Postby AG2012 » Sun Apr 15, 2012 10:19 am
I told you in the beginning I would not ask questions like fake or no fake, based on one photo attached, because I can tell a fake a mile away; how come? Because I have done some serious repairs, or added missing parts in silver just as a challenge,because I am in love with old crafts, and to help collectors, but discovered later the silver was sold with the most reputable auction houses — never suspected by them, even if they used chromatography silver analyses (impurities in old silver) because silver from the same period was used. It has gone as far as searching for 19th century tools to make bolts and screws, because they differ in number of lines per linear inch.All this was done to recover as much as possible the original shape of an item. Old Russian jewelry IS a challenge; e.g. the difference between old Kazakhstan and Siberian emeralds and stones from Colombia easily available now. There was a problem, though, regarding old Russian red gold (being a particular alloy with copper) and modern solders, but it has been solved, too.
But silver is ``easy peasy``.Faked marks? It is too obvious. You must have heard of `` duty dodgers`` in UK. Well, beware of this: there are hundreds of Russian spoons and knife blades made of silver with perfectly struck genuine marks. All what is needed is to make whatever you want, a missing part, an orthodox cross, tea-caddy finials etc. hand engrave if needed, and then hard-solder them to genuine items and, voilà ``experts`` can use a jeweler’s 30X magnifying glass, but could tell it is faked Ãœbermorgen (some of you speak German or even several languages).But``solder spill`` can disclose new added parts or filed off less lucrative marks and struck e.g. Russian, Paris 18th century, Queen Anne or Augsburg marks. Namely, complex or big silver pieces when assembled were heated and all parts held together with iron wire with solder alloy applied to the point it runs like water at 1500 F. If I use a propane burner I can heat only a particular place, enough to solder the part I want but I destroy the original ``solder spill`` (Naturally, one can never go that far to heat the entire peace at 1500 F — it would fall apart). Beware of this, too: as you probably know enamel cannot be repaired because re-firing is out of question, but it can be totally removed and the entire piece enameled again. There is a problem, though; red Guilloché — Faberge masters experimented with the most challenging red enamel and they solved the problem, as well as Anton Michelsen in Denmark, possibly someone else, cannot tell. There is substantial difference between early Faberge red enamel and later enameling, but unfortunately there is no year in Kokoshnik. For that reason an amateur would use soft- solder (the temperature is under 400 F)when repairing enameled pieces because enamel cracks if fired at the temperature needed for hard-soldering. If well done, and soft - solder totally removed and polished it is difficult to see, but there is a way to disclose it, too. As far as cloisonné — it is not challenging at all.
There are tens of interesting issues and how to disclose repairs and fakes, e.g. parts added or repaired, soft - soldering,hinges in boxes, bolts — both in jewelry and silver, transposed marks, newly added stones,etc.etc.
Btw.I did not care much if blue stones in the purse are sapphires or glass — will check with the instrument, though, just for curiosity — it all depends on Moss hardness and light polarization, right?
All said, I just wanted to identify MAKERS of several items which are not valuable at all, wanted to contribute for the sake of those excellent masters in Russia to be identified and not forgotten (like almost every single Jewish master in Odessa — but that is another issue).
Please,if you find it necessary ask me or post whatever you want regarding silversmithing, I will help as much as I can,but please, I will not discuss fakes based on one photo of the marks - I have gone far beyond that,there is much more in it, and unfortunately, to be sure I must have an item in MY HANDS and spend hours and hours searching for ``right and wrong``Some fakes and repairs are dangerous, but if disclosed immediately based on one photo - excellent;it means fakers easily failed.Btw.one of fakers who used new hallmarking tools has just escaped to Greece, but he was not very dangerous - St George for Moscow was too challenging. Regarding this,there is a serious problem;I am 100% positive hallmarking tools of many offices in Europe, Russia included,have never been officially destroyed and they are MISSING(wars,naturally). What do we do about this - excellent,genuine marks struck yesterday?
Thank you so much and excuse me if I wrote something you may not like or something you already knew.
