Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I brought in a collection of Tennessee pearls that are found here in the rivers of Tennessee that's been handed down. Some of them came from my grandmother and my mother, and then some have been given to me through the years. I've always loved them. When I was in high school, I would every week save my lunch money, and on Fridays I'd buy a new Tennessee pearl for about two dollars and a half. And they kept them in a cigar box underneath the counter. They weren't even on display back in the '50s.

APPRAISER

Huh. Two dollars and 50 cents.

GUEST

Apiece.

APPRAISER

And when you told me $2.50 originally, I'm thinking, "Gee, where'd she get $250 from back then?"

GUEST

No, it was two dollars and 50 cents.

APPRAISER

And then you have another story to share about these small ones, when you used to find them.

GUEST

Oh, my grandfather... across from where we lived is a creek bed. And they used to go over there and find them and flip and see who could flip them the furthest across to get them across the creek bed.

APPRAISER

The pearls, not the shells.

GUEST

The pearls.

APPRAISER

The pearls, unbelievable.

GUEST

They treated them just like they were marbles.

APPRAISER

Well, as you know, these don't come out of the Tennessee River very much anymore.

GUEST

Not at all.

APPRAISER

No. After the Tennessee Valley Authority built the dam and everything, the mussels started to disappear, right?

GUEST

Yes.

APPRAISER

Back in the day, I don't know if you remember as a kid, these mussels were everywhere, right?

GUEST

Yes, the rivers were full of them here in Knoxville.

APPRAISER

I mean, would they literally be there when you were swimming?

GUEST

Or in the banks as you were walking along. You could seem them back in the '40s and when I was a child.

APPRAISER

Typically, this is the size you find.

GUEST

Oh, yes.

APPRAISER

You know, some people say they almost look like teeth.

GUEST

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER

Of course, with these, as they get larger, they get to be more expensive.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

But also sometimes they can get very large like this, and they get very baroque, and they get all different kinds of colors. They're beautiful, but they're not necessarily more money.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

Now, this one's extra special to you right here.

GUEST

Oh, that one is my high school graduation, from my parents. Mother and Daddy gave me that.

APPRAISER

Oh, that's beautiful.

GUEST

That was the first pink one I ever saw.

APPRAISER

Well, that's interesting you said pink, because while we're looking at them, they come in all different colors and hues.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

And pink is rather desirable, what we sometimes call rose.

GUEST

Yes.

APPRAISER

And also we have this nice one in the center.

GUEST

Oh, it has a special meaning. It used to be on a bar. But the reason it's off is when my daughter Maxie got married, we took it off and sewed it in the top of her wedding dress, in the V.

APPRAISER

How sweet.

GUEST

They all have got family attachments to them.

APPRAISER

That's fantastic, and it's so nice you held on to them. Now, I know when I tell you that the ones you bought for two dollars and 50 cents, these pearls today could go for $300 and $400 each. You add up the whole necklace, and there's $1,200.

GUEST

Wow.

APPRAISER

Yeah. I mean, two dollars and 50 cents each.

GUEST

That's right. That's wonderful.

APPRAISER

And I know the money's really not going to mean a lot to you, but there is a value to these, because they're rare. The one that you got here, with the rose...

GUEST

Yes?

APPRAISER

...could be $2,000 today.

GUEST

Wow.

APPRAISER

This one over here could easily be $1,500.

GUEST

Ooh.

APPRAISER

These smaller ones are not that expensive. You could probably buy the whole bar pin for $200. And one like this, as big as it is, it's fun, but it's a $1,000 pearl. Now, there's another $500 in the gold and everything around it, but we're kind of concentrating on the pearls. But when you look at the collection, there's $6,500 here.

GUEST

Ooh.

APPRAISER

You know, at auction, for something like this.

GUEST

I have a daughter and a granddaughter. They're going to stay right there.

APPRAISER

And for me, it was the stories you had that made this trip over here worthwhile.

GUEST

Well, thank you.