'Antiques Roadshow' guest gasps in disbelief after expert revealed the value of her Tiffany jewelry
It’s not rare to see jewelry on “Antiques Roadshow,” but some pieces are a bit more special than others. Tiffany products are usually considered to be a cut above the rest thanks to the brand’s reputation, but some owners are oblivious to the value of the item they possess. That was the case with an elderly guest who brought a beautiful pendant to the show but did not even know that it was made by the legendary company.
The guest was given the pendant in 1918 by her grandmother, who said that the gem at the center was a yellow diamond. It sure looked that way upon first glance, but the guest was wary. “I didn’t know because it (the diamond) seemed pretty big and granny kind of liked to…if she wanted you to like something, she sometimes sort of embellished on its attributes,” she said.
Well, it turns out that the guest should have given her grandmother a bit more credit. Expert Gloria Lieberman wasn’t too sure about it either when she first saw it, but upon inspection, it was revealed that the guest’s grandmother was right. “Not only is it a diamond, but it is actually an important size for a yellow diamond because it measured over one carat,” she added.
The expert then revealed that it was an old European cut pear-shaped yellow diamond. Such diamonds are formed under intense pressure in the earth’s crust over millions of years but are rare compared to colorless diamonds. They are also referred to as canary diamonds, as per an article in Leibish. It gets its yellow color from nitrogen impurities during the crystal formation process.
As the largest Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond discovered in Canada, weighing over 71 carats, this gem was sustainably sourced from the Ekati Mine. It yielded two diamonds of over 20 and 15 carats, respectively, that artisans cut into emerald-cut diamonds: https://t.co/VtbnoC1lhc pic.twitter.com/OMTqbVDpkU
— Tiffany & Co. (@TiffanyAndCo) October 21, 2023
What makes this particular yellow diamond pendant special, however, is the fact that it was made by Tiffany. “It’s Tiffany and Company,” Lieberman said to the guest, upon hearing which her jaw dropped. And that’s not all. “This is Tiffany and Company and quite rare because of that period, and I would date it between 1918 and 1920; you rarely found a yellow diamond in a piece of Tiffany jewelry,” the expert added.
She even said that it might have been designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself. “It has that kind of wonderful wire work,” Lieberman explained. It was then time for its appraisal, and the guest certainly was not expecting the number she heard. “It’s a tough appraisal because it’s rare: $20,000 and up. What do you think?” she said.
The guest bent her head backward as her mouth was open in disbelief. “Holy mackerel,” she said. “You really hit the spot today,” the expert added. Fans of the show loved the piece and the story behind it and made their thoughts clear in the comments section of the clip on YouTube. “Stunning, stunning piece. If I saw it in a museum, I’d spend ages studying all those beautiful details,” one user commented. “Grandma must have been a beautiful soul; THIS was given to her by her second husband, around 1918ish. They had a serious love going on, keeping a sparkle to the eyes, I am imagining,” quipped another.
