Search found 539 matches

by JLDoggett
Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:07 pm
Forum: Silver Care / Techniques
Topic: Glass Repair
Replies: 7
Views: 6530

Is the broken piece on the left side, toward the the front? It looks like 2 cracks there which meet just under the body of the jug. This would require a sizable rim to be applied to cover the break. It may be possible to find someone who can do the restoration by cementing the broken bit back into p...
by JLDoggett
Mon Nov 24, 2008 5:37 pm
Forum: American Jewelry
Topic: Anyone know the mark on this brooch
Replies: 5
Views: 4626

Mahogany Obsidian, a type of volcanic "glass". It is a natural stone mined in many parts of the world. It takes a good polish, is medium in hardness, but very brittle.
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by JLDoggett
Sun Nov 23, 2008 6:57 pm
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: What-is-it question CXXXIII.
Replies: 5
Views: 4501

Then it would have to be a silver mounted carved coconut, very early example. I think of them gaining popularity post-1650.
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by JLDoggett
Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:53 am
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: What-is-it question CXXXIII.
Replies: 5
Views: 4501

A bezoar? It would be a bit large for use in a single goblet, maybe it was for a ewer, hung from the curley tail. They were still popular when this was made, but their use was soon to end.
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by JLDoggett
Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:46 am
Forum: General Questions
Topic: Chemical testing of silver. Your opinion?
Replies: 1
Views: 2705

I only use chemical testing on pieces when I have major suspicions about the quality of the metal. For most items the chemical can not simply be applied to the surface (then you would get a reading only on any plating on the item) so the surface needs to be disturbed to get an accurate reading. I ha...
by JLDoggett
Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:45 pm
Forum: Mexican Silversmiths
Topic: antonio pineda necklace
Replies: 8
Views: 5121

First, thank you for the additional pictures, they say a lot about the piece. The bars holding the amethyst beads in place are not what I would expect to see. They are poorly done, the ends should fill the opening completely and blend with the finish on the rest of the item. I doubt they are origion...
by JLDoggett
Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:06 am
Forum: Mexican Silversmiths
Topic: antonio pineda necklace
Replies: 8
Views: 5121

When judging something like this I always ask what would it have looked like as a different piece. The links appear to be angled so that if the amethysts were on opposing sides (flipping every other link) then it would form a line bracelet with the links strung using 2 chains (your picture does not ...
by JLDoggett
Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:06 pm
Forum: European Jewelry
Topic: 1920's-30's Deco Marcasite Brooch
Replies: 4
Views: 2868

The stone appears to be jasper, I can not explain the blue underneath the stone. Stylize it appears to be from the mid-20's and northern Europian manufacture, though I am sure someone will chime in with a decyphering of the marks.
by JLDoggett
Wed Nov 12, 2008 7:28 pm
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: Unknown sterling silver objects-Masonic items?
Replies: 2
Views: 2527

They would have been on neck ribbons, someone modified them by drilling the holes, the one with the attached loop would have been the origional style. They would represent: Sword=Steward, Book=Chaplain, Key=Gatekeeper, and Scroll=Lecturer. I believe they are from either a Masonic's or a Knights of P...
by JLDoggett
Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:42 am
Forum: European Jewelry
Topic: German Hubertus Pin help needed
Replies: 5
Views: 3508

I believe it is from Scotland, though I can not make uot the marks well. They are often worn on tams and are set with cairgorns and other Scottish emblems.
by JLDoggett
Sun Nov 02, 2008 1:37 pm
Forum: Silver Care / Techniques
Topic: Silver salt pot turned black
Replies: 2
Views: 4144

I suspect when the item was polished the inside was not polished. First I would use a good polish and some elbow grease to see if it can be brought back to the proper finish. I am assuming that the piece is sterling. If it is plated it may not be possible to break the tarnish without removing the pl...
by JLDoggett
Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:11 pm
Forum: London Hallmarks
Topic: What is this piece? Master Salt?
Replies: 7
Views: 3721

Mike is using the same deductions as I when he comments on the shield befitting a trophy more than a piece made for the table. Were it made as a table piece, the shield would have been a grape-leaf (left plain for engraving) to be more harmonious with the rest of the cup. If the existing insert is r...
by JLDoggett
Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:50 am
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: Is this silver item a brooch.
Replies: 4
Views: 3794

Finding only one usually means they were shoe clips. Being on shoes it is easy to lose one of the pair. When worn on a coat it would be easy to keep track of them while for many if one came off their shoe it would not be noticed until the shoes were being removed.
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by JLDoggett
Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:49 am
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: What-is-it question CXXIX
Replies: 9
Views: 4807

Miles, I do not think it is a cupping cup. the shape is a bit narrow for that use. (Don't ask how I know, but trust me it is not a painful process and the heat involved is only enough to create a vacuum in the cup.) A cup would have been blown so the cut edge would be under the applied lip, it would...
by JLDoggett
Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:35 am
Forum: London Hallmarks
Topic: What is this piece? Master Salt?
Replies: 7
Views: 3721

Or it is a trophy cup.
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by JLDoggett
Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:28 pm
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: Is this silver item a brooch.
Replies: 4
Views: 3794

It is either a shoe or coat clip. the agressive teeth are to hold it onto thicker material. It should have a mate.
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by JLDoggett
Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:48 am
Forum: Contributors' Notes
Topic: how to research a silver mark
Replies: 7
Views: 5002

When I was an apprentice the jeweler I worked under thought it was good for me to learn the Brittish Hallmark system, but he added a piece of Gorham to the pieces I had to look up... I spent hours trying to puzzel that out! He let me in on the fact that you almost never find a Brittish piece marked ...
by JLDoggett
Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:06 pm
Forum: Gold Marks - Worldwide
Topic: Gold/diamond ring with British hallmarks. Need help decoding
Replies: 8
Views: 10892

The first impression of this ring would be a C.1900 gypsy mount with an old mine cut diamond. Looking at the marks would lead to some head-scratching. If I were researching this ring, I would have come to the same conclusions of: Assayed at London, 18Kt, 1973. Next question is how could a C.1900 rin...
by JLDoggett
Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:11 am
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: What-is-it question CXXIV.
Replies: 9
Views: 5508

All that I can think of is a case to hold the type of tissue (unlike modern tissues) which a respectable woman would use to blot oily patches on her face (as opposed to the harlots who wore make-up). They had a thin layer of a fine white or beige clay and were the precurser to today's compacts.
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by JLDoggett
Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:49 pm
Forum: Mystery Objects
Topic: Quaich or Strainer?
Replies: 10
Views: 5924

Does the rim and foot appear to have a fitting for an external bowl? I wonder if it was made as a one-off to salvage a treasured bowl that was severely damaged. The foot is what is throwing me, who would want this sitting with the outside showing. Though if it were a strainer, why put a foot on it, ...

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