Religious Chain W Cross Marked 800

This does not look like silver to me?

 

It's not sterling.
If the price were right I would buy it. It's pretty and will clean up with polish.

 

It not about sterling but if solid, 800 purity?
Price few bucks.

 

800 usually means 8 parts silver, so not as high in silver content.
800 is also usually European silver

It's pretty, ladies here in CA are buying crosses. I would think cleaned up you should be able to get a decent price.

 

So, you think better clean than with the patina?

 

Kard, patina and tarnish are not the same thing.

Clean lightly to remove the tarnish.

 

It's Italian - best guess. That cross has been around for a while.

 

Thanks. I think Italy too.
What style is the cross and the decorations?

 

I think it's more likely to be Austrian or German. Late 19th/early 20th, high Victorian.

Nothing more than a Sunshine cloth on that.

 

I agree, Austrian or German, late 19th/early 20th.

 

The cross is lost wax.

 

Personally, also believe it's more likely Italian, in the style of Peruzzi, Coppini, Cini, etc. Maybe circa 1920s-30s - what kind of clasp does it have?

~Cheryl

 

I think it is later, 1960s - 70s.
Lost wax casting as bear said, which would have been popular then. And look at the chain it has those crimp lines that were also used in the 60s, 70s.

 

I think the clasp is newer

 

Yeah, the spring ring is not original, sort of jerry-rigged, but it works...

The little guy with the shield is Donatello's 'St. George', it's in Florence, where this piece was almost certainly made - the simple '800' mark is usually found on pieces made prior to 1934, and these were pretty popular items in the '20s-'30s, and also into the mid 20th century. Peruzzi opened a Boston shop in the '20s, offering similar pieces in sterling, as did Guglielmo Cini - the page linked below shows a similar Cini cross...

http://imageevent.com/thejewelryring/cowcinijewelry/

~Cheryl

 

If it's the Donatello, then I think Cheryl is spot on. Clasp is very new, but the rest is older.

 

Salt spoon from my Mom's collection, cast St. George finial, marked '800':



Donatello's 'St. George' in Florence:



~Cheryl

 

See how sharply defined the spoon image is? I'm skeptical that the cross is old because it looks more like a poor cast was taken of an old piece and then reproductions were made. The figures have no clear detail as you would expect on an older piece.