The woman holds the little cross carefully, admiring its beauty. As her fingers gently stroke the rose-cut diamonds, she thinks about the implications of the purchase. Possibly she considers the balance in her checkbook and the gentle teasing of her husband, who may not understand her passion for old jewelry. And she may be thinking about her own distant but inevitable demise, for each time she acquires a new piece for her collection, she is adding to her daughter's inheritance.

One image is, perhaps, more powerful than any other. The woman tries the pendant on, admiring how it looks against the hollows of her own throat. This seems to be the thought that compels her to action. She pulls her checkbook from her purse and says excitedly, "I'll take it!"

The Appraiser

Behind the glass counter, Brigette Franklin rings up the sale. She has an intimate familiarity with the little pendant. "It used to be one of my favorites," she tells the woman. "I wore it for years, till my husband got me this." Franklin touches her own pendant, an exquisite platinum cross.

"I've been in the antiques and retail business all my adult life, and have worked with antiques since I was in my teens," she says. Her first love, as a collector, was antique and estate jewelry. Most of the pieces in the case come from her own collection.

Franklin and her husband David got their start as wholesalers, selling to dealers. "Then we got more comfortable doing retail," she says. The Franklins specialized in Brigette's beloved jewelry and David's vintage toys: pedal vehicles and tin wind-ups from the early 20th century.

Then, tragedy struck. "Our home burned 6 years ago, and we lost everything," Franklin says. "It took me a year and a half to visualize everything I had in my house. I didn't have an adequate appraisal."

A year later, Franklin began apprenticing as an appraiser, learning how to research and document the value of antiques and collectibles. "I've done over 300 appraisals since I first started," she says, "for divorces, estate liquidation, collections, and people who simply want to know what they have."

Currently, Franklin says, anybody in South Carolina can perform an appraisal, regardless of their credentials, but legislation will require certification within the next few years. The coming change compelled Franklin to earn certification earlier this year, from the Institute of Appraisal of Personal Property in Pennsylvania. She is now investigating the process of obtaining accreditation from the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and the International Society of Appraisers (ISA).

Generally, Franklin charges $65 per hour for household appraisals, $75 if digital photos are requested. Appraisals are especially important for collectors who invest heavily in their acquisitions. "This is a hurricane-prone area. And it's hard to remember everything in every room of your house," says Franklin, with the voice of experience. "If you have a fair market value or insurance appraisal done, it's money well spent."

The Collectors

The compulsion to acquire can be very strong. "I think most people collect something," says antique dealer Dick Welshans. "If you've got more than 3 of one thing, you're a collector." Born and raised in Ohio, Welshans moved to South Carolina two decades ago to work as a purchasing agent. As a child, Welshans was surrounded by antiques in his family home. He found a new passion for collecting when he married his wife, a gourmet caterer who had loved antiques all her life.

The couple began to build a collection together. Their most lucrative acquisition came shortly after they began collecting Roseville pottery. "We were in a little flea market in North Carolina," says Dick Welshans. "We found two unmarked morning glory wall pockets. I paid $18 for the pair, and we sold them at auction for $1,200."

Eventually, the Welshans faced a problem familiar to many collectors. "You start collecting, you start running out of room," remembers Polly Welshans. In 1995, the Welshans entered the antiques industry as dealers, offering selected items from their collection in antique malls in Conway and Myrtle Beach.

But their collection would soon grow exponentially. "Dick's parents died a few years ago, and they had a 3-story home full of family antiques. There was no way we could keep everything," says Polly Welshans. "We ran out of room – at the house, at the mall, and in storage." Numerous pieces were distributed to their daughters, and the couple kept many in their own home, including some historical items that had been in the Welshans family for over 6 generations. But there simply wasn't enough space for it all.

The Dealers

"We met Dick and Polly years ago, when they had a tag sale with Depression glass and other things," says Brigette Franklin. Several weeks later, Franklin and Polly Welshans found themselves at the same estate sale. "We both headed towards the same piece – a Kittinger fall-front desk," Franklin remembers. Welshans purchased the desk, but had no way to transport it. She asked her new friend Franklin, who drove a station wagon, if she would be willing to give the antique a ride home.

