Perhaps my best find ever... Nah... MY BEST FIND EVER!

[dejapooh]

Noodling around at a garage sale on Friday, and I saw the familiar Pail Blue Box. I pick it up, and sure enough, Tiffany & Co. Open the box and there is a key. I asked the price, and they said, "That's real Tiffany. $40" Put it in my pile, and eventually paid for that and some more stuff including Mont Blanc Promotional items.
AU750. 18Kt Gold with 46 Diamond chips.

Anyhow, That night, I showed it to my friend, and she looked it up on the Tiffany Web Site. They are still for sale, $1900.00.

I've listed it at $1700, OBO.

 

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[Oregon Viking]

Oh hell yeah!

 

[artslinger]

Gasp, and Gulp! Incredible find! Not only 18kt and diamonds, but also Tiffany? Unbelievable, but believable score! Congratulations.

 

[villagenut]

The key is to have a sharp eye at those garage sales. A door like that just doesnt open up for you every day...

 

[Sandog]

Man, aren't you glad your eyes LOCKED in on that one!

 

[Sandog]

The key is to have a sharp eye at those garage sales. A door like that just doesnt open up for you every day...

I think you beat me with the puns.

 

[Lenrac2]

Major score!! Congrats!!

 

[dejapooh]

Man, aren't you glad your eyes LOCKED in on that one!

I'm just glad that was my first sale on Friday.

 

[ARC]

Unfortunately for your find... I am "that guy"...
You should test this... For IMO this is one of the millions of "copies"... and not real.
I say this simply for 3 main obvious reasons.

#1... stone settings.
#2. Tiffany marking is incorrect.
#3. Overall look and quality is not there.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but dont feel bad... It is WAY more common to find a fake piece of Tiffany than a real one... In fact 99% of the time it will be a fake.
And all of us that have been in this for any length of time have run across a ton of this stuff.

Here is a link to the backside of what your key HALLMARK SHOULD look like if it were real.

Tiffany Keys Crown Key in Rose Gold with Diamonds, 1.5

www.tiffany.com

 

[pepperj]

Seriously get it tested and authenticated as it doesn't quite fit as being the real deal.

The "N" on yours doesn't match as in the down stroke on the right hand side doesn't meet at the bottom.
The 2 "FF" slope up, the "A" dips below the N also the "C" is crocked and is the same size as the "O" it should be a capital "Co"

Another example of a key
Notice the clean block lettering compared to your key lettering.
Note Tiffany & Co. will does not falter on the trade mark name in anyway.

 

[ARC]

The "AU" vs "Au" is another flag.

 

[Sandog]

Well, if that's a counterfeit it's just a shame (and a crime). Wonder if the seller was the bad guy, or also a victim. At that listed price ARC provided you would think your seller maybe would have known the real value, but was counting on the odds that others would not.

 

[ARC]

Well, if that's a counterfeit it's just a shame (and a crime). Wonder if the seller was the bad guy, or also a victim. At that listed price ARC provided you would think your seller maybe would have known the real value, but was counting on the odds that others would not.

I personally have seen 100's of fake Tiffany items.
99% of the time I see something "Tiffany" it is a fake.

Everything is faked... everything from laundry detergent to Rolex's and definitely everything in-between.

Sad I know.

 

[GoDeep]

Wonder if the seller was the bad guy, or also a victim.

I'd say the seller is the "bad guy" as he pointed out it was "Tiffany". Now, if you're smart enough to point out that it's a "Tiffany", it means you know "Tiffany " is valuable, and thus you'd be smart enough to know an authentic one is real gold and diamonds so you wouldn't be selling it for $40.00...

 

[ARC]

I'd say the seller is the "bad guy" as he pointed out it was "Tiffany". Now, if you're smart enough to point out that it's a "Tiffany", it means you know "Tiffany " is valuable, and thus you'd be smart enough to know an authentic one is real gold and diamonds so you wouldn't be selling it for $40.00...

Very true.... there is the remote possibility the owner was also "duped"... and had no real idea... perhaps because they also paid very little for it not really knowing the real deal and its real value / cost.

but it would be a long stretch.

 

[old texan]

I personally have seen 100's of fake Tiffany items.
99% of the time I see something "Tiffany" it is a fake.

Everything is faked... everything from laundry detergent to Rolex's and definitely everything in-between.

Sad I know.

if I got stranded on an island it would be called "Gullible's Island"

 

[artslinger]

Let me say it for all of us F**K!

 

[Emil W]

Unfortunately, I agree it's fake. I've bought and sold numerous Tiffany items over the past couple decades since I'm heavily involved in a local auction (and my wife is the manager of the auction house's jewelry department) I see quite a few real and fake pieces. As ARC said, 99% of pieces marked Tiffany are fake.

But it reminds me of what one of the experts at Sotheby's told me many years ago about collecting 18th century porcelain: As a collector, if you haven't bought a few fakes from time to time, you're not trying hard enough.

 

[WoodnHead]

Not to add too much to the 'not real Tiffany' drumbeat, but the writing on the pieces on the Tiffany website is a serif font. The writing on your piece is a sans serif font.

 

[dejapooh]

Well, I have pictures in with an authenticator. I'll post the results. If fake, ill do a test for gold. If it is gold, at least I'll get my money back.