Nelson Rarities

[Kismet]

I was on vacation in Maine this past week and since we decided to go to Portland for the day, I told my husband that we had to visit Nelson Rarities. If I had known how the store was set up, I would have done things a little differently. I was expecting an antique store set-up where everything is out on display. Not the case... everything is in the back and you have to request what you want. And since I wasn''t looking for anything in particular, I felt a bit embarrassed at asking for specific things. But Mr. Nelson was very kind in the face of our stupidity and brought out a tray of random items.

Some of the things on the tray: #144 and #185 were my personal favorites even though I never wear brooches. If I had 20k to drop, I would have dropped it on one of those.

#221, 225, 226, #205, #188, #62

There was more stuff on the tray but either they don''t have pictures on their site or I''m just not remembering well. He didn''t mention prices for most pieces but some he did mention were in the 20k to 40k range. There was one diamond brooch on the tray that he said would be around 150k. I thought my husband was going to fall over. In any case, I''m not sorry I went, I am sorry I wasn''t better prepared though (and that I hadn''t won the lottery so I could buy stuff.)

 

[Chrysoz]

Really awesome stuffs!
I agree with you, the items you picked is soooo beautiful!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Oh what a treat!!! I envy your visit!!! Thanks for sharing!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Nicrez]

Hi Kismet! I love Nelson Rarities, they have some amazing finds there (Uniqueness and quality, not often buying price-wise...)

The only brooch I could see that would warrant $150K would be item 188, and it's not for the diamonds. It would be the rubies and their quality. I noticed they are cut en cabochon, which would be less valuable than if they were clear and faceted. If that piece were made by Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels (considering the time period), it would increase the price as well. Then if the item were French made, you could have been looking at a piece at least 2 times that price! It's not unheard of.

If you are at all interested in seeing jewlery of a fine caliber, I suggest going to the auction houses jewlery previews. From Sotheby's, Christie's, Doyle's, Skinner, Du Mouchelle's, Bonham's and then Dupuis in Canada, you can get some amazing peeks at things you would likely not ever see again. Of course these are not all the auction houses, but they carry the higher end pieces that will give you that WOW factor...

Good luck and happy hunting! If you win the lotto, go directly to Christie's or Sotheby's!