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GUEST: I collected things, 
always, from when I was 
very young, because my 
mother was, collected

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things. And then I started 
to get older, and I fell 
in love with Modernism.

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APPRAISER: I don't think Claire 
Falkenstein is that well-known 
to a large jewelry audience

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because she really was known 
for sculpture. The most famous 
sculpture she made was for

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Guggenheim, "The New Gates 
of Paradise" in Venice.

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GUEST: Yes, yeah.

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APPRAISER: And did not use 
expensive materials, and 
that was really because 
she didn't, couldn't

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in the beginning, but then 
she continued to use wood and 
glass and iron and silver and

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very rarely used gold. And 
what you brought are two quite 
rare pieces. I have actually

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never seen a pair of 
her earrings. I mean, 
it was not a big body 
of work. But this piece,

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this is very unusual. I 
imagine it was worn as a head 
ornament, probably in a bun, and

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then you'd put these in the 
back and they would dangle. 
There's brass, there's iron,

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there's silver and gold, 
and also, it's signed. 
Her full name, Claire 
Falkenstein. Where did

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you get this?

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GUEST: The hair ornament I 
bought online. It came from 
Paris. It was about 20 years

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ago. It was at an auction thing, 
and it didn't sell, and in 
those days, you could contact

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the owner.

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APPRAISER: And buy it.

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GUEST: Which I did, and she 
said, "Nobody bid on it. If 
you want, you can have it for

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$50." The earrings I bought when 
we were living in Milwaukee at 
a church thrift shop. I paid

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probably like two, three 
dollars. I'm thinking 
this was made in the '60s.

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APPRAISER: That could 
be in the '60s...

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GUEST: But that's, 
that's what I'm thinking.

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APPRAISER: And the earrings 
were probably late '40s.

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GUEST: Yeah.

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APPRAISER: I am hard-pressed 
to put a value. It's 
not for everyone, it's 
not that wearable,

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but if you want to be 
avant-garde and cool, 
hey, that says it all. 
On this head ornament,

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I would put a value, at auction, 
$4,000 to $6,000. And I would 
say as an insurance value,

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probably in the $15,000 range, 
at least. And the earrings I 
would also put up there, maybe

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$4,000 to $5,000 as an auction 
price, and a replacement, I'd 
have to say $10,000, $12,000.

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I think people will all 
of a sudden say, "Claire 
Falkenstein-- who was she?"