The two couples became close friends, and began to discuss the possibility of opening their own antiques store. They liked the idea of retaining control over the quality and arrangement of their merchandise, and they were excited about being able to share the history of their cherished collections directly with their customers, something that couldn't be done in consignment arrangements. Their shop, Cobblestone Cottage at Wachesaw Row, opened in Murrell's Inlet on January 2 of this year.

"The biggest challenge is the hunt," Welshans says without hesitation. "It catches you every time: looking for extraordinary and one-of-a-kind pieces that customers don't see every day." The team even provides a personal shopper service, never leaving for an estate sale without lists of items sought by their clients. "We go out of state to find merchandise – all the way to Maine, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania," she says.

The Business

New antique malls and dealerships are springing up all over the Grand Strand, but the Cobbletone Cottage team isn't worried. "They bring antique hunters to this area," explains Polly Welshans. "The more [competition] we've got, the better we like it!"

The trend towards co-op sales and rented space has settled even in long-established shops. But Welshans and her team are selective about accepting consigned merchandise. "Things that are rare or unusual, we're glad to put on consignment," she says. "We're very particular. We have the advantage of the partnership. One couple goes hunting while the other stays with the shop."

About 10% of their merchandise is consigned; the rest is from their private collections. A 25% consignment fee is charged for pieces sold in the shop. "The first of the year we'll probably go up to about 30%, but on the Beach it's up to 45% in some areas. So we're still at the low end."

Brigette Franklin concurs, and adds that the antiques industry rarely makes dealers rich. "You have to love this business to stay in it. It's not a high-profit industry, if you buy and sell with a conscience. If you end up with a 20% margin, you're doing well."

In the business of antiques and collectibles, a dealer's knowledge of the merchandise can drive success or compel failure. Welshans and her team make an effort to investigate every item they sell. Whenever possible, a brief summary of an item's history is included on its tag.

"We guarantee that what we sell is what we say it is. This is a big transit town. So what if our customers are going back to Canada? That doesn't make a difference. We want them to send their friends here, and come back themselves."

The Trends

The television program is familiar to most people. A man shows his grandma's pickle fork to an appraiser, who tells him it could fetch thousands of dollars at auction.

"[Those shows] have made people more aware of the antique business, but they've also given people a false sense of the value of their own pieces," Polly Welshans comments.

Brigette Franklin agrees. As an appraiser, she has seen many casual collectors whose high expectations for their treasures prove unfounded. "Sometimes the [television] appraisals don't ring true. Many times they're quoting insurance replacement or high end retail – they're not always quoting market value."

Regional differences can strongly affect the value of an item. "A Virginia cupboard will bring a better price in the South than it would on the West Coast," she explains.

Franklin notes the emergence of another trend she finds disturbing. "People are doing appraisal services on the Internet now, using photos. Some are certified, but some are not." The appraisal sites charge a fee and provide a short, non-binding evaluation – a "quick and easy way for people to learn about… the value of what they own," according to one site.

The team embraces another trend: Internet auctions. "They have helped us get exposure for the rarer pieces customers bring in," says Polly Welshans.

"We had an 1890 steamer trunk in immaculate condition," Dick Welshans recounts. "It could have been in the shop for 5 years, and never sold." The trunk was offered on eBay. Over 150 people looked at the photos; 25 of them bid. "We got our reserve [a hidden minimum price that a seller is willing to accept for an item], and sold it to a buyer in Colorado."

The Beginners

The industry defines an antique as an item that is at least 100 years old, and collected due to rarity, condition, utility, or some other unique feature. A collectible is an item whose value originally revolved around its utility or aesthetic attributes, but has since been enhanced by widespread interest.

New collectors should be careful, regardless of the age and pedigree of the objects of their desire. Welshans offers some advice to those interested in starting their own collections. "Do your research! Most antique collectibles today are reproduced. If you don't know what you're doing, you can get stung."

