Sometimes passion outbids logic, and this ring checked every box imaginable.
First, there was the diamond: a magnificent 2.60-carat Old European Cut. Regular readers know my fondness for mine-cut stones. They possess warmth and charm. Second, the mounting was signed Tiffany & Co., the revered American jewelry icon. And third, it came with provenance.
A Maryland family owned the ring and carefully preserved its history and retained the original Tiffany & Co. appraisal documents. Those original papers accompanied the piece.
The originality of this signed Tiffany piece confirmed its existence in Tiffany’s records.
A Boston jeweler offered the ring for sale on behalf of the family, and interest was immediate. Several estate jewelers bid aggressively against one another with our company beating out two New York City bidders.
Sometimes our passion collides with reality. The most recent Tiffany appraisal placed the retail replacement value at $46,000. As many readers know, retail values are not market values or wholesale values or fair market values. Depending on the venue and buyer, $15,000 might be considered perfectly reasonable.
We paid $26,000. On paper, that doesn’t sound like the world’s greatest business decision, since a similar stone could be sourced for $12,000. But not signed Tiffany, and without provenance.
My affection for Tiffany, appreciation for Old Cut diamonds, and respect for documented provenance combined to push us beyond my comfort zone. Often logic whispers. But passion shouts.
Fortunately, there is still a path to profitability. With our auction platform and reputation among Tiffany collectors nationwide, we are optimistic that it may bring $30,000 or more.
Then again, it may not. A reality of the secondary market is that occasionally you fall in love and pay accordingly. It happens to the best of us. And if the ring fails to achieve the price we hope for? It will still have been a pleasure to have owned it.
I even offered it to Katrina for her personal collection and wasn’t surprised she declined without hesitation. Her view was simple: the ring has already had a remarkable journey through 150 years and it deserves to continue that journey. So for now, we will enjoy being temporary caretakers.
In a future column, we’ll let you know whether passion proved profitable or whether this became yet another example of collectors doing what collectors have always done: buying with their hearts and hoping their heads eventually catch up.
Because sometimes we buy with our hearts and not our heads.
