Featured Enamel Painted Ivory Filagree Pin - Clean it or Not?

To anyone that is upset that this is ivory, I apologize. I had never seen anything like it before, and it was so gorgeous I couldn't resist it's siren call. The question I have for all of you is whether to clean it before wearing it. The silver is very dull and thus, you can't see the beautiful silver work. The woman who sold it to me was appalled at the thought, as it would destroy the patina. It has a mark on the back - I think it says CHINA. If you think I should clean it, what do you suggest I use?

 

Kind of looks like 'India' to me.

 

Something that ends with "A" I agree.

 

My eye sees letters from both India & China. I wouldn't touch the ivory - fair chance the pigments are water soluble. As far as patina, I believe if you own it & are going to wear it, you should shine it up to whatever degree pleases you. Tarnished silver can leave a mark on your clothes, so some reason for minimizing it there.

 

Does it say 'MADE IN CHINA'?

 

It does appear to say so. And more likely bone than ivory.

Debora

 

Looks like. I'd take a sunshine cloth to the silver and not let it get the ivory if possible. No liquids.

 

Maybe it's Indochina . Thanks for this help. I have mostly new silver jewelry and polish it to keep it from dulling. I never bought an older piece like this to wear, so it's helpful to get opinions like yours on what to do.

 

I don't think the seller wasn't trying to fool me about what was what. She had a lot of interesting things, which I pawed over. I thought some beads and a pendant were amber, but she corrected me and said they weren't. She said she thought the pin was bone too but it tested for ivory. She had bone bangles and ivory ones, and she showed me the difference. I didn't buy it because it was ivory or bone, I bought it because it was so unusual. So if it is bone, then that's fine too.

 

Yippee. I've bought a sunshine cloth based on what I have read here. Thanks for the information.

 

I could say that but that's a lot more letters than I can see. Or maybe the stamp didn't take fully.

 

Or the tarnish is obscuring it. There is more to the left. Photo not close enough to really bring it out:

 

Okay. I'll go rub on it now and we shall see.

 

I do not see any enamel.

 

I meant to say enamel paint. At least, that's what she thought. You think it is water based paint?

 

I think it is paint with enough of a chance it is water based that you would not want to test. Learned the hard way when cleaning up a cameo that was shell that had been colored in a similar way.

 

Sans tarnish and an IN appears, so you and Debora were right. IN CHINA

 

Thanks for the insight. I surely don't want to take a chance on removing any more paint than what has already disappeared over time. I'll have to figure out something that will protect it while I am cleaning it.

 

Yep, sunshine cloth! For ornate, delicate filigree surrounding something I don't want to touch, I wrap the cloth around a manicure stick and go!

 

I recently got one! For 40 years (only polishing little pieces of jewellery!) I used a rag which had once been impregnated with silver polish and never more since, totally blackened from use... worked fine, except for your fingers, totally black too after the work done