Smokey topaz? sterling ring with marks C&C in triangles

jcm · Post by **jcm** » Fri May 16, 2008 4:37 pm

Just wondering if anyone has or knows who these marks are for.it is marked sterling then C(in a triangle) & C(in a triangle)
I believe the stone to be a smokey topaz .am I right? the stone has a pinkish gray color to it
thanks everyone

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Post by **2209patrick** » Fri May 16, 2008 5:47 pm

Hello.
Clark & Coombs, Providence, Rhode Island, used that mark.
Began making rings in 1875. Might still be in business today, not sure.
Can't help with the stone.

Pat.
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jcm · Post by **jcm** » Fri May 16, 2008 6:09 pm

Thanks you very much.I know dating pieces of US silver are usually hard because of the lack of marks like other countries.But could someone know?
thanks
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kerangoumar · Post by **kerangoumar** » Sat May 17, 2008 8:49 pm

my first guess for this ring would be glass. this may help:

let a small drinking glass and the ring sit in a cool spot for an hour. put each against your cheek. if the stone is warmish - plastic. if it is as cool as the glass - glass. it if feels like ice then you have a gemstone tho still an unidentified one.

with this sort of setting i don't think it would be a genuine topaz. topaz has what is termed "perfect cleavage" meaning one has to be very careful to put it into a setting that does not put uneven pressure onto the stone or it will break along the cleavage lines. most topaz is set in a collet or similar setting (band around the stone) as a pendant or - don't know why, because of its delicacy - in a bracelet. topaz is not good for bracelets or rings because of the perfect cleavage.

of course most people also get confused with topaz and topaz quartz. the latter is a quartz similar to amethyst. you should know that most gemstones today have been baked, cooked, dyed or otherwise manhandled to make them appear a more "perfect" specimen of what they are. and you should know that there are about a zillion sterling and even 9 - 10k gold rings set with glass.

topaz quartz usually has a much darker, blackish-brown tinge. it usually is cut in a modified trap cut (aka step cut, sometimes emerald cut) and is used in very large pieces to concentrate the colour.
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Post by **JLDoggett** » Sun May 18, 2008 12:17 am

The outdated American name for smoky quartz is smoky topaz, a truly misleading term and discouraged by any good jewelr. It is also inexpensive enough to have been mounted in this sterling mount.

As for the mount it appears to be from the 60's based on style and the smoky quartz was also popular in the same period.
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jcm · Post by **jcm** » Sun May 18, 2008 7:56 am

I tried the glass thing. The ring gets cold faster and colder.Also there is a chip along the edge of the stone right next to the mount prong.I have a graduate gemoligist near me I will try to take it to him.Will let you know
sent him a picture and just from the pic he said the color was more to a imperial( I believe thats the one he said)
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jcm · Post by **jcm** » Sun May 18, 2008 7:58 am

also I had read somewhere a couple of places that this marking for clark & Coombs was not used past about 1930 or so (one other site said 1915)
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kerangoumar · Post by **kerangoumar** » Sun May 18, 2008 11:56 am

if it is really really cold it's more likely to be quartz - if it did turn out to be an actual gem topaz (not quartz) you'd be well advised to have it put into a more protective setting - for reasons cited above.

the jeweller, if he is a gemmologist, will be able to identify the stone exactly, even the appearance of the chip will give him a clew. i have seen literally hundreds of rings with this type of setting and most of them have contained glass - more recently the glass is not even faceted, it's pressed into a mould (jeweller can tell via loupe as the edges of the facets will not be sharp)

good luck and keep us posted.
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jcm · Post by **jcm** » Sun May 18, 2008 12:22 pm

The edges are sharp.I am taking it to another gemoligist who tested a emerald for me.He uses a reflectometer.I know those are allot more accurate then the presidium electronic testers(thats what the jeweler used) I trust the manual method more.
thanks and will keep you posted.
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Doos · Post by **Doos** » Mon May 19, 2008 5:06 am

Hi,

Although this is a hallmarks forum, I would like to say that rounded facets does not always indicate glass. It can also be a poorly cut gemstone (as I've come across before). The "lip test" can be helpful, but is merely a sign of early warning. If you like to distinguish between topaz, quartz and glass, use the polariscope (with a conoscope attachment for the first two).
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