Dick Welshans produces a long list of references; some are devoted entirely to obscurities like glass toothpick holders. "If you want to add to your collection, buy a couple of books and learn." Books about collectibles can be found at specialty bookstores, on the Web, and at many antique malls.

Polly Welshans has one last bit of advice. She still has the first antique she ever bought, a bachelor's dresser from the governor's mansion in North Carolina. "It was black when I got it 40 years ago. It took weeks to strip it. When I was done, it was a gorgeous golden oak - but it lost a lot of its value. If I had it to do again, I wouldn't have touched it."

The Refinisher

A professional refinisher for the past 8 years, Shawn Snyder of Antique Revivers in Myrtle Beach learned his trade from experts in Maryland, where he grew up.

"When I first started, I worked for a very good refinishing place. I was like a sponge, soaking up everything I could. There's nothing better than hands-on experience. Then I had the chance to move to Myrtle Beach."

A champion fiddle and banjo player, Snyder came to this area to perform at the Myrtle Beach Opry. He started doing some refinishing on the side, and decided to pursue it full-time when the Opry closed. He still plays and teaches music when he can.

Most of Snyder's work is in antique furniture. "I refinish a lot of mahogany, and oak from the turn of the century. I also work on new furniture damaged in fire and floods."

In his small shop, Snyder is surrounded by the tools of his trade: lacquers, dye stains, paint removers, clamps, scroll saws. He sympathizes with Polly Welshans' experience with her bachelor's dresser. "You can depreciate furniture if you refinish it, because some of the original finish is desirable."

"A refinisher has to be totally honest," he continues. "If a piece came in that was really special, I'd tell a client not to refinish it. That's when restoration comes in." He points to a humble chair, painted in robin's-egg-blue. "That's the original paint. It's a Windsor Sheraton chair from the early 1800s, in fairly nice condition. I'd clean it up and leave it alone."

Refinishing entails stripping off the old finish; restoration is rejuvenating the existing finish. "Often something can be buffed out, and a new coat applied over the existing finish to brighten it up. Mild chemicals allow you to pull out dirt and grime." Pieces whose value won't be impacted should be refinished, says Snyder. "It's just as easy, and you get a better looking piece."

Snyder works on an average of 7 pieces each week. Usually, he charges by the project. "A chest of drawers, depending on the damage, could run from $200 to $300," he says. He says nothing has ever been returned to his shop by a dissatisfied customer. "I don't take a job if it requires something I wouldn't be capable of doing, because you're talking about antiques."

Though Snyder's relationships with the antiques in his shop are short-lived, they are intimate. "When I am working on a piece, I find it talks to me," he smiles. Sometimes the secrets of a piece emerge only when it is stripped of its layers. "Most surprises come from painted pieces, because you can't see what's underneath. Sometimes there's a different type of wood on one leg. The factory might have run out of wood, so they just finished with what they had. That makes a piece unique."

The Objects of Desire

Ask any collector about the things he covets most; it is sometimes like watching the burner on an electric stove heat up and begin to glow. Avid collectors tend to speak of their possessions with great passion, and sometimes with nostalgia.

Polly Welshans has taken a fancy to samplers and other needle work, and the Welshans continue to acquire porcelain. "We're big collectors of Moorcroft pottery, and we have a collection in our home that we're very proud of."

"There's an absolutely beautiful French table upstairs that came from my house," says Brigette Franklin, who finds it impossible to choose her favorite piece. "That 19th century tilt top table is one of the most unusual. It's a solid piece of black walnut that floated down Lake Erie. And we have an Alamance County sampler done by an 11-year old girl in the early 1800s."

Even the refinishing professional has collected a few favorite pieces. Shawn Snyder does some antique dealing on the side. "One of the nice things about it is that you can own a piece for a while, and if you get tired of it you can sell it."

Franklin agrees. "But you come to the point in your collecting where you have to give something up to get something else." She sighs wistfully, then laughs. "You can't keep it all!"

Cobblestone Cottage at Wachesaw Row is located at 4645 Hwy. 17 Bypass in Murrell's Inlet and can be reached at 651-1311. Antique Revivers is located at 4012 Wesley Street in Myrtle Beach; call 236-4799.