Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

It belonged to my great-great-grandmother. She was born in 1835.

APPRAISER

Do you know anything about it at all?

GUEST

I really don't know anything about it other than what's engraved on it.

APPRAISER

Well, let's flip this over for a minute, and we'll see on the reverse side here, we can see right down here, there's a little plaque that says "Tiffany and Company." So this necklace was made by Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York City around 1876, which is shown by the engraving on the back of the clasp with the date it was given to your great-great- grandmother Hattie.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

What is quite unusual about this necklace is there's a very, very strong Japanese influence in this, and you find very few pieces with a Japanese influence in it by Tiffany. And you can see that by all of the little flowers and the floral decorations, and also running through the center is a bamboo design. And there was quite a strong Japanese influence in jewelry between about 1867 to about 1917.

And you find other houses doing it as well

there was Lalique, there was Cartier. It's made in 18-karat yellow gold and platinum, and it's in perfect condition. There's no scratches, there's no marks on it. It's just perfect. I would say that if you had to try and replace this necklace in a retail store, you would have to pay between $55,000 and $60,000.

GUEST

Wow.

APPRAISER

Yeah.

GUEST

Really?

APPRAISER

It is an exceedingly rare piece. It's very difficult to find Tiffany pieces from this period, and then to find the Tiffany pieces with this Japanese influence is very, very difficult, and we don't find them. The only thing that would have been better is if we had a box, and if also we had the thing that hung from this. If we could have found out exactly what that was, it could have brought the price up by another $15,000, $20,000. I told you it was good.

GUEST

I am shocked.

APPRAISER

You should be. It is absolutely superb.

GUEST

Oh! Whoo!