Featured Baroque Pearl and Coral Necklace - Hallmark Identification

I recently purchased this Pearl and Coral 14k Necklace from a thrift store for my wife. Does anyone recognize the hallmark? It almost looks like a "G" but it's really more of an open triangle with a tail. Or is it a 'G' that just stands for 'Gold'?

Also, is it possible these are Keshi pearls?

 

Nice necklace.

It stands for gold filled.

They are more like baroque pearls. Lovely shapes.
Keshi pearls have very odd shapes, often the result of an accident or attack on the creature that produces the pearl.

 

THAT looks beautiful!!! Can we see the whole necklace please?? It’s sometimes amazing what can be found in thrift stores!! And you just got one of our experts to comment before I finished!!!

 

Thanks Any Jewelry! What a sad discovery . Is this a common stamp for gold filled? I have never seen it before. What does it even denote?

 

There is no regulation for stamps on gold filled, but G or GF are commonly used. In this case it means that the outer layer is 14k gold, the rest is most likely a base metal like brass or copper.
Forgot to add, the pearls are cultured.
It is best to get the coral looked at by a jeweler, sometimes these pretty beads are glass rather than coral.
I am not making it any better, am I.

 

I think it's wonderful, I enjoy the learning. For some reason I would never have looked at this and assumed it was a 'G' for 'gold-filled'!

Under a loupe I do actually see some small cracks that look like cracked glass. It really is a fantastic imitation of what would otherwise be an expensive piece.

@Aquitaine I can post a photo of the whole necklace later this evening.

Cheers

 

@Aquitaine here is an image of the full thing on my windowsill, with a loupe for scale.

@Any Jewelry I did some major Google digging and was able to find some pearl clasps with the same mark. In all of them, nobody mentions gold-filled. One person mentions the necklace is from Fortunoff, and they don't sell gold-filled. The hallmarks are also clearer on their pictures, take a look:

https://poshmark.com/listing/Fortunoff-14-KG-triple-strand-pearl-bracelet-592989747fab3a41380040f4

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/p...identify-a-maker-s-mark-on-a-14k-pearl-clasp=

https://www.bidsquare.com/online-au...e-14k-white-gold-clasp-pearl-necklace-1850504

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1960s-graduated-akoya-pearl-necklace-1857089172

With this being said, do you still believe that it is a KG 'gold-filled' mark? It really looks like a triangle symbol to me.



EDIT: I actually found the clasp for sale with the same symbol as well, and it says 14k: https://www.pearlclasp.com/filigree-fishhook-necklace-clasp/

Another from jewelrysupplyco

https://www.jewelrysupply.com/Filig...wk57CH2Onp34BE42OcJ-yQQDKhXhpJ2YaAje6EALw_wcB

 

Hello, @Lucashudd11 . I have run across this "G" mark on clasps several times and after researching it I found on Globalgemology.com that it belongs to Grassman-Blake. Below is a cut and paste from the site.
GRASSMAN-BLAKE

Hallmark(s): "G" triangle pictomark
Information: Founded in 1949, in Millburn, New Jersey. Produces pearl clasps primarily in gold and silver.


They also made clasps which are gold filled, but from my experience, they were clearly marked as a fraction indicating such. The example below is from a necklace I sold years ago.

 

Wow, mystery solved! Great find. Thank you!

 

What she said. The pearls are the original Chinese freshwater pearls ; it's what they look like when not cultured. They're called rice pearls. The corals are coral. These necklaces were popular after Nixon went to China and the rice pearls started showing up.

 

Great detective work @quirkygirl this explains why the same clasps are found in diverse settings as well.

Interesting choice of logo by the maker considering it can so easily be mistaken for gold filled! I wonder how many people have passed things over thinking they are just GF when seeing the mark.

 

My apologies, Lucas, I googled the mark and every site I found said gold filled. I must do some truly major googling next time.

Great research, quirky, and good to see you posting.

Especially when several sites say that it is GF. People who research it before buying, could come across those sites and be discouraged, especially when a necklace has Chinese style lantern beads similar to Chinese GF necklaces.
To avoid confusion, Grassman-Blake could stamp their company mark separate from the fineness mark.