In this clip from ‘Antique Roadshow,’ a woman brings a beautiful antique bracelet to be appraised. The family heirloom was given to her by her mother on her wedding day, and before that, it was a gift to her mother from her Great Aunt Helen Hayes.
The attached card reads, ‘Darling Anni, Your Uncle Charlie picked this as a gift for me years ago. I want you to have it, sort of as a gift of love from both of us! Devotedly, Aunt Helen.’ The appraiser asks her what she knows about it. The woman tells her that she was once offered $1,000 for it, but she didn’t want to sell her family heirloom for that price.
The appraiser agrees and informs her that her great aunt’s success in the theater was extraordinary, calling her the ‘First Lady of American Theater.’ Helen Hayes was the first to win the ‘EGOT,’ which means she won the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.
The appraiser tells her how they narrowed down the value by looking at the dates of Helen’s marriage to Charlie. The Maltese Cross design was also famous in the 30s by ‘Chanel.’ There are many famous portraits of Coco Chanel wearing these same Verdura-designed cuffs.
She describes it as one of the most iconic jewelry pieces in the 20th Century. In 2016, a similar bracelet with faux stones came up for auction with a $25,000 to $35,000 estimate, and it sold for $100,000.
The great news is that the appraiser recognizes this bracelet as completely real. It is sterling silver with ivory-colored enamel. There are yellow gold, cabochon emeralds, sugarloaf amethyst, aquamarines, sapphires, diamonds, and rubies.
The final appraisal values the bracelet at $100,000 to $150,000. The woman says, ‘What a treasure!’ and she adds, ‘And to think it’s been to my 3rd-grade show-and-tell class!’ The appraiser tells her this was one of her favorite items ever on the ‘Antique Roadshow.’
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