The other day, my dad sent me a link to an Antiques Roadshow clip about a completely obscure object called a “Healing Necessaire”. His cousin is actually the guest on this clip, which makes it all the more fascinating to me. When he was living in Brazil many years ago, he came across this thing, and he was told it was a “Chinese game”. Doubting this highly, yet still intrigued, he bought the piece for $500. That seems like an awful lot of money to spend on an unknown object in a foreign country, if you ask me. But then again, my dad’s cousin was on the Antiques Roadshow, and I was not. So there’s that. 🙂

I had never heard of a necessaire, which is a French term for a small case to hold personal items. It turns out this item was from the late 1800’s and was made by a famous Parisian jeweler named Boucheron. This particular case was a custom made piece that held gemstones such as amethyst and crystals, and the owner used these gems in some sort of healing manner. I honestly thought that healing through stones was something straight from the ’60s, which again just proves I have a heck of a lot to learn about antiques. If only I actually paid attention (or remembered anything!!) in history class.

Anyway – the video is a short 3 and a half minutes, and is a fascinating little clip about this exquisitely beautiful item – thought you might like it. And yes, my dad’s cousin made a very wise move buying it, as they appraised it at $10,000 – $12,000!

Link: Boucheron Healing Stone Necessaire, ca. 1885 | Roadshow Archive | PBS.

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