American Art Nouveau Necklace, ca. 1910
Watch
GUEST:
My grandfather was the owner of a jewelry store in Fort Worth, and he did loans and sales and everything in the world. And evidently he bought this from someone, gave it to my mother-- he had four daughters, and she lucked out and got this. And she gave it to me. I don't know much about it, no signature that I could find.
APPRAISER:
And when would you say your grandfather's store was open in Fort Worth? Do you know the dates of the store?
GUEST:
Late 1800s, probably into the '40s. And the convention center is now standing where his store was.
APPRAISER:
Well, how fun that we're here today. The necklace is back where it started, I suppose.
GUEST:
Right, I think so.
APPRAISER:
Well, what we have here is an American Art Nouveau necklace. It's from the Art Nouveau period, which dated from about 1890 to 1910. It's set in yellow gold. We have freshwater pearls, a little diamond and diamond accents throughout, and beautiful plique-à-jour design. Plique-à-jour is a French term. It means "letting in the daylight." And so it's this enamelwork around this beautiful woman's face, and there's no backing to it, so the light can shine right through it. Very pretty profile of a lady, typical of Art Nouveau jewelry. I was not about to find a signature on this piece either, so I don't think we're going to be able to find out who made it. I think it dates to about 1910, just the end of the period. It's in wonderful condition. Where have you been keeping it all these years?
GUEST:
I hate to tell you: in a box. I took it out one time to wear it on a black cocktail dress because it shows up nicely on black background. And my grandson was looking through my jewelry in a drawer and he said, "What's in the blue box?" And I said, "Oh, what was my mother's necklace." He says, "Grandma, you should wear it!"
(laughs)
GUEST:
He's so funny.
APPRAISER:
Well, he has very good taste, I would say. Today, at auction, I would expect it to bring somewhere between $4,000 and $6,000.
GUEST:
Wow, that's a lot for a necklace that sits in a box.
(chuckles)
GUEST:
I think I'll start wearing it.
(laughter)
APPRAISER:
I think you should.
GUEST:
Yeah.
Appraisal Details
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.
