Featured Red-Stoned Brooch

This is another piece (2 inches across) in the collection for which I’ve been soliciting information.

Is it likely, I’m wondering, that the “jewels” are just colored glass or might they actually be gems of some sort? Any other background information about this piece would of course also be most appreciated.

Thank you, again!

 

Garnet. Rose cut. Tube hinge, c clasp. Late 19th century/Victorian. You need to have the metal tested for gold content.

Is the large top stone damaged? Looks like it has a chip, maybe

 

or snoop around for tiny marks...

 

There's probably some other term, but I call this 'tubular' construction & see it used often in cameo settings. This is actually the first time I have seen it employed in a different kind of brooch. In some the tubes are all plain & one end of each tube is left open; a little better ones have both ends closed; nicer ones still have engraving on some elements. Have yet to see one that wasn't gold filled or pinchbeck, but what I haven't seen says nothing definitive about what this is, so as Rufus said, you would need to test. Parts may not all be same metal content & fineness.

Pin stem & clasp may be repairs. That band around one tube but not its mirror image also looks like a repair. Even if the metal is not particularly valuable, someone kept the brooch in serviceable condition, so garnets, which were wildly popular for a time, are probably genuine. Again, professional evaluation required to be sure.

Rufus is also spot on about age.

 

.....and if marked, it could be ANYwhere

DB, if you have a jeweler's loupe, scour the back, sides, pinstem, clasp etc. May not have a mark at all. It's gorgeous & surely looks like gold, whether plated or solid.

Don't let just anyone test it as it could sustain damage (heck just send it to me lol)

Can you get a super close shot of the dark spots at bottom middle of 2nd pic? Also kind of curious about a "dent" on left side tube in 1st pic.

 

@Bronwen Ohh I notice that now, was temp blinded by overall beauty

 

A Google search for 'Victorian knot brooch' was the most successful at producing similar pieces. Many are described as gold.

 

See there is a band on the other side, but different spot & out of sight. Do think these are repairs.

 

I think that's just the way the light and shadows may have played onto the stone when I took the photo. Shining a flashlight onto it and using a magnifying glass, there does not appear to be any damage.

Thank you for the excellent info!

(Are garnets considered valuable? My niece may be more careful with it if that's the case.)

 

The center band is falling apart,the 2 side pieces have cracks and appear to have excess solder spread all over and solder bubbled from over heating.

 

Unless during repairs the jeweller reversed the sides of the hinge & clasp, this is right side up:



Pins are mounted for the convenience of the right handed. Not that a lefty couldn't just as well wear it the other way round.

 

DBinSV: If I end up spending a chunk of change I really shouldn't, it's going to be ALL YOUR FAULT! Checking eBay for 'victorian garnet knot brooch' ran into something of interest to me. Have made an offer; we'll see.

Edit:It is now officially AYF!

 

AYF:

 

Bohemian garnets from Jablonec/Gablonz. Might be gold, but rolled gold was also used.

 

That just goes to show how little I know about jewelry. Thank you for the correction!

 

Guessing you don't wear brooches all that often. Since my 'thing' is cameos, brooches that come my way have a definite right way up. It is usual for the findings to be mounted so that the pin stem inserts through the fabric from right to left. Depending on the type of clasp, the pin goes into it from the bottom or the center, not the top. When I encounter a piece that violates these norms, I know it has come out of its setting & been replaced, deliberately or inadvertently, upside down, or the setting & cameo were not originally made for each other.

 

Oh. Wow. That's really something else.

#Bronwenning

 

Garnets are a semi-precious stone. Between the age of the piece and the garnets, it is a beautiful antique brooch that should be treated somewhat carefully. Antique garnet 14K gold pins with several garnets and detail seem to sell on Ebay sell in the $100-250 range. Some for less, some for more, of course. Depends on condition and design.

 

Ah, yes, but what? When he arrives will clean him up, hopefully get a better portrait, & put him on the cameo show & tell thread. Had to buy all those garnets just to get the cameo.

 

Hilarious