Caught up
in the Moments
Avid collector couldn't be
By Shirley Iida
happier as 'Precious Moments'
marks 20 years
Special to the Star-BulletingUESTS at Thelma Sato's home can't help but notice the 700-plus Precious Moments figurines in her living room. "You have more than a store!" said one of Sato's friends when she visited her home for the first time.
Sato, 59, a retired schoolteacher simply says, "Yeah, I guess I do have a lot."
Considering that the average retail price of one of the 5-inch porcelain bisque figurines of teardrop-eyed children is about $32 -- and sells for as much as $1,500 in the secondhand market -- Sato estimates she's spent, "Oh, easily a down payment for a house," in six years.
Her husband, who complains there's no room for humans in the house, is of course, always the last to know about her expenses. "She won't tell me," he said. "I let her do whatever. That's her hobby, but she has to know when to stop."
This year, Precious Moments celebrates its 20th anniversary. But why has the popularity of these figurines endured?
Sato says she loves the cuteness of the children depicted and their inspirational messages, such as "Good Friends are Forever" and "You are Always There for Me," showing an older child helping a younger one learn to hold a baseball bat. So does her daughter Janine, who has more than 500 figurines.
"To me, it's an investment," said Tracy Nicolas, 31, who works as an office administrator and has more than 100 figurines in her entertainment center at home.
Not that she's sold any yet. Most of them have some sentimental value to her. For instance, her husband gave her her first Precious Moments' "Love One Another" globe after their first month dating. She received more as wedding gifts.
Brian Siu, assistant manager of the Cathedral Gift Shop, said one easy way to distinguish a figurine's value is to look for a symbol, or production mark, imprinted under some figurines.
The production mark -- anything from a boat, a bow and arrow, a tree or a pair of eyeglasses -- represents the year the figurine was manufactured, he said.
Figurines with no marks indicate they were made before 1981 and are considered quite valuable, Siu said. Precious Moments manufacturer Enesco began imprinting the production mark in 1981 as a way to keep track of the growing number of figurines in production.Limited Editions figures also are popular among collectors, Siu said.
As with many other collectibles and antiques, the older the figurine and limited in production, the more valuable they become, Siu said. The highest valued Precious Moments figurine may be "God Loveth A Cheerful Giver," which was retired in 1981. It now sells for as much as $1,500 in the secondhand market.
"I would collect them if I could afford them," said Suzanne Castillano, 39, an office manager. "They're the cutest little things, but for me personally, I just can't see spending that kind of money on little figurines."
But Castillano is into collecting Barbie dolls, a hobby she took up two years ago. President of the Doll Lovers in Paradise club, she has bought more than 30 contemporary Barbie dolls for as little as $7.
Nicholas' friend Becky Hotta agrees that cost is one of the reasons why she collects Boyds Bears figurines.
Like Precious Moments, Boyds Bears resin figurines come with inspirational messages -- but they're affordable, said Hotta, a 32-year-old registered nurse. The bears usually sell between $11 and $18.
Nicholas' co-worker Dora Lynn Josefovicz also was never interested in collecting Precious Moments. No one doubts that they're appealing to look at, "but I really won't go out and buy it for myself," said the 32-year-old bookkeeper.
"My thought is if you have the money for it and that's what you want, as long as it's not hurting your pocketbook in any way, where you're putting off a bill because you want something so badly, I don't see a problem with it," Josefovicz said.
"But if it starts becoming a problem within your own household, then you should step back and re-evaluate the situation."
Maureen Waiau recently bought herself a new Precious Moments figurine and didn't mind standing in line for an hour to get Freedman to sign it.
"Oh, I love it," she said. "When you look at it, it makes you feel good. I can look at one piece for hours."
A 68-year-old retired lab technician, Waiau said each of her 100 Precious Moments figurines has been worth every penny.
"Sixty bucks right here," said Waiau, showing off her newly bought figurine in a plastic bag. "That's why I eat sardines," she said.
The history of Precious Moments dates back two decades ago, when an artist named Sam Butcher designed greeting cards and posters as a vehicle to spread Christianity. 1,400 darling figurines
span two decadesThe cards and posters eventually made their way to Eugene Freedman, president and CEO of Enesco Corp., who saw the potential in Butcher's drawings. Freedman felt that Butcher's illustrations should be brought to life as three-dimensional figurines.
So Freedman asked his longtime friend, Yasuhei Fujioka of Nagoya, Japan, to create a mold from one of Butcher's drawings. "Love One Another" was the first sculpted figurine of a little boy and a girl sitting on a tree stump.
Upon first sight, Butcher was overwhelmed with joy. Twenty more illustrations were sent to Japan to recreate in three dimensions.
When the first 21 figurines were introduced in 1978, they became, "almost an instant success," Freedman said. "They just have a way of reaching out and touching people."
Today, Enesco is the principal licensee and copyright holder of Precious Moments designs. Today, there are more than 1,400 different figurines in the collection. Enesco introduces 25 to 40 new designs, and suspends or retires 12 to 20 figurines, each year.
Here are a few guides of interest to those who want to learn more about Precious Moments figurines: Precious facts
"Collectors' Bulletin" Rosie Wells Enterprises Inc. 22341 East Wells Road Canton, IL 61520 Toll free: 1-(800)-445-8745 Subscription for bimonthly magazine: $23.95 for 6 issues.
