FCD Brooch

[JewelFreak]

Can't resist sharing this because it's so unusual to find in a regular everyday private home. Saw it on Antiques Roadshow a few nights ago. It's very pretty & unique imho. The owner's grandfather had it made to his design by a St. Louis jeweler as a present for his wife (the grandmother) when their son (owner's father) was born. In 1900 he paid $1500 -- a fortune then -- for it.

Screen capture from the episode:


White diamond, brown, yellow in the 3 petals of the fleur de lis; in the center, what looks like yellow, limey green, pinkish-brown. Appraiser said it's the earliest piece on which he's seen triangular diamonds, on the underneath; that they first appeared about 15 yrs later in Art Deco jewelry.

Appraisal was $25K to $35K, insurance value $45K. It's exotic for the average Joe, surprised me, and besides, I love antique jewelry. If you want to see the video, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/video/1805.html. Scroll to 15:18.

 

[FrekeChild]

Wow! This is so cool!

 

[pregcurious]

I love the fine workmanship.

 

[JewelFreak]

I'm sorry the picture isn't any better -- it looks much better on the video & my tv screen! Kind of a stunning piece.

The owner said the jeweler told his grandfather that the diamonds were French & smuggled out of France during the French Revolution. Just as I was thinking, "Oh sure!" the appraiser said the Jaccard family (jewelers) were French Huguenots so it could possibly be true. Nobody will ever prove it, but interesting. (I still doubt it.)

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

Did he say about how many carats the stones were?

Cool piece, I particularly like the lime yellow diamond at the base.

 

[movie zombie]

gorgeous piece but he was indeed Rich for the times: http://panam1901.org/visiting/salaries.htm

 

[AN0NYM0US]

Very neat. I appreciate the stories as much as the pieces themselves.

 

[yennyfire]

Very neat. I appreciate the stories as much as the pieces themselves.

That's one of the things that fascinates me about antique pieces....each one has a story, even if we don't know what it is. That is a stunning brooch!

 

[missy]

It's beautiful. And wow he paid a lot for it in 1900. Thanks for sharing this piece.

 

[Starzin]

Very neat. I appreciate the stories as much as the pieces themselves.

That's one of the things that fascinates me about antique pieces....each one has a story, even if we don't know what it is. That is a stunning brooch!

Absolutely agree! It's the whole thing of the lives of the people who have owned it, though in this case one family. Wonderful to see that it still exists in original form and has not been broken up to distribute the gems to family members.

Beautiful brooch and terrific to have the drawing and bill of sale as well.

Side note: While it's not gems, a great book is Accordion Crimes by E. Annie Proulx. I enjoyed it more than The Shipping News and it's a brilliant story of the US and it's immigrants told through ownership of the accordion.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Accordion-Crimes-Annie-Proulx/dp/185702575X

 

[gemandjewelrylover]

Wow, amazing! It's beautiful. Thanks for sharing it.

Wish I had a time machine!

I love Antiques Roadshow!

 

[chrono]

Fantastic piece; the diamonds, design and workmanship are all gorgeous.

 

[SB621]

Oh that is just beautiful. The curves of the piece, plus the colors are perfect.

 

[T L]

Wow, amazing! It's beautiful. Thanks for sharing it.

Wish I had a time machine!

I love Antiques Roadshow!

I wish they had an Antiques "Jewelry" Roadshow where they just appraised old jewelry.

It is a great show, but my eyes always light up when I see a piece like this.

 

[JewelFreak]

Me too, TL. I gave a little gasp when this showed up -- it's so lovely & unusual, especially to have stayed in one family. My fave was the greeny diamond at the bottom. Wish they had given carat weight, at least an educated guess.

I'd love a Jewelry Roadshow, what fun that would be! I love buying antique jewelry as well as seeing it, because I always think of the woman who loved it before I did. Would give a lot for psychic talent to tell where it lived before my house.

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

Me too, TL. I gave a little gasp when this showed up -- it's so lovely & unusual, especially to have stayed in one family. My fave was the greeny diamond at the bottom. Wish they had given carat weight, at least an educated guess.

I'd love a Jewelry Roadshow, what fun that would be! I love buying antique jewelry as well as seeing it, because I always think of the woman who loved it before I did. Would give a lot for psychic talent to tell where it lived before my house.

--- Laurie

There was one Roadshow where a lady brought in her grandmother or great grandmother's (I forget) Art Deco Burmese ruby ring, bracelet and a pendant all studded with a lot of huge untreated Burmese rubies and large diamonds, and platinum. I'm sure the value has at least quadrupled since she was on.

I almost fainted.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/199808A39.html

 

[JewelFreak]

Wow, TL, that's some demi-parure. Gorgeous. It says the updated value as of 2012 would be 320K - 350K, yike. Beautiful bracelet especially.

Sometimes people say it's going straight back to the safe deposit box when told a huge value like that. Makes me a little sad -- I'd wear the sucker! Then there's the puzzle -- to keep it in the bank or sell it & make your family's life better?

I saw an article recently about a beautiful desk/bookcase made for an ancestor of mine in the early 1700s. It had stayed in that branch of his descendants (whom I don't know) for 350 yrs -- and they sold it; it brought $500,000 at auction. But my first thought was, "How could they DO that?" In one way I understand but gosh, in another it's a shame.

What would you do? I don't know, myself. Certainly I wouldn't make any sudden decision.

