Featured Jewelry Questions - Misc Pieces

Here are three pieces of jewelry that I picked up recently that I have questions about if you don't mind.

The first is a small cameo that was marked as 14K by the shop but I can't figure out the mark. I don't have an idea of the age either. The chain is marked either. The cameo measures 1 inch from top to bottom. It has a safety catch.



The second is a common Mexican design - an abalone and onyx pinwheel in a 2 inch diameter pendant. The questions is the catch. It appears to be a C clasp. Does this denote an earlier version or just expediency on the makers part?








The final piece is a filagree bracelet. I bought this to go with another similar piece. It is 6 inches long. Modern India?








Any help appreciated.

 

People still make pieces with "C" clasp. Mexican marks...

https://www.925-1000.com/mexican_marks.html

 

Thank you. I figured they just bought modern ones.

 

A RC means Reveriano & Maria CASTILLO
Reveriano worked for Taller Borda after apprenticeship to Spratling. Maria worked for Margot de Taxco and Los Castillos. They opened their workshop Reveri in 1952 working as designer (Maria) and silversmith (Reveriano) making jewelry and mixed metals flatware

 

Oddly, the pin as assayed in Mexico City, hence the DF - Federal District. I'd bet the bracelet is Portuguese or Italian or something similar. It's not Indian at any rate.

 

Excellent. Great information. Federal District. I was looking up DF as the artist, but that got me nowhere. I just guessed Indian. Very interesting. I'll have to search Portuguese and Italian. Thank you.

 

The cameo is shell, 50s/60s.

 

is it Trifari..?

 

The pinwheel is very nice! Classy and elegant.
Can you get any closer to the mark on the cameo?

 

It looks like a roll-over safety clasp that is missing the central roll-over thingie. Those thingies tend to drop out.

Probably not Indian, and not Portuguese either.
Filigree is notoriously difficult to pinpoint an origin for. It is easier to say what it isn't than what it is.
It has 'heavy bones', a relatively thick framework for the filigree. That is often a feature of Turkish filigree. Which doesn't necessarily mean yours is Turkish.
It does mean that it isn't Portuguese.
Portuguese filigree gets it strength not from a thick framework, but from areas of concentrations of wires tightly against each other, which looks like bands. In between those bands you get exquisitely elegant curled motifs, which is one of the reasons why Portuguese filigree is sought after.

Those flower shapes are seen in the eastern Mediterranean.

 

It’s nice filigree but not the quality of Portuguese. I think Turkish may be a good call.

 

Perfect. This helps me assess future cameo purchases.

 

Thank you. I have a lot of Mexican Jewelry. (I live right across the border), so I find their use of materials and colors very exciting. This is nice and big and easy to see.

I had a hard time with the mark, but I'll try again after the gym, etc. (Long day today).

 

That makes sense. It could be more than 70 years old if created in the 1950's. The pin is bent, so that's when it could have happened. Thank you.

I like Turkish. I spent a couple of weeks there and found it to be a fascinating and beautiful place. I have a filagree flower that I bought earlier to go with. Excellent insights into how to assess filagree pieces. I remember clearly a discussion of Maltese filagree that talked about the construction points too. Very few of these pieces come over here where I live, so I want to be poised to spot the good stuff. Thank you.

 

Appreciate the confirmation. Interesting how pieces travel the world.

 

You're asking about the setting. Not my area of expertise. It's a classic design, the gold roping accent on silver.

 

It's also a karat gold setting; Trifari made a little sterling at one point, but was otherwise a costume jewelry manufacturer.

 

so what's the little badge say...........
looks like ....ifari...to me !

 

Not a Trifari mark for sure; they marked their pieces clearly. Easily legible.