Could these be rose-cut diamonds? (plus hallmark help)

Hello! This is my first post to this wonderful and informative antiquers board .... I've been reading the older threads nightly, and it feels as if I am getting to know many of you.

I just found this at an estate sale this morning on a table of old and new costume jewelry (the sale had been on for a half an hour by the time I got there ... so I figured that all the really good stuff would have been snapped up - but maybe not)

Is this what rose cut diamonds look like? I've never seen any in real life, but since the pearls felt real to my teeth and the pin/pendant had some real weight to it ... I thought it would be an interesting addition to my pile of mystery jewelry. The lighting was so bad at this place I wasn't even sure what color the metal was until I got it outside ... found a small stamp on the ring from which a pearl swings, but can't make it out ... looks like something over top of a "2" ... surrounded by a circle of dots or stars.




Any thoughts on the stones or the mark? Thanks for looking. - Kat

 

Welcome, Kat!

I wonder whether that "something" above the 2 is a 1?

 

If I had to make a guess about the diamonds (and I do need to guess, as I don't know much), I would say rough cut in a burnish (Gypsy) setting.

 

Thanks you Bakersgma! a "1" was my first thought .... it's a bit of a misshapen 1, so I wasn't certain ... I need better eyes. Could it be for 12K do you think?

 

I cropped and blew up your photo.
Perhaps others can figure out what the mark is . . .

And, welcome aboard!!

 

The stones, if they are diamonds appear to merely polished natural shapes rather than cut, and this could make them 18th C or earlier.

The fact that there is a stamped mark at all is a good sign, even it can't be read.

First on the agenda must be a diamond test and a gold test.

The pearls appear to be old, natural rather than cultured pearls, the ovoid shape is what you get with natural pearls after a long time, unless of course they started out a bit misshapen.

It strikes me as possible this little piece could be very old.

 

It's interesting that the pearls are not completely round. Could they be natural pearls?

 

Thanks Messilane for the bigger photo! What I thought were dots or stars look more like leaves on a wreath ... but the thing above the "2" now looks less like a "1".

 

Thanks for your input Af ... I plan on taking it to my jewelers this week. It really does have an old feel to it - except for the pin, which seems to be a later addition to the piece.

 

Also, welcome Kat! This is a fantastic group.

Nice cropping, Messi! Ohh, I want to watch this thread. The piece does look intriguing. The mark looks old to me. Keep us posted!

 

That may not have started life as a pin; it could have been on a hat or been a pendant. Some really old pieces were converted over the years.

 

Kat, could we see a photo of the back?

 

Certainly!


side view of one end of the pin:

and of the other end:

let me know if I can show you any other views.

 

The figure above the 2 looks like a Hebrew letter to me. That closer isn't really that old, either. Looking at a chart of Hebrew numbers, the figure for 2 looks just like that.

 

>The figure above the 2 looks like a Hebrew letter to me.<
I agree. It looks like
ב
2
surrounded by stars or dots. Believe it might be the Hebrew character "ב" Beit (B/V) or possibly the character "כ" Kaf (K/Kh).

--- Susan

 

Thanks Bev and Lady

I'll look in that direction and mention it to my jeweler too.

 

If the pin mechanism is original to the piece then it's early 20th Century, that type of rollover safety catch was used briefly at that time. I can't tell if the metal is silvertone or goldtone. It looks like it attached to another piece as well, with the loops on the upper frame.

 

Did you all notice that it looks like Cinderella's coach?

 

I bought some gold and diamond jewelry years ago and the diamonds were called "rose cut"? They looked like yours. I have seen rose cut diamonds and they are cut more uniform. My jeweler said that my jewelry was from India and they call these polished natural diamonds "rose cut".

Like Af posted, could be natural diamonds polished.

Here is a so called rose cut diamond ring from India.



Rose cut diamond.

 

Yes, Shiloh .... I've tried on a ring similar to the band you showed. The tag stated "rose cut" but the dealer said that wasn't what they really were - he called them something else. Very thick band .... hard to wear comfortably.

The stones in my pin appear to have some cutting done on them ... at least the larger ones do .... they are nearly flat on top but actually have six very very low facets. Heck .... they could be rock salt for all I know - maybe I should lick it?