Featured "12/K 1/18th"on antique gold colored watch chain? Also help with sig.

Any help with the markings? Was sold as gold plated, it's marked "12/K 1/18th", see below. The stones in the bottom square are half red and clear.






Here's the first mark:



Signature? This is on a tiny section, so much enlarged:

 

SUG...... Psi .. bla bla...??

a Frat good luck chain??

 

Thanks for trying that name, Komokwa!! Maybe someone will recognize it tomorrow.

Yes, does seem to have good luck symbols.

 

It's a watch fob, 1900-ish. Beyond that dunno.

 

Maybe it's U S Guild
or
Student Union Guild

Also, what is the marking inside of the clasp?

 

Excellent pics, Lucille. And a fun watch chain.

Very likely.

That too.

 

I read it as YL Guild

Young Ladies Guild?

 

The U is rather like a lyre.

 

Are you looking at the psi, obb? Or am I missing something? (could be)

 

Wow, folks. Thanks for taking a look.

Didn't even notice there were more markings in the clasp. I'll see what I can make out. Also just noticed on the edge of the clasp: "/10"

Thank you Ruth, Roaring 20s, Komokwa, AJ, Marote and Bear.

Might be able to get more photos. The parts that are signed are tiny so need good light.

Can anyone speak to this gold marking? 1/18th percent 12K?? Or could the whole thing be 12 1/18th% gold.

 

12K gold , 1/18th plated is what I see.

but...the charms and their chains look to be add ons.....and I can't speak to their purity.

 

Ditto.
It is an American way of marking gold plated and goldfilled items, so not something I come across.

 

Thanks for the additional views.

Curious if any of our US members have seen a stamp written like this? What I normally see written in the U.S. (and very common) is more like "1/20th 14k GF"... When I do an advanced search I can't find anything else stamped in this numerical style. It certainly may be plated, I'd love to see at least one example of a similarly stamped piece to be sure. I have testing acid/stone, but if it is plated you can get a false positive, and it could rub some of the plating off which I'd rather not do.



It was sold as plated but you should see the other things I got at this sale that were missed. Finding another piece out there with a similar mark would be helpful, if anyone has a lead.

Also good point that the charms could be something different.

 

Most 1970s gold--filled is marked 1/20 12k GF. This is 1/18 12kgf. You can see the wear on the edges too, but it's definitely an oldie.

 

I’ve never seen it written this way. When I see 12k it’s almost always on a GF item. Sometimes on Black Hills Gold, and it is used elsewhere, but 99% of the time I see 12k it’s on a GF piece. So I think just the karat used in this case points to it being filled/plated. Then 1/5, 1/10, 1/20 are the common GF ratios so any fraction used in conjunction with a gold karat that is close to that aforementioned range would almost certainly refer to the same thing. Particularly in conjunction with 12k. It’s just an oddball ratio. If it were mine I’d love to see a similar example too but I’d all but bet the farm that I knew what I had.

 

Not wear, its reflecting my black shirt I think. It's pretty shiny and I just went over it again with a very strong loupe and couldn't find wear. The part with the sig and the numerical marking is actually constructed in two parts with a seam -- maybe confirming filled. I found one area on one small link end that was darker, so figured this was where it was worn, but when I polished it with a sunshine cloth, it turned shiny gold. Sounds like this is likely filled, but I cannot see any areas of wear for what it's worth. Thanks for taking a look.

Good point you get the "1/20 12K GF" on many pieces. Just never seen the numbers oriented exactly like this, but I can see that 12K sort of suggests it, too. Thanks!

 

Antique gold jewellery can also be constructed with a seam, with the front and back being made from two separate sheets of solid gold.

 

I'm going for gold filled, 1940"s.