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Ruby & Diamond Bracelet, ca. 1895

Value (2022) | $35,000 Auction – $40,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
It was given to me from my mother. My mother was a German countess, and her ancestors started in Russia, and then during the Russian Revolution, they fled to France.

APPRAISER:
Okay.

GUEST:
And at that time, they were supposed to have acquired this piece.

APPRAISER:
In France.

GUEST:
In France. It was supposed to have belonged to Marie Antoinette. That's the story I got from my mother. My mother was born in France, and then they moved to Germany, and she was raised in a castle in Munich.

APPRAISER:
You have five beautiful Burmese rubies here. They're roughly somewhere around four carats, maybe four-and-a-half carats.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
In the trade, we call the best rubies pigeon blood-red rubies, and that's what you have here.

GUEST:
(chuckles): Wow.

APPRAISER:
They're bright, and they're not treated, they're natural. And you know the bracelet was made in France.

GUEST:
I... was assuming that it was.

APPRAISER:
Oh, okay.

GUEST:
Since my mother told me that it was Marie Antoinette's, but...

APPRAISER:
Okay, well, Marie Antoinette never saw this bracelet.

GUEST:
Okay. (chuckles)

APPRAISER:
The hallmarks, the double eagles in the head, tell you it was made in France...

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
...and it's 18-karat gold. The gold is on the reverse side. If you turn it over like that...

GUEST:
Uh-huh.

APPRAISER:
...you see the yellow gold. The top, all the diamonds, they're very tiny full-cut diamonds. They're set in platinum.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
So this is late 1800s when it was made.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
Now we...

GUEST:
Not Marie Antoinette. (laughs)

APPRAISER:
Not Marie Antoinette, she could never have wore it.

GUEST:
No.

APPRAISER:
You ever wear this bracelet?

GUEST:
No. My mother used to wear it all the time. In fact, she left it in a car that my father sold, and she realized that she had left it and went back the next day, and it was still in the glove box, so, uh...

APPRAISER:
Oh, my God. (laughs)

GUEST:
I guess I'm fortunate to still have it.

APPRAISER:
A piece like this in today's market could easily sell for somewhere between $30,000 and $35,000.

GUEST:
This piece?

APPRAISER:
This piece, at auction.

GUEST:
I'll hold on to it for a long time, then. (laughs)

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Berj Zavian
Jewelry
Cluster Jewelry
New York, NY
Update (2022)
$35,000 Auction – $40,000 Auction
Update (2020)
$40,000 Auction – $50,000 Auction
Appraised value (2006)
$30,000 Auction – $35,000 Auction
Featured In
Relative Riches (#1319)
Milwaukee, Hour 2 (#1118)
Vintage Milwaukee (#2417)
Did Grandma Lie? (#2723)
Event
Milwaukee, WI (July 29, 2006)
Category
Jewelry
Period
19th Century
Form
Bracelet
Material
Diamonds , Platinum , Ruby

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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