A terrific benefit of gold being at record levels is that it brings a lot of awesome things out of the closets and drawers of Americans. And as you all know, we love Tiffany items.
Our retail stores are selling and buying fine watches and diamonds, and our auction department is busy. But when an older Tiffany item crosses our path, we rejoice.
The workmanship and detail of this 150-year-old Tiffany box are unmistakable. One detail that often captures attention on late 19th-century items is the presence of a European coat of arms. Many of these armorial designs “look like” heraldry, intentionally created to look aristocratic. After the Civil War, wealthy Americans with no true heraldry simply used wannabe crests that had no genealogy history.
The value of these pieces has nothing to do with tracing the crest. Collectors prize them for craftsmanship, gold content, condition and provenance. Tiffany’s simulated heraldry reflects a moment when Americans were flexing economic muscle and feigning luxury. European romance, expertly rendered, American in spirit (fake it ’til you make it). This hand-hammered box is almost 20K gold, with a 3-carat tourmaline push-button.
The gold value is what brought it out of the woodwork. Our customer, a Philadelphia jeweler, offered his client $21,000 for it. That is a life changer for the young couple who inherited it. The scrap value was around $23,000, and we paid $24,000…a couple percent above the gold value to save it from the fire. It’s for sale at our St. Pete location for just a few percent more.
Value? Priceless, some say.
A one-of-a-kind piece. Each piece handmade in the 1870s. With gold value hovering at around $25,000, the retail value is hard to calculate. To manufacture by hand, a box by an artisan with this much gold would easily retail over $100,000.
Its value is twofold: It’s an incredible artifact and a fantastic way to invest in gold.
