Yes, Pawn Stars’ Rick Really Paid More Than Asking For The Item (What Was It Worth?)

A Fabergé spider brooch appears in an episode of Pawn Stars, and Rick Harrison did the unthinkable — pay more than the customer was asking for. The History Channel reality series Pawn Stars is at its best and most fascinating when the customer approaching Rick has a much different appraisal of their wares than what they’re worth in reality. Sadly, Pawn Stars frequently features devastated sellers who learn their treasured family heirloom is not much more than a pile of junk that’s been collecting dust on their shelves. While Pawn Stars isn’t meant to be tragic, it can get there.

There’s a lot of second-hand cringe watching Rick try to dance around the real value of someone’s prized possession. Conversely, seeing someone angrily insist that what they’ve brought in is valuable while Rick smirks is excellent television. What rarely happens on Pawn Stars, however, is that someone innocently brings in an item expecting to get not much for it, only for Rick to realize they do, in fact, have a genuinely priceless heirloom. That’s a concept that’s more at home on Antiques Road Show. The Fabergé spider brooch was one item that Rick could not believe was in his store.

Rick Paid $15,000 For The Fabergé Spider Brooch On Pawn Stars

In season 3, episode 4, “Getting a Head”, a woman named Peggy walks into the store carrying what she believes is a minorly valuable brooch in the shape of a black widow spider with an onyx gem embedded, left to her by her grandmother. Rick quickly realizes it’s made by Fabergé, the designer of the famed eggs. Peggy thought she could maybe get $2000 for the brooch. Though he easily could have made a steal, Rick makes it clear he’s a man with a conscience, and he offers $15,000, saying that’s more than fair. After a minor struggle, Peggy agrees.

Rick Could Have Gotten Between $22,000-$150,000 For The Fabergé Spider Brooch

It’s unknown if Rick Harrison sold the spider brooch; if he did, no one knows how much he got for it, but it’s possible that he made a nice return. According to Trendola Jewelry, a Fabergé spider brooch could go for $80,000-$150,000. Oddly, a similar sale happened on the BBC Antique Roadshow that suggests a different price for the brooch. In the episode, a woman arrives with a heart-shaped Fabergé brooch that turns out to be worth 8000 pounds in 2002. Converted to U.S. dollars and adjusted for inflation, that’s roughly $22,000.

Considering the heart-shaped brooch is smaller than the spider one, Rick’s is likely more valuable. However, the Fabergé spider brooch’s worth is calculated, it’s likely Rick made his money back and then some. With Rick’s abilities to flip items on Pawn Stars and his great eye for items that may be more valuable than a seller anticipates, Rick’s quick recall with the Fabergé brooch likely led him to a small fortune.

The Fabergé Spider Brooch Authenticity Confusion Explained

Interestingly, a coincidentally timed article created a wave of confusion surrounding the Fabergé spider brooch. A day after the brooch episode, an unrelated Time article was released from Fabergé spokeswoman Tatiana Zherebkina stating that online rumors that Fabergé would be making spider brooches were unfounded. All that means is the company will not be making that product in the future. However, fans conflated that with the Pawn Stars episode and assumed the brooch was fake.

Admittedly, it’s a coincidence that the article came out around the same time as the Pawn Stars episode, but there’s probably a simple reason for that — the internet got into a tizzy about spider brooches. Peggy from the episode heard the rumors, remembered she had a spider brooch, and decided to see what it was worth. At the same time, Fabergé heard the rumors and put out a press release denying them. The Fabergé spider brooch is real, but the company is not making them anymore.