Dreicer & Co. was a prominent Philadelphia jeweler in the 1800s to 1900s that was renowned for their unusual, luxurious and refined designs. Their use of black opals set in platinum and adorned with diamonds, stood out as a hallmark of both the Edwardian (1901 – 1910) and Art Deco (1920-1935) eras.
Dreicer embraced both eras, often using platinum in their jewelry. But the most dramatic and unheralded is their use of black opals. Opals bring forth a play of color creating a striking contrast with the brilliance of diamonds.
Dreicer’s masterful use of black opals in platinum and diamond jewelry made their pieces both fashionable and highly sought after.
Value? I initially offered to a Philadelphia jeweler $3,000–$5,000 because it is a Dreicer piece and the play of color is outstanding. But upon arrival I had the distasteful job of reneging on my high offer.
Even though it was cute, with a clever system on back to convert from a pendant to a brooch (a nice surprise), the opal had “crazing.” (They look like lines or cracks, are usually surface only but not able to be polished out.) Crazed opals bring much less in the marketplace and this VERY soft gemstone often suffers from it. So we purchased it for $1,500; still a gamble, but we couldn’t resist. Retail appraised value if not crazed is $8,000 to $12,000, with a fair market value of around $4,000. Retail value with the crazing? Maybe $2,500 at best.
We love opals and we LOVE anything made of platinum so please visit us if you have something!
Typically, any gemstone set in platinum will be worth more than one set in gold, especially antique pieces.
ALWAYS BUYING rare and valuable jewelry.
We make house calls nationwide. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
