Belle Epoque Diamond Brooch, ca. 1915

Appraised on: June 17, 2006

Appraised in: Tucson, Arizona

Appraised by: Virginia Salem

Category: Jewelry

Episode Info: Tucson, Hour 3 (#1109)

Originally Aired: February 26, 2007

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (2:14)

GUEST: They originally belonged to my great-grandmother who came to Tucson in 1878. And it's been passed down, through each daughter, until it got to me, for four generations.

APPRAISER: Well, I see you brought a photograph of her in, and right here we can see the pendant that we'll be talking about right on her neck. It's from about 1915.

GUEST: Oh, is it?

APPRAISER: So, she got it a little later.

GUEST: Oh, I thought it was earlier than that.

APPRAISER: I think that it was probably made in New York.

GUEST: Oh, really?

APPRAISER: Yes.

GUEST: He met her, and they were married, in New York.

APPRAISER: The fine platinum work-- they were doing a lot of this in New York City around the turn of the century.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: There were a lot of people that were doing this fine mill graining, which we see around the diamonds here, the principal stone.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And this sort of wreath or garland motif was very popular around that time period. And then we have this tiny little drop here-- this pear-shaped drop, which suspends on the bottom as well. And it's quite pretty. I did a diamond breakdown on it.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: The largest stone is almost a carat size. And then they sort of graduate down from there.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: But a total weight of five carats.

GUEST: Oh, I didn't know that.

APPRAISER: Yeah. The Belle Epoque style is one of those styles that is becoming more and more sought after, and the platinum work is really unrivaled. This just very delicate knife-edged bars here as well.

GUEST: Right. What is Belle Epoque?

APPRAISER: It's a style that was done in the early 1900s. This is circa 1915, and it just means a pretty sort of delicate...

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Edwardian style was another time period

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: that was very similar to that as well. But it had to have been made in England in order to be Edwardian.

GUEST: I see.

APPRAISER: So, we call it Belle Epoque if it's American.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And at auction, I would say the estimate would be anywhere between $7,000 and $9,000.

GUEST: Oh, my gosh, really?

APPRAISER: Yes, definitely.

GUEST: Oh, that's wonderful.

APPRAISER: Yeah, I'm glad you're happy with that.

GUEST: Oh, I'm actually, I'm very happy with that. I had no idea what it was worth.

APPRAISER: Yeah, it's definitely worth all of that.

GUEST: Wow. Well, thank you very much.

APPRAISER: You're welcome. It's my pleasure.

GUEST: I appreciate it.