Industrial smoky topaz sterling cuff conjoined JF

[suejanegordon]

I found this 124 gram sterling and smoky topaz cuff in Laguna Beach consignment shop. I thought it was a Mexican piece as I saw the conjoined JF mark, thinking it was Jose Flores. When I got it home and looked closer I noticed there was no Mexican marks anywhere. Only the conjoined JF and 2 sterling marks. I've searched the internet and all my jewelry books to no avail. I've asked dealers if they recognized it-No one knows! I'm stumped and want to know who made this incredible cuff that is a tad industrial in its design.

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[admin]

Have you ever removed the sticky tag?
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[suejanegordon]

What you are seeing is not a sticky tag. The topaz stones are all set in open-back settings. That is what you are seeing-the opening in the cuff showing the topaz.
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[admin]

Ahhh! piece was marked prior to piercing, imagine some marks were lost in that process.

Regards, Tom
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[JLDoggett]

It appears to be a double-struck mark of Jermoe Feischer & Co. who worked in Providence, Rhode Island.
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[admin]

Hi JLD,
Gotta say, that this sure looks like a Mexican piece, right down to the style of the sterling stamp and not like any product I've ever seen that's come from a Providence manufacturer. Can you provide any background on Feischer & Co., was it a one man studio?

Regards, Tom
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[JLDoggett]

My reference is the 1914 Jeweler's Circular "Trade Mark Book" It is shown again in Rainwater's "Americian Jewelry Manufacturers" Though in the later it is shown in a circle. Neither citation gives any information on the size or address of the shop. If you look at the top of the J you can see that the actual bar has a distinctive overstuck look with the punch having jumped slightly between strikes (making the bar longer than on the actual stamp) and the ter beside the cut-out shows definate doubling.

As for style, I agree that it looks more as one would expect from Mexico. However it could also be a less than ideal attempt at an Arts & Craft movement piece. Note the use of pseudo-rivets and the supporting flanges under the stones (there does not appear to be any undercutting below the rivet heads as one would see with applied shot). These are not unlike the decorative plates, hinges and pulls that appear on G. Stickley furnature of the pre-war years.
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[JLDoggett]

There is also a typo in my first reply, I left the L out of Fleischer.
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[suejanegordon]

Tom & JL, Thanks for all of your discussion on this cuff. I did check the Rainwater book prior to posting but didn't see a mark that matched the mark on the cuff. Given that the mark may be double struck, that could be why. However, I still believe it has the look of a Mexican piece. That is why this is so much fun, the joy of hunt and the searching for its provenance.
Sue
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[ValkyrieVixen]

That's not the mark for Jose Flores according to the Hougart book, he uses JLF, not conjoined. It does look similar to one you see on enamel pieces that I have seen attributed to Jose Frederico but it's not the same. 99.9% of Mexican jewelry is marked Mexico in some way so even though the design is reminiscent of it I don't think it's Mexican.
There are some Native American artists who use a similar mark and while it's not a traditional NA design it could be a more contemporary piece.
Whoever did it, it's gorgeous!
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[ValkyrieVixen]

I recently came across an artist named Federico Jimenez that someone has said uses that mark. I don't know for sure it belongs to him but the style is more in keeping with what he does.
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[bsc]

I believe it's the hallmark of Navajo artists Francis and Della James. Everything's identical to theirs except I can't see clearly if there's a slight hitch at the bottom curve of the J (like an anchor) which their mark has.
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[ValkyrieVixen]

If the OP ever comes back, those aren't Topaz. Smoky Topaz doesn't exist, it's Smoky Quartz.
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