Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

My husband gave it to me ten years ago for our anniversary. I know it's 11 carats of sapphire, five carats of diamond, in a platinum setting, and it's marked Cartier.

APPRAISER

Okay, great. That's good basic information for it. I wanted to point out a couple of things, starting with the sapphire.

GUEST

Okay.

APPRAISER

Looking at the type of sapphire it is, it's a beautiful bright blue pear shape sapphire. This type of sapphire generally is a Ceylon sapphire. Now, do you have any paperwork on it or anything, or a certificate from a gem lab stating its origin?

GUEST

When he bought the ring, they gave him an appraisal from 25 years ago, and it was listed $34,000.

APPRAISER

Okay.

GUEST

That's all we have.

APPRAISER

And how much did he pay for it?

GUEST

Less than $15,000.

APPRAISER

Okay, great. And where was it purchased?

GUEST

In Knoxville, Tennessee. From an estate sale, a person from the estate sale.

APPRAISER

Okay, great. And that's all the information that was provided?

GUEST

That's all we know.

APPRAISER

Well, I'm very curious, because I do believe that this could be a Ceylon sapphire. It's a Sri Lankan stone formally known as Ceylon, and it's the type of sapphire that hails from that area. It's a very bright blue, beautiful, intense cornflower blue.

GUEST

Yes.

APPRAISER

Surrounding it are these beautiful pear shaped diamonds and fancy cut diamonds all around the mounting. And I do believe that it's probably made in the 1950s to 1970s. The Ceylon sapphires right now are bringing an all-time high for auction records. I would say for auction purposes, you would be looking at an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.

GUEST

My gosh. I don't believe it. It's fantastic.

APPRAISER

It's great.

GUEST

It's beautiful. Is that just for the sapphire, or for the whole ring?

APPRAISER

Well, the sapphire really dictates the value.

GUEST

Okay.

APPRAISER

But the fact that it is signed Cartier does help as well.