We always talk about the stories inherent in a piece of fine jewelry, and one of Dana Kiyomura of Keyamour’s most recent acquisitions is a dramatic illustration of those stories. The “sweet little diamond and platinum Tiffany ring” she discovered has a deep and involved history that belies its small stature.
In 1918, the S.S. Carolina passenger liner, traveling from Puerto Rico to the United States, was shot down in the New Jersey waters of the Atlantic by a German U-boat. The attack was part of a coordinated effort by the Central Powers, who sunk 6 ships in a single day that later became known as “Black Sunday.” The majority of those aboard the S.S. Carolina survived, however, 8 passengers and 5 crew lost their lives when their lifeboat capsized, marking the first loss of lives in WWI due to submarine activities in the American Atlantic.
Flash forward to 1996, when commercial scuba diver John Chatterton and his lawyer asked a judge to grant an “Admiralty arrest,” which would allow Chatterton to salvage artifacts from the vessel. In an ironic twist of fate, when the judge to whom they made their request, Judge Joseph Rodriguez, heard the name of the ship, he was flabbergasted. His father had been a passenger on the ship!
Admiralty arrest granted, Chatterton, with the help of renowned wreck diver, Gary Gentile, eventually recovered the ship’s safe, which was found to contain, “…a solid gold rosary with handcrafted gold beads, a Tiffany box holding a diamond-encrusted platinum ring, a gold pin inscribed with the name ‘Edith,’ several gold watches and necklaces, a charm bracelet with a gold padlock and skeleton key, a wedding band with initials and a date etched inside and French coins from the 1700s.” That “diamond-encrusted platinum ring” is the one Dana Kiyomura recently acquired and will be on display (until its potential sale) at her booth at the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show.
This story, and the many like them that permeate the aisles of our U.S. Antique Show events, is a beautiful example of how the value of a piece cannot be determined by carat weights or ounces of platinum or gold. It is the stories jewelry can tell, that are added to with each new wearer, that adds to the real value of a piece, and showcases how our dealers aren’t simply makers of transactions, they are story tellers.
