I bought this brooch in the boot of a car about 30 years ago for £2. It was originally sold to me as jewelry that belonged to a deceased relative of the stall owner.
But I recently dug it up and started to think it might have something valuable. I can see an 18 on the back.
Is the jewelry in the trunk of my car worth money? Sara, via email.
Brooch purchase: I bought this in the 1990s for £2…and began to believe they might be worth a tidy sum. Am I right? Dan Hatfield (pictured) responds
Dan Hatfield, expert appraiser, responds: Regular readers of my column will know my love for the trunk of a car. As I always say, I was born in Sheffield but I grew up in the boot of a car.
I love the chance to find strange, wonderful, and sometimes valuable items.
Your brooch is an interesting find, but overall it is a precarious investment because they come and go out of style so frequently that its value rises and falls accordingly.
The kettles of the jewelry world, they are loved and hated alike. I’ve always loved them as a wonderful way to add something special to an outfit.
Anyway, the good news is that brooches are back in fashion and are considered fashion accessories.
There are jewelry designers around the world embracing this comeback, with brands like Armani and Stella McCartney using brooches as focal points of their designs.
Some would say that hit shows like The Crown and Bridgerton have helped fuel a new wave of popularity.
Historically in Europe, we can trace the brooch back to around 400 BC. C., when Celtic artisans began to manufacture it.
I mentioned that I found your brooch interesting because, interestingly, I currently have an almost identical one stored in my pawn shops. I really appreciate its wonderful design.
Jewelry depicting stars and crescents became extremely popular in the mid to late 19th century.
As a species, we were trying to understand the world around us, so as we advanced in science and our understanding of how our planet played a role in the universe, people developed a great interest in astrology and astronomy.
From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne was a novel published in 1865 that told the story of the construction of a cannon powerful enough to launch a rocket to the moon.
Such was the fascination with this story that many Victorian jewelers began to create wonderful pieces depicting the moon and stars.
Since her brooch has a half-moon design, I’m sure it was made between 1865 and 1880.
Her brooch is adorned with pearls, something the Victorians adopted and used extensively in their jewelry.
This is because the pearl was considered less flashy, less ostentatious than the colored stones that Georgians previously liked to wear.
The pearl was a more subtle decoration for jewelry, in keeping with Victorian modesty.
They were also allowed to be worn during periods of mourning, as if it were believed that the pearl represented tears. I am sure that Queen Victoria, who was in perpetual mourning after the loss of her Prince Albert, approved wholeheartedly.
You mention that you can see an 18 on the back of the brooch and looking at your photo I agree that it certainly appears to be the case.
18 carats is now worth around £47 a gram, so the metal work alone would mean this brooch is worth a considerable amount.
Gold has risen tenfold in the last 25 years, so your £2 investment will guarantee you a considerable return.
Often with precious metals the value is in melting them down and selling them at the price per gram, but this is not the case for you because the pearls look in good condition and since brooches are back in fashion you can easily sell them , since it is.
I’m going to value your brooch at around £600. While beautiful, it is not unique and there are many others on the market, but it is still a sought after item and rare enough to justify a high price.
That’s why I’m always lyrical about car boots, you never know what return you’ll get for such a small original outlay.
Your £2 investment has served you well and if you want to reap its rewards I suggest selling a brooch like this on Etsy where you will find many enthusiasts of this type of jewelery.
Chunky: This tanzanite ring caught my eye a decade ago. Has its value increased?
I bought a tanzanite ring in 2014. How much is it worth now?
I bought this tanzanite ring while on holiday a decade ago for just under £6000. Has it increased in value? Elaine, via email.
Dan answers: This dazzling ring features a vibrant, almost hypnotic stone that was discovered just 57 years ago. Creates a lot of intrigue and curiosity.
Tanzanite is a stone that baffles many and is probably second only to diamonds in the stones that people ask me about most often.
