The Excellence Of Tiffany & Co.
On the heels of last week’s Tiffany article, readers brought in two extraordinary Tiffany items. The first is a 14k gold signed and numbered natural sapphire art deco brooch with only about $300 in gold. We paid $1,000 for it because of its extraordinary design, the fineness of the sapphires and the numbered piece. It was possibly made by designer Oscar Heyman on special order. It is for sale in our store for only $1,500. Call us if you would like to see it.
14kt gold natural sapphire deco brooch / Tiffany and Co. pansy brooches
The second piece is likely one of the most extraordinary Tiffany and Co. pansy brooches ever. In our business, it is
considered untoward to “chase” an item. In other words, if you make a terrific offer you shouldn’t have to counter more than an additional 5%. Sometimes, as with this large Tiffany pansy brooch, excitement gets in the way of financial restraint. We started at $5,000, which we thought was a very high offer because it had minor damage and only $400 in gold. We think that the fair market value is only $6,000 to $8,000.
After being rebuffed by the seller, we went against the accepted norms and began chasing this piece. After good
natured negotiation (which included me following the nice woman into the parking lot, blocking her with several employees’ cars and a wrestling match at the curb) we were able to secure the piece for $7,500. We likely won’t make a
profit, as this is a show off piece that will adorn our showcase for quite a while. All kidding aside, she took it to PBS’
Antiques Roadshow and got an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000 retail value. This incredible example of Tiffany craftsmanship is available in our store for $8,500 – a modest $1,000 profit.
This is an archival article formerly written and is for informational purposes only. The valuations in this article have likely changed since it was first written.
