Fabergé Jade & Silver Paper Knife, ca. 1910

Appraised on: June 6, 2009

Appraised in: Atlantic City, New Jersey

Appraised by: Gloria Lieberman

Category: Jewelry

Episode Info: Atlantic City, Hour 3 (#1406)

Originally Aired: February 8, 2010

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (1:56)

GUEST: It's a letter opener that my husband gave me probably about 15 years ago.

APPRAISER: Was it for an occasion?

GUEST: Yeah, an anniversary.

APPRAISER: An anniversary. And what do you know about it?

GUEST: Not a lot. I think it's jade with silver.

APPRAISER: Good guess.

GUEST: Possibly... Tiffany or Fabergé.

APPRAISER: Well, what I can tell you about it is the material is actually nephrite jade. It is silver, and this is a garnet and a little diamond in the snake head.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: I would date it around 1910. I love the silver work. And the silver work, when I saw it, sort of gave away who made it.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: This is the kind of work that Fabergé did. And of course, when I turned it over, it's got the Fabergé mark.

GUEST: I couldn't read it.

APPRAISER: Yeah, it's tough to read. It says Fabergé, and then it's got the silver mark, the date after 1896. It doesn't have the maker. It's a small object. In a way, the silver doesn't have a place for the maker, so we don't know the maker. And that will tend to hold down the value.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: But this was a desk accessory. Fabergé made a lot of things for the table, the desk. So we're not quite sure exactly what it was, but it was certainly decorative, and it was Fabergé. I think the workmanship is beautiful. It's a very appealing piece. Do you remember what was paid for it?

GUEST: I would say probably around $1,000. Around... 15 years ago.

APPRAISER: Actually, that was, you know, a fair amount of money. In the market today, a conservative estimate would be $10,000 to $20,000.

GUEST: Wow. Oh, that's fantastic.

APPRAISER: And that would be an auction value.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: So I think you got a really nice gift.

GUEST: Thank you.