Featured Why is this cross hidden at the back of the pendant?

Hi all,
I am thinking to buy few more items and I found this pendant with a green stone and a Maltese cross behind it. I wonder what it is, is hallmarked GB, the seller said that the stone is green topaz and the pendant is gold bonded, which I don't know what it is.
I would appreciate your take on the age material, stone, cross etc., and how much should it worh.
On a second photo I also have a brooch with a red stone, very interesting clatch, never seen something like that, please could you give me your opinion about it, age, stone , price. The seller can't say much about it.
The reason I ask is that the seller does not have very good credentials ( feedback) and am not sure if I should purchase.
I am also new to vintage, account by profession, just started learning with your help.
@Any Jewelry and @Fid please let me have your take on this too.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

Could it have something to do with Malta? I suspect they have Maltese jewelry makers.

I looked here and couldn't find GB, but perhaps I wasn't looking in the right place.
Researching Costume Jewelry History, Companies and Signatures -“G” - costumejewelrycollectors.com

 

Don't spend your money on these. Green topaz my a*s. You can see the back of the 'stone', even though the cross is there to hide it, & that is some man made artificial gem. It looks more like green amber than any natural material I can think of. It's attractive in its own way, but there's wear to the gold finish (I doubt it involves actual gold). Buy if you really like it & it's really cheap, not as an investment.

The second piece is very poorly constructed. It's not to my taste, so personally wouldn't pay anything for it. Only buy if you really really like it & it's really really cheap.

 

They're both costume; you'd have to pay me to take the second one. The pendant looks like it's a piece of something else. I'd take it in a lot with a bunch of other stuff, but not otherwise.

 

gold bonded, which I don't know what it is..........

me neither.....but i can google......

The rise in bonded gold items coming to the UK has been attributed to the US, where such products are available, but with the regulations and descriptions available to back up what the product is. In the UK, however, bonded gold items are not covered by the 1973 Hallmarking Act, which has lead to BHC banning gold marks on bonded items.

Bonded gold jewellery or items are produced when a thick layer of gold allow is bonded to a base metal or sterling silver core, meaning the article is about 10% gold by weight, but could easily be mistaken for an all-gold item by retailers or consumers.

https://www.professionaljeweller.com/retailers-warned-to-be-vigilant-over-bonded-gold/

this stuff is recent crap...... I suggest you not buy nuthin until you've got more learning under your belt !!

 

Simona, very good you asked here first, that's what we're here for.

I agree wholeheartedly.

They do, but they make much more refined and better quality jewellery than this. A lot of beautiful filigree for instance.

 

Good to know. One of my dear friend's family is from Malta. I'll ask him if he has some, so I can see

 

I've been to Malta a few times. The jewellery is lovely. I indulged in too much glass!

 

When my friend’s parents were alive they went back to see relatives I’ll ask him if he saw any jewelry

 

He'd have to be blind not to have seen Maltese jewellery while there. It is everywhere, and all good quality.

 

Some Maltese filigree:

 

I just talked to him and he said at 18 (he’s now 65) he bought a gold filigree Maltese cross for his girlfriend at the time. He came back and they showed it to a jeweler and they said it was worth 4 times the dirt cheap price he paid for it. His parents, who came from Malta, and visited often had nothing in the way of jewelry when the estate was finalized. Apparently not a jewelry buying family.

 

In those days it was cheap. Gold prices are standardized worldwide now, so it is much more expensive. Still beautiful though.

 

I'll ask him if the girlfriend still has it. He married someone else but they still remain as friends.

 

To add to what everyone else was said, why would you buy from a seller with poor feedback? If they have bad feedback you shouldn’t buy good quality or poor quality jewelry from them, or anything else. You would just be asking for trouble. Find some reputable sellers. What I know about jewelry is laughable compared to many members here. However I got what education I do have by hunting the thrift stores and estate sales. It gives you a chance to actually handle the stuff and look at it up close. You can google names and materials, ask questions here, and get an idea of what quality looks like. Look at how things are put together first and markings second. It’s a free way to educate yourself a bit. If you find stuff you like it’s often a cheap way to get into buying. Certainly deals to be had online too but more opportunity for mistakes.

 

The friend whose parents were from Malta and bought this cross for his girlfriend in 1973 shared this photo of it. It is 18K and 1 1/4 inches across

 

That's a cracker, that is.

 

Thank you. I decided to post this brooch in a new thread. You'll hear the story there.

 

Some Sarah Coventry items are just signed GB.
I wonder if that green one glows?.

 

@komokwa You've answered a question I was going to ask; bonded gold.

I bought this brooch for €2 so that I could play with my newly acquire 'no light' light, and cheap home testing.

I dunked part of the brooch in 70 white vinegar for about 15 minutes, with no tarnishing of the gold, however, there a small patches where the gold is missing, and there was no reaction from the vinegar either. I don't understand the latter, except it is obviously not silver. I did actually think of the gold being bonded, not because I had heard of it, I felt it when I ran my fingernail over the bare area.

The stone, which I thought might be a pink opal is translucent, but offers no reaction from the UV light, which, is not unnecessary bad as I have read if the iron content is above 3000 ppm no reaction is to be expected.

Why no tarnishing from the base metal, vinegar should have caused this, it certainly does wonders for my pickled onions.





Did I overpay? It was a charity shop.