This stone was discovered in 1967 by Maasai shepherds tending their livestock in the hills of Merelani, Tanzania.
Following the discovery, they informed a prospector named Manuel d’Souza, who quickly registered with the Government so he could begin mining what he believed were sapphires.
But it was soon discovered that these gemstones were actually a blue variety of zoisite, discovered in the early 19th century.
Very quickly, Tiffany & Co caught wind of this find and recognized that they could use it to rival other gemstones, but there was a problem with the name.
Originally called blue zoisite, Tiffany & Co bosses felt it sounded too much like “blue suicide” and would ruin their campaign before it even started.
So, they decided to rename the stone and call it tanzanite in honor of its origin in East Africa.
The popularity of this stone skyrocketed and it was titled the “gem of the 20th century”, with two million carats extracted in 1971.
Tiffany managed to make this a household name and, with such a prestigious jewelry house adopting it as its signature gemstone, it became clear how it achieved prestigious status and why it was in demand by the rich and famous.
Currently this stone can only be found in Tanzania in an area 2 km wide and 4 km long.
Therefore, it is estimated that the soil will be emptied of this mineral within a period of 10 to 25 years.
Due to its scarcity, some say tanzanite is 1,000 times rarer than diamonds, but before you rush out to buy a superyacht, sadly that doesn’t equate to its value.
Tanzanites are pleochroic, meaning that the color varies depending on the direction in which light falls.
These stones can be from a light lilac, through a soft blue, to the most sought after and, therefore, most valuable, the intense sapphire color.
I would say yours is a bluish violet, which is not the deep blue that is worth the most money, but is probably in the middle of the color spectrum for this stone.
The certificate he provided me also indicates that it weighs an impressive 15.74 carats, which will increase its value.
As it is a mixed cushion cut, opinions may be divided with some people preferring a simpler style cut.
What we should not overlook are the two diamonds in her ring that frame the tanzanite.
The documentation you provided says they are a little over half a carat each and are certified by GIA, in my opinion one of the best diamond graders in the world.
Certification has graded them D, which is the best you can get, and many diamond graders, including me, agree that color always trumps clarity when reporting stone value.
Speaking of clarity, theirs are VS1, which is a very food standard. Overall, these are stunning diamonds with great quality that will increase the value of the ring.
Finally, I need to determine the value of the ring, which I can’t say is set in 18K white gold or platinum, but I’ll hazard a guess at the latter.
As always, social popularity increases value, and right now, buyers seem to be investing more in traditional stones like diamonds.
Therefore, tanzanites are not selling for the eye-watering amounts they once were, but I think this will change in the next decade.
Considering all this, I would value your ring at between £7,000 and £9,000. If you want to sell it, the best place would be an internationally renowned auction house such as Tennants or Bonhams, although always check the auction fees and how much it will affect the price.
Exposing this ring to international buyers will create a livelier auction and hopefully secure a higher price.
However, I believe that tanzanite’s golden years are ahead. If no more mines are discovered, when the land has been exhausted of this stone, demand will naturally increase, which will also increase the value.
Of course, this is my prediction and as always does not constitute financial advice, but I will say that tanzanite has become part of my personal investment portfolio.
Send your modern treasures
Dan Hatfield: Our columnist is ready to value your modern treasure
Dan Hatfield is This Morning’s money-making expert and resident lender. It is an international specialist in antiques, jewelry, diamonds and collectibles.
Dan’s first non-fiction book, Money Maker: Unlock Your Money-Making Potential (£16.99, published by Hodder Catalyst) is available now.
This is Money’s Modern Treasures column seeking appraisals of its items and collections.
Please send as much information as possible, including photographs, to: editor@thisismoney.co.uk with the email subject: Modern treasures
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Nothing in your answers constitutes regulated financial advice. Posted questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons.
As with everything, if you are looking to sell items and collections, it is wise to get a second and third opinion, not rely solely on Dan’s suggestions.
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