Featured Floral bouquet fur pin - 21K gold and stones

I asked about this once a long time ago and not sure if it was here but believe it was at the old ebay forums. At the time, about all I got was that it was a fur pin since it has the two pins. Was told it was unlikely to be gold and the stones were probably glass.

I am guessing this was before I got my test kit since I now know this tests better than 18K but, not as high as 22K. The stones look a bit like moon stones or maybe quartz. Some have some milkiness but are mostly clear. I do think them natural since some have inclusions. Some have some fire to them so wonder if they could be some kind of opal. The pink stones look to be synthetic rubies or, I suppose, could be pink sapphires. Everything is prong set, though some are a v-shaped to hold the tips of the larger stones. The larger stones are backed with gold rings. Overall length is 3 1/2".

There is a very tiny touchmark that is blurry in execution and I can't make much of it. I sometimes think I see an 8?5 which could be 875 for 21K gold fineness. This would fit with my test and I understand 875 is a standard used in Arabic speaking countries. There is something to the left of that but I can not make anything of it. I have looked at this in all kinds of light and magnification but can't say anything certain about it. There are some shots of the mark that probably won't help much. These are the best of about 30 attempts. The last pic kind of shows the number (or not .... )

I am interested in general impressions, thoughts on stones, conjecture about origin, age, etc. I have owned this for many years, having purchased it at a thrift for very little. At some point I want to do something with this but don't want to sell it short. Any assistance is appreciated.

 

Looks like Australian jelly opal with weak color play,impossible to say what the red stones are.Testing the stones would be a good idea.

 

Moonstone and rubies, I suspect. The gold doesn't have the typical colour of Arabic or Indian gold, but it does look high purity. The rubies do look Indian. Very nicely made, that. Can you borrow a USB microscope?

 

Beautiful.
875 gold is mostly used in the Gulf States and in India.
The stones look like crystal opals and rubies.
Crystal opals are transparent to translucent precious opals that display various colours. Jelly opals are transparent with a bluish sheen. In your stones I can see red, orange, yellow, green and blue, so crystal rather than jelly.
There is a possibility the transparent/translucent stones are moonstones, but I think crystal opals are the more likely candidate.

 

Beautiful piece...!

 

Looks very much like some of the jelly and crystal opals I am finding in search. Thanks! Any idea of age? I was thinking 50s give or take.

 

Older than that; the fur clips I've seen are generally WWII or earlier. Thirds on the opals, btw. Seriously nice opals. The stones are probably rubies. Rubies and sapphires are both corundum, so it really doensn't matter much. I can't read the mark either, but if it's American 20k is more likely than 21k.

 

It is a stunning clip. You can see the quality in it. The open backs, the leaf settings on the larger round stones are just gorgeous.

I'm sure you've been over this left and right for a signature, but I'm seeing something in the 3rd photo down from the top. It might just be just some roughness or something, but it is between the fur prongs, about 3/4ths down to the right, just about where the lower branches intersect--anything there?

The lack of easily readable markings are probably why you had the amazing fortune to get this at the thrift years ago.

What a great find!

 

I'm not implying that you haven't scoured this, as you have been in this business for a while, but have you checked the pins themselves for markings? You can usually "feel" them if you run your thumbnail up and down.

 

The bit in the one photo is solder. Have also checked the pins. Have scoured this for other marks. I may just need to get a USB microscope. I am not sure it will help all that much since the mark is poorly struck. I am not sure what I am seeing well enough with my magnifying glass to even draw a picture. Have not been able to find my loupe.

I will be sure to update this thread if I can get a better look at the mark somehow.

 

Get a clear shot with a camera, shot through the loupe if you can, and crop. Lots of American pieces weren't marked at all.

 

The shots above were through the magnifying glass. The mark is just slightly longer than 1/16" and the height has to be about 1/64" ...... tiny tiny.

 

I have a good loupe....send it over here..!

 

I have a good loupe, a diamond tester, and crystal opals and rubies to compare the stones with, better to send it overhere.

 

I think the one thing that will hold this back is wearability. Whoever buys this will probably convert it to a brooch or even pendant.

 

That is a seriously beautiful fur clip.

 

Or do what I'd do with it, as in jab it onto my jean jacket and be very happy.(LOL)

 

What a beauty and a lucky find!!!
No doubt for crystal opals
If you have an UV lamp (black light), test the red stones under it!
Rubies (natural or synthetic) are strongly fluorescent under it. I don't know if pink sapphires are too, but garnet and fake stones aren't !

 

Yes, rubies are strongly fluorescent, pink sapphires too. Both stones fluoresce orangy-red, except for Burmese rubies (and occcasionally Vietnamese rubies) which are like this:


So glad I got to post this photo again, I love it.
You're right, red garnets don't fluoresce, but certain grossularite garnets do occasionally.