"You say you bought that at a pawn shop?" Ellie asked to Anastasia as the two walked along.
To the outside observer, it would be a bit odd to see a Russian Wolfhound Animalian and a White Rhinoceros Animalian walking together as though they were the best of friends. There would also be some surprise to people when they found out that Ellie was Russian, herself. Of course, that was likely just some element of stereotyping that went on for many people. Most people would assume that Humans that converted to become Rhinoceros Animalians would either be Americans who lived near major zoos or those who were from Africa and potentially had to deal with wild Rhinoceroses running around. But Ellie had always loved the animal and thus her reasoning when she converted. Anastasia was a bit more expected to be Russian, given that the breeders' paperwork had seemed to connect her to hounds owned by the Romanovs.
"Yes... it was very pretty," Anastasia commented with a nod, "and I can't believe I was only able to get it for twenty five dollars."
"It certainly looks like it would be worth more than that," Ellie commented, "I'm no expert on jewels or jewelry... but... that looks like it's worth more than twenty five American dollars."
"I am no expert, either," Anastasia commented, "most of my experience before I was uplifted was as a show dog..."
Her comment was then paused as the they cam to an open area with a few power boxes with one large cement stairway that went down. There were heavy doors that protected that stairway from outside weather conditions. Beside it was a large billboard that read: Animalia Burrow's District. That got both of them a bit more curious, as while much of the Burrows were underground apartments for the Animalians that lived underground before their uplifting, there had been a small museum established that was set up to allow for some measure of education on Earth's geology, primarily for Animalians, but it was there for all involved. Anastasia had seen a few pamphlets that made the indication that some Human geology experts had even moved to Lyre to work at and with the museum.
"Maybe the geology museum could help," Anastasia commented.
"It couldn't hurt," Ellie agreed.
The two made their way in and went into the geology museum that was at the "top" level of the burrows underground complex. It wasn't big, largely due to the fact that much of the material that had been recovered there was either Gold, a metal. Many of the gemstones that were brought there for display came from other places to provide an education on how Earth's geology varied from place to place. Much of what was available in Animalia was often volcanic in nature and related to things like the thermal hot springs and other locations that Animalians liked, particularly in winter. As they came in, they found one Human worker seated at a desk looking some of the things that had been donated through a sort of microscope while holding up a colored stone in gloved hands.
"Um... excuse me," Anastasia spoke up as she an Ellie approached the counter, which half startled the man. Thankfully his jump didn't lead to the gem he was examining going flying. As he recovered, Anastasia lowered her ears for a moment, "Sorry."
"Can I help you two?" the man wondered as he set his tool and the gem he'd been examining down on the counter while listening to the hum of the electric lights.
Anastasia lifted up the plastic bag that held the jewels she'd bought at the Lyre Pawn Shop and then carefully lifted out the jewels themselves. She'd purchased them because they looked pretty and might do well for a party, which with Halloween not too far away would make for a good costume piece. What surprised her was that the man's eyes seemed to widen as she lifted the jewels and placed them on the counter.
"Where did you get this?" the man asked curiously as he looked over the material.
"At the local pawn shop," Anastasia answered, "and it only cost twenty five dollars."
The man whistled at that.
"I thought it might be worth more than that," Ellie added in.
The man took a closer look at it, and lifting the hand-held microscope to get a closer look at the item that Anastasia produced. The two Animalians watched as he ran a few preliminary tests and looked the item over. He looked at the gems and also looked at the metal frames that some were attached to, and both Ellie and Anastasia heard a few "hmms" come from the man as he looked them over. Eventually he set a piece down and looked to his visitors.
"Well...from the gems themselves... I think they are actual topaz and diamonds... though from an older style for their cut," the man spoke, "that may be why the pawn dealer sold them to you for twenty five dollars. He likely thought they were knock-offs and thus cut the price."
"And older cut?" Ellie asked.
"Not all gems are cut the same way," the man answered, "and in some cases the cuts change with time and the progression of working with various gemstones. This can be seen particularly with things like diamonds which can be hard to cut because of how hard diamonds are. As technology has improved and cutting the stone has become easier... the more complicated the cuts have become. From the way they are cut... I would think the style would date back to the 1800s... possibly mid 1800s. And while I might need some more time for real tests to confirm it... I'm pretty sure that the gems are real and are valuable."
"So... more than twenty five dollars?" Anastasia asked.
"Well more," the man answered, "though there are some other things that could raise it more..."
"More?" both Anastasia and Ellie wondered.
"Some of the metal pieces that are designed to hold the gems together look like they have the Russian Imperial Eagle carved on them," the man answered, "I might need to consult with an historian on the iconography used..."
"A pawn dealer had something from the Romanovs?" Anastasia asked and looked up to Ellie.
"Potentially... though given that you got it from a pawn shop, unless you find out how the pawn shop got it and get some letter of authenticity... it's more likely that what you have is an expensive replica of what Alexander II would have given his wife to wear in the 1860s."
"Replica?" Anastasia asked.
"A copy," the man explained, "it's made to look like something that the Russian monarchy would have had. Which would mean that the jeweler who made it was very well skilled and the commissioner had to have plenty of money to commission a copy made."
"What if it was from Russia?" Ellie wondered, "Something that actually was from Alexander II?"
"It would be more his wife than Alexander II, himself," the man spoke, "and if it is real... that might increase its value, but unless you have documentation... not many will believe it. I could call some folks that are better with history than I am, but their end answer would be the same... They may confirm that the style will match designs from that period in Russian history, but without credible documentation that says this was in the possession of the Tsar's wife... it'll still be considered a replica. Its worth will be more to the gems themselves than anything else."