Stone upside down in brooch?

I recently acquired this brooch and cannot help but wonder if the stone might be in it upside down. The front part is pointed and the back is flat. Any other brooch similar to this I've ever seen, it's the other way around and the flat part faces the front.

Do you think it may have been made like this originally or could someone at some point have had the stone turned around in it? I'd love to hear your thoughts - thanks very much!

 

Can't help with stone orientation, but it is pretty. Did you test for gold?

 

Aurelief, those "points" on the front of the stone are called "facets" -- facets are used to get more "glimmer/shine/reflection" off of a stone.

Also, thinking about it, I personally would not want a smooth stone on the top/outside of a piece of jewelry if it meant the "faceted" side was going to be against my clothing to possibly "pick" my clothing.

 

Look closely around the edge of the stone, if someone took it out and turned it around you should be able to see evidence of that. Is the metal smoothly up against the stone? Does it look like anything has been bent back and forth?

JMHO, but I think it's a beauty and done that way originally

 

Very nice Aureliel.
Yes, it was meant to be like this, as youturn said, to get more reflection off the stone.
It looks like you may have a nice oldie there. The c-clasp together with the extended pin usually mean 19th century. The pin looks silver or iron, with a gold (plated?) front, also very 19th century. I can't see the hinge very well, do you have a photo of it?

 

Thank you! Here's a picture of the hinge. The pin is very different in colour from the brooch and the hinge and clasp also have a slightly different hue than the rest of the brooch (hard to tell in the photo though).

 

Thank you I haven't tested it yet but plan to do so soon. It's not marked as gold so I don't expect it is, but then I suppose not all older pieces are marked?

 

Yes, that makes perfect sense! I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

 

Thank you! It doesn't look like anything has been bent back and forth but the stone does seem ever so slightly loose when I touch it. Not to the point that there's any risk of it coming out, I think, but it's not 100% stuck.

 

Older stones were cut differently then they are today. Even the old rose and mine cut diamonds were faceted on the top side of the stone like your piece. Today the back is faceted in completely different styles of modern stone cutting. This is correct and old I believe and absolutely gorgeous!

 

That's fantastic! Thank you so much for your help. It's exciting it's that old and I have to agree it's gorgeous I hope I'll still dare to wear it - don't want to risk damaging it, but had bought it thinking how pretty it would look on!

Edited to add- do you know if there's any way to find out whether the stone is an amethyst or a paste stone? I bought it as paste but if it is glass then it's really well done as it very much resembles my amethyst earrings. I also bought it as a 'vintage brooch' so I don't believe the seller realised how old it was.

 

Sorry,but this stone has been mounted upside down.It has a narrow crown,girdle,and deep pavilion and is normally referred to as a "native cut stone". Without modern faceting equipment in third world countries stones are still being cut this way.

 

That is so interesting, because I did see a lot of similar-looking pieces of jewelry online that had the flat top at the front and the pointed faceted bottom at the back. But they were all really old and I wasn't sure if mine was just a newer version with the faceted part at the front, or if it could have been placed in the brooch upside down.

If that's what happened then I wonder if that happened when it was made orinally or later (I guess I'm imagining it somehow having come loose and someone re-mounting it upside down - as why would they original makes have put it in wrong)?

 

This is a case where I wouldn't worry about whether the stone is right side up or upside down. It's cool. I'd have the metal and stone tested, just in case. That style is sometimes high karat gold. It would account for the stem being another metal; soft gold wouldn't hold up.

 

Yes, as I thought, a tube hinge. It looks like the type used in the second half of the 19th century. That long pin which extends past the body of the brooch is nice and early too. The brooch could be 1860-1880.

 

I'd say Any is dead on. That style of wirework gets lumped in with archaeological revival, and 1870 is dead on for when it was popular.