the 1850s. He wore it on his watch fob. And it is a letter sealer. I believe it's sardonyx...
APPRAISER: Well, yes.
GUEST: The stone, and Julius Caesar, I think, is the head.
APPRAISER: Exactly.
GUEST: And I like the history to that charm a lot.
APPRAISER: Well, it's wonderful, and the intaglio in hard stone of Julius Caesar is worth more than others might be, because he was so important. So again, we're looking at a couple of hundred dollars on that one. This one fascinates me.
GUEST: That's what's known as a Stanhope, I believe. It has pictures in it. It only has one picture.
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: And that's of Benjamin Harrison when he was the president of the United States. I believe that probably his vice-president was on the other side, but I believe that it probably got lost. My mother didn't realize there were pictures in it and washed it in soapy water.
APPRAISER: Right. This I love. Please tell me about that one.
GUEST: Again, another purchase from an estate sale, and that was in, I believe, the '60s or '70s that Mom got that. It's an enameled ball, and she actually paid the most for that charm. I think she paid $20 or $22 for that.
APPRAISER: Oh, my. Well, it's worth about $300 to $350, but when you add the whole thing together, I would not be surprised if you had to sell that, which you're not going to...
GUEST: No.
APPRAISER: ...if you got upwards of about $2,500 for it.
GUEST: Wow, gee. Did you say $2,500?
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. (both laugh) I did.
