'Antiques Roadshow' guest gasps in disbelief after expert revealed the value of her vintage glass vase
A simple glass vase in the house might not seem like much, but its true value is only unlocked when an "Antiques Roadshow" expert takes a look at it. Something like that happened on an episode of the show, leaving the guest in disbelief as the item, which had been in her family for six decades, was worth five figures. The owner of the Tiffany Aquamarine Glass Vase didn't think of it much until the show's expert, Arlie Sulka, told her that it was worth over $40,000, after which all she could do was gasp.
"In the 1930s, my parents went to an estate sale in New Haven, Connecticut, and they bought it. And I know that they didn't pay much money for it, because they didn't have any money. It's been in the family for over 60 years," she told Sulka, referring to the vase as a piece of glass.
The appraiser then took over to shed light on the significance of the vase. She explained that the glass was made at Tiffany around 1914, and it is called aquamarine glass. "Tiffany was owned and operated by Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was the son of Charles Tiffany, the founder of Tiffany and Company. It was produced for a very short period of time. The glass resembles seawater. And when they first made this, they put a lot of aquatic life in it. Later on, they added flowers to it," she further explained.
Sulka went on to note that the vase was signed "L.C. Tiffany Favrile" at the bottom, along with a serial number, which usually is an indication that the item was authentic, but not in every case. "Although the piece is signed, it doesn't always mean that it is Tiffany. But only Tiffany made aquamarine glass. It was such a difficult technique that no one has been able to replicate it. This was very costly to make because a lot of the pieces broke," Sulka added, to confirm its authenticity.
Before coming to the appraisal, Sulka told the guest that back in the day, such vases sold for between $200 and $250. However, over the years, the value of the piece had appreciated. "Your piece of glass is worth between $30,000 and $40,000," Sulka went on to say, leaving the guest in shock.
In the end, Sulka told the guest that it was a fantastic item and she was confident about her appraisal. However, all the guests could do was look at her with eyes wide open. Later, in an update shared by the PBS show in 2012, the item was re-valued to be worth in the range of $90,000 to a whopping $100,000.
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