Carved angelskin & 14k necklace, help?

[kali_is_my_copilot]

Picked this up for $35, I know it was a good buy but I'm not sure exactly how good because I'm having trouble finding consistent pricing information on pieces like this. The clasp is about 1/2" wide and the beads are 6mm (they appear hand-worked), it weighs ~45 grams and it is in insanely good condition. Before it arrived I thought it was larger because similar necklaces have 3/4"-1" clasps (this was listed as having a 3/4" clasp) and 8-10 mm beads, so I had already found a bunch of similar pieces and had some idea of what to price it at but now I'm not sure.

Tomorrow I'm taking it to a local jeweler that specializes in antique/estate jewelry recommended by one of my metals guys, they sounded very interested in seeing it. I was going to start it at $500 BIN and see what kind of attention that got, I have no idea what the pricing would be like for b&m retail but I'm guessing higher. I'm planning on just asking at the jeweler's what they would retail something like that at and go from there, wanted to see what the great minds of TN thought about it first.

 

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[mugsisme]

My "mentor" and friend gets these all the time. You can write to her, and send her your pictures.
I don't know if I am allowed to post a link to her auctions. Her user name is Qboy2, and she has one up right now, item number 271760750726. Hers is listed for $200, and it's a gold filled clasp. If you write to her, tell her you know me from here. (You can use my name, Leah.)
It's an awesome find. Like I said, she has gotten insane prices for them. You should also try to date it. If it is Victorian or something like that, it gets much more money.

 

[dumpsterdiver]

So after some brief googling, is it coral, or shell, some other kind of cameo? I'm so confused.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

The beads & the clasp are coral, angelskin refers to the pink color (as opposed to, say, oxblood coral which is dark red). And yes coral is a popular material for cameos, especially angelskin coral.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

Thanks mugs I sent her a msg. I know what you mean about crazy prices! When I first found this listed I didn't know what it was but the clasp is really nice so I figured I could at the very least sell that on its own and make my money back. Then I started doing some googling and once I knew what it was I was pretty happy with the purchase

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

Went ahead and listed it @ $500 BIN. I took it to a jeweler I've been meaning to go to for a while now, they couldn't offer me as much but agreed that it seemed like a reasonable place to start. I also made a point of mentioning to them how nice it was to visit a jeweler and be treated like I knew what I was talking about, which is a quality lacking in many others I've tried. Apparently this is *the* jeweler in town for high-end vintage & antique jewelry (funny how I had to go to a place that is actually out of my price range to find that, when I've been treated like crap at places full of cheaply-made generic jewelry I could actually afford). They're definitely my new go-to.

 

[diggummup]

That's a nice piece. I was gonna say that with yours having smaller 6mm beads, I think $500 would be a good start price. I've seen a few larger ones listed for $1200 and more.