‘Antiques Roadshow’ guest says ‘oh my word’ after expert revealed the value of her Tiffany necklace
A guest on "Antiques Roadshow" received a pleasant surprise after her great-grandmother's necklace fetched a $40,000 appraisal. The owner, who preserved the necklace for more than 35 years, had no idea that it came from the famed jeweler, Louis Comfort Tiffany. It was the show's expert, Jill Burgum, who identified the origin of the necklace and went on to deliver the astonishing appraisal. To add to the guest's delight, Burgum eventually helped the guest sell the item for a whopping $100,000.
In the episode, the guest shared how the item came to her family and how little she knew about it. "This necklace belonged to my great-grandmother, and she lived from about 1864 to 1926, and I believe at the time they were quite wealthy," she told Burgum. "I really don't know much about it. It's been passed down to me, and I think I've had it for about 35 years," she added. The guest had also brought a painted portrait of her grandmother wearing the necklace.
Burgum explained that the necklace was from the early 1900s and was a rare and beautiful piece. "I would date it most likely between 1900 and 1908. What's remarkable is that not only is the front elegant, but the reverse is just as beautifully done. Every attention to detail was made," she said, noting that it had a striking black opal in the center. "Most people are more familiar with the common white opals, but this makes it a much more expensive piece. Black opal is considerably rarer," she explained.
Burgum further noted that the green stones were Russian demantoid garnets—the rarest form of green garnet. She then delivered three different appraisals for the item, assuming different origins. "The first would be as a wonderful piece of historic jewelry, it would be $8,000 to $10,000," she said, leaving the guest in shock. As the guest exclaimed, "Oh my word!" Burgum assured her that she wasn't done yet.
"Now, if we add in another element, which is the fact that this piece was made by Tiffany, it affects the value. A Tiffany piece would be priced at $15,000 to $20,000," the expert added. "Oh, my word, I just can't believe it!" the guest exclaimed upon hearing the figure. Burgum explained that the guest would need to get the item authenticated by the Tiffany archives for a fee of $1,000. If it turned out to be a Tiffany piece, the value would go up to $30,000 to $40,000. "Oh! I can't believe this!" the guest responded.
In an update shared by the show, Burgum revealed that the guest did send the necklace to the Tiffany Archives, who confirmed it was a Tiffany and Co. piece, although there wasn't a similar item in their archives. While the archives offered $25,000 for the necklace, the owner chose to keep it. Eventually, with Burgum's help and further research, it was confirmed to be a piece by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
"We ended up selling the necklace in 2013. There was a tremendous bidding war. The piece kept going up and up, once it went above and beyond $40,000, $50,000, $60,000, it kept going," Burgum recalled. She added that the item sold for $100,000 in the end.
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