Whats It Worth

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JEFF HESS Owner & WHAT’S IT Appraiser WORTH? IS IT AN EYE ... OR A STAR? PRECIOUS OR NOT? “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The eye is in the The smaller stone in Fig. 3, however, possesses a very well- beholder ... right? defined eye and beautiful coloration that varies from green to brown to white. However, it is impossible to fully capture the This old adage is particularly true with gemstones.ones. When folks bring in antique (or modern) rings to sell, therethere incrediblyin defined eye of this stone, or its mesmerizing chatoy- seems to be some confusion between a star ancyan . Set in a platinum mounting, the stone is about 15 carats in sapphire, a cat’s eye and a tiger’s eye. 2.. size, and the piece includes two large side diamonds. Fur- Let’s start with tiger’s eye. Tiger’s eye (Fig. 1) thermore, it is signed by one is a cool stone that is basically quartz – 1. of the most famous makers cryptocrystalline quartz Hawk’s eye quartz:tz: vavaluelue of art deco jewelry, Raymond to be exact. While not minimal. Yard. Its retail value is north worthless, it is inexpensive of $35,000. Wholesale or in the marketplace and fair market value is close to for the most part has only $18,000. minimal value, often just a few dollars over the gold Please note that chatoyan- 3. weight of its setting. cy also shows up in tourma- lines and other gems (and is much less sought Cat’s eye is a whole different kettle of after), but does have value. fish. When made of chrysoberyl, cat’s eye can exhibit a range of colors, and Star sapphires or star rubies can also be has a well-defined “eye” that seems to extremely expensive. The larger and clearer, and blink at you when you view the stone the deeper the color of the stone, the higher the at different angles (called chatoyancy, value. As with cat’s eye, a more well-defined star which literally means resembling the will increase value. A huge purple star sapphire eye of a cat). Color often plays into valuation. Note that the (often called plum star sapphire) has very little value. But a fine 55-carat cat’s eye chrysoberyl (Fig. 2) is very brown with a not- 10-carat, unheated (most sapphires and rubies are heated to well-defined eye, and even though the stone is quite sizable, bring out color) star ruby from Kashmir can bring hundreds of it is only worth about $2,000 to $5,000 at fair market value. thousands of dollars. Smaller stones from Ceylon, and heated (Much more for insurance or retail value.) stones, can bring $100-$200.

If you have a star sapphire or ruby, or cat’s eye with chatoyancy, let us bid on it. We will meet you at your home, bank or attorney’s office, or you can make an appointment or stop by. OLD NORTHEAST JEWELERS FINE JEWELRY & WATCHES | BUYING & SELLING SINCE 1984

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