I always watch Ebay auctions and web sites that sell Sherman jewellery … and in particular, the prices. When we published our book, we made a conscious decision not to include a price guide. We’ve enumerated our reasons for that but, in short, we felt that prices are extremely variable from bricks and mortar shops to Ebay to online web sites. We felt it was not completely ethical to value our own jewellery and besides, as collectors what we will pay for something doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what it’s worth. It does mean that we may be willing to pay a premium to add a particular piece to our collections. And as long-time Ebay users know, a final price can often only be rationalized by saying it’s what two determined bidders will pay for it.  As the owner of a lot of reference books, price guides date them very quickly.

Then there is the separate issue of what unsigned Sherman pieces should go for. Again, we’ve seen spectacular and rare pieces that were part of a set but one or two were unsigned. Their rarity means their value is still high. But for average, run of the mill Sherman, I personally wouldn’t pay as much for an unsigned piece when signed is so readily available.

I’ve noticed that prices have dropped a bit on Ebay, particularly for the cuff bracelets. At their height last year (pre-economic downturn) some went for as high as $4,000.  They do seem to have gone down to as low (well, relatively speaking) as under $1000 for a cuff in blue or clear, and as much as $2500 for a rarer colour or design.

So in the course of a year, Sherman jewellery has dropped in price like so much else. Does that mean it’s “worth” less? Was it ever worth what some people were paying for it at its height? Will it go that high – or higher – again? It’s so hard to say. As beautiful as I think the jewellery is, it is, at the end of the day, a collectible. Base metal and glass. It has no real intrinsic value, unlike a well made piece of fine jewellery.

I’ve been watching the Sherman market for over a decade and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that as soon as one motivated collector leaves the market, another one or two will take their place. They tend to pay top dollar … and move the pricing upwards. And a rare piece in good condition will always fetch top dollar. So I have a feeling this downturn in Sherman prices may be somewhat temporary. I think new buyers will continue to arrive and old ones will look to trim their collections. And the pricing cycle will continue to fluctuate.