Things that I have learned in class

The four D’s of appraisal: Death, Debt, Divorce and Disaster

Markets markets markets markets…analyze them. Appropriate markets are good.

Gold is measured in Karats, while stones are measured in Carats.

If you can’t do the conversions on units of gold, you will most likely get ripped-off. (pennyweight is abbreviated ‘dwt’) 20 dwt=1 oz of Troy gold=31g Troy oz. are different than the oz that you use to measure weed.

Paul Revere was a silversmith, and one could retire on a single piece of his work if sold at auction. Copley painted a portrait of Revere (pictured above) that strangely resembles our modern-day hero, Jack Black. How did I not know this already?! I love Jack Black. VERY Awesome.

Jewelry made by Van Cleef and Arpels has invisible settings. These are hand made over a period of two years. These are well into the millions to replace is lost, stolen or damaged. Even if your jewelry’s value is not even remotely comparable to this kind of jewelry (even like, say, tiffany & co. is more affordable) get it insured.

The company for which Minnie works, GE, created the first synthetic diamonds in the 1950’s. They are so hard to make that they are just as, if not more, expensive than real diamonds dug from the earth.

When you buy something from an auction house, buyer beware. They are only responsible for the first line of the object description listed in the catalog, usually the title printed in bold. Dealers in galleries stand behind the authenticity of the items that they sell.

Stones are never dug from the earth the same color that they have when they are in the cases in the jewelry stores. Even when they are cut and polished, most are pretty ugly before they are oiled and treated. Most gemstones are heat treated. Some are treated with radiation. Blue topaz is radioactive. At the turn of the 20th century, diamonds were laid on radium salt to turn them green like the incredible Hulk. Some gemstones are highly radioactive, and there have even been reported cases of radium poisoning caused by wearing big bangin’ radioactive gemstones.

For 30 K, you can have your ashes made into a diamond to give to a loved one. So, someone could one day wear what used to be your body on their finger in a platinum setting.

Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver. The remaining portion is copper. The higher the silver content, the easier it will melt. On the planet earth, the silver to gold ration is 16:1.

Okay, so here goes the most bizarre bit of info that I’ve oddly retained from my fine art appraisal class (this story is totally true, told to me by the person who was responsible for putting the pieces back together):
Before 9/11, there sat at the base of the WTC a massive (seriously, 50 ft. in diameter probably) bronze contemporary sculpture. It was a hollow bronze globe that sat upon a tall platform (think a golf ball on a tee, but absolutely huge). Before 9/11, it was appraised for roughly 20 M USD. The value changed drastically with the terrorist attacks. Here’s why: When the planes crashed into the twin towers, the combustion caused by the jet fuel created these fire balls that rained down into the streets. Several of these fire balls fell down upon the bronze sculpture at very high temperatures, bringing with them debris from the airplane. These balls were so hot that they melted through the bronze sculpture, creating jagged holes that opened up the sphere in random places. The debris, that was found teetering on the edges of the holes and on the inside of the sculpture, included human remains, luggage, an airplane seat and GET THIS: an OPEN BIBLE. (Isn’t that fucked up?! Gives me chills.) With all of these new features that symbolized one of our nation’s greatest tragedies, the sculpture’s value drastically increased to nearly 200 M USD. However, because of the human remains scattered on, around and inside of the sculpture, all of the debris had to be removed for health concerns. Today, the sculpture (still full of holes) sits in a city park, and has significantly depreciated in value, now worth only 2 M USD. I will try to go see it in person, and post some pictures so you can see it as it stands today.