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

Wow, TL, that's some demi-parure. Gorgeous. It says the updated value as of 2012 would be 320K - 350K, yike. Beautiful bracelet especially.

Sometimes people say it's going straight back to the safe deposit box when told a huge value like that. Makes me a little sad -- I'd wear the sucker! Then there's the puzzle -- to keep it in the bank or sell it & make your family's life better?

I saw an article recently about a beautiful desk/bookcase made for an ancestor of mine in the early 1700s. It had stayed in that branch of his descendants (whom I don't know) for 350 yrs -- and they sold it; it brought $500,000 at auction. But my first thought was, "How could they DO that?" In one way I understand but gosh, in another it's a shame.

What would you do? I don't know, myself. Certainly I wouldn't make any sudden decision.

--- Laurie

Laurie, on the right hand side of the page, it says the updated value is $450K, which I think is ultra conservative.

I think it would go for more considering how rare old mine unheated Burmese rubies are.

If it were jewelry like that, it would be hard for me to part with it, but I think I could sell the furniture for $500K easily.

 

[JewelFreak]

Oh, I missed the $450 & you have a good point that it could easily go higher. Stuff like that doesn't come around every day.

If you'd seen the photo of that desk, you'd drool too. It was just beautiful, the work & materials & condition. Plus it stayed in the same family for 350 yrs -- that's 10 generations. That alone would make me hesitate. Makes it like you're not the owner, but the caretaker of it for the next generations.

Well, it's not a problem I'll ever have to deal with.

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

Oh, I missed the $450 & you have a good point that it could easily go higher. Stuff like that doesn't come around every day.

If you'd seen the photo of that desk, you'd drool too. It was just beautiful, the work & materials & condition. Plus it stayed in the same family for 350 yrs -- that's 10 generations. That alone would make me hesitate. Makes it like you're not the owner, but the caretaker of it for the next generations.

Well, it's not a problem I'll ever have to deal with.

--- Laurie

They don't make things like they used to, that's for sure.

Sounds like a beautiful Early American piece of furniture.

 

[T L]

I was watching the other day and a lady brought in this SIX CARAT old mine cut fancy yellow diamond ring in platinum. As my mouth was agape, I found out she was storing it in her sock drawer, and she thought it was only worth few thousand dollars.

Wow, people can be really ignorant about jewelry. I would have it appraised, insured, and I would be wearing it every day. At the very least, I would store it in a safety deposit box if I didn't wear jewelry. She finally decided to do that as well.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201106A47.html

 

[chrono]

TL,
Wish I have a ring like that sitting around in my sock drawer! I would wear that puppy everyday, that's for sure.

 

[T L]

TL,
Wish I have a ring like that sitting around in my sock drawer! I would wear that puppy everyday, that's for sure.

What drives me nuts is that she doesn't wear it or enjoy it. She keeps it for sentimental value, but it's going to be in a dark safety deposit box probably for many years to come. She should sell it in that case, unless she has a kid that she can pass it down to. It's a shame. A piece like that should be worn and enjoyed, as well as cherished as a reminder of her grandmother.

 

[chrono]

I am sure someone within the family who loves gems and later inherits this beauty will be appreciative of the fact that it stayed with the family.

 

[pregcurious]

OH MY GOODNESS. These are FANTASTIC!!! I never post in caps. It makes me feel a little better about trying to make a nice collection made of quality stones in nice platinun settings...maybe somewhere down the line, it will be appreciated by my family. Right now, it just feels like a pure luxury, and I almost feel like quitting.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi All,

I have a few comments to make.

1. I know very few people who have any interest in jewelry at all. In some regards I think those who always talk about heirloom pieces being passed on in the family are fooling themselves. I think because of the lack of interest in jewelry , its one of the first things that the heirs will try to sell. In my whole entire life, and I am old, I only met one person who was a jewelry person, and her husband, A Greek, would give her the most beautiful gold pieces. She wore them and enjoyed them.

2. I think some rare and expensive pieces can feel like a burden to people. Where would you wear the ruby parure if you had an ordinary middle class life. Its an exquisite piece but who would wear it? Its nice for many of us to have our little boxes of stones to look at and some have very nice beautiful rings, but as nice as they are, you can wear them. But some I just don't know. Even in a safe deposit box, I think you would have to insure. What would that bill look like?

I agree, I would sell the furniture. I would like to keep the rubies, but I really don't know if I would. But, again, I would never expect my heirs to keep things.


Annette

 

[JewelFreak]

Even if jewelry doesn't drive you batty as it does most of us, I just can't imagine having a ring like that & not wearing it. Whether you understand or care why it's valuable, you have to see that it's beautiful and something anyone would envy.

A ruby parure would be hard to wear in most people's (my) life. Why not have the stones re-set then, at least use some in a ring or earrings? Save the rest along w/the mountings in case a descendant wants them.

Here's another difference in outlook: I can't imagine selling a desk in the family for 350 years. Never, unless I starved on the street & maybe not then. It was a beautiful Federal piece. My people -- in fact, in the case of the desk mentioned above, they were my people -- wrote letters, paid bills, kept journals, made out invoices, generation after generation, doing things daily life is made of, at that desk. It sold for half a million bucks -- when I could give something they'd never ever be able to buy themselves to my kids, their kids, & theirs, just as past relatives did over 3 centuries -- I'd feel like its caretaker rather than its owner. I'd see all those ghosts expecting the best from me. Rattling chains all night if I went for the money.

--- Laurie