Need Information on 2 pieces,?gold cameo pendant & ?silver figural Queen pendant

on first one the front does not stick to a magnet, but chain and back portion does, does anyone think it might have held a magnifying glass at one time, 2nd one looks like a mismash However again it does not stick to a magnet, not the front ,back or chain. Cameo is I think not very good, I suspect it started life as other items, any insight/input appreciated

 

For me, not a clue........ @Bronwen though??

 

they are both very nice !

 

Your second necklace appears to be all original. Mid 1800s.
The cameo has worn down. Most likely whoever wore it rubbed it while wearing it - nervous habit?

It doesn't stick to a magnet as it is probably rolled gold.

Want to add that does not mean it is solid gold. Rolled gold is pre gold plating.

 

does mean...or does ...not....mean......???

 

Looking at the back, I don't see any loss of gold from wear.
There is a slight possibility it is gold. They didn't mark gold or gold plate back then.
You may want to have this checked by a jeweler.

 

First looks like Queen Elizabeth I, & yes, photos are somewhat out of focus, but does appear to have housed a swing out magnifying lens.

The second cameo itself appears to be stone. Again, fuzzy focus, but looks, as you say, not very good to begin with, not improved with wear. The noses on these frequently get knocked off. I'm not sure how to characterize the chain on this, sort of compound belcher, to make something up, but if you do an eBay search for 'antique bookchain cameo', necklaces of a related type come up, most said to be gold filled.

 

Not. They're a type. I refer to them generically as noblewomen; one person I know sees them as Elizabethan looking. Reasonably sure this is a woman, however, I can only see the outline, which looks more like Petrarch.

Substituting 'slide' for 'bookchain' in a search produces some more similar pieces.

 

A bracelet produced by searching for 'antique cameo slide':
NEXT

 

QE1 looks 1950s ish. That's if it's her: those eye bags and the face shape look a bit off. It may have been made around the time of QE2's coronation, there was a lot of harking back.

 

Could be Queen Elizabeth I. But, if it is, she's wearing a French-style ruff which didn't become popular in England until late in her reign. (Tudor ruffs were, for the most part, closed.) Here's a contemporary portrait from 1592.

Debora

 

So let's say the modeler for the magnifier pendant, being a keen student of costume history, chose to give his figure a 1592 look. They're a 'type' too. We had some chat about them on the Show & Tell thread. An example:

 

thank you all for your comments and wonderful work on enlarging and focusing pic@Bronwen,Ill take the cameo piece to have it tested,The pendant itself looks like gold, The poor quality of the cameo threw me off though honestly I thought the back could be brass, and the chain if it is probably gold plated, I really need to invest in a gold/silver tester and jewel tester,Has anyone any suggestions, simple to use and not too expensive. You all are great and I really appreciate it, .

 

I can't speak for you piece, but it is quite common for cameo settings to have parts that show that are solid gold or at least gold filled, and structural parts that are out of view that are gold filled or brass. It's like the secondary wood on cabinetry.

Once bought a large cameo locket that seller asserted was 18K or better. It needed some attention from a jeweller & always intended to have it tested, but didn't get around to it until window for returns/complaints had passed. When tested, jeweller declared it not gold it all! Left it there for needed work & asked that they test some other parts while it was in their hands. Wrote seller, related what had happened & asked how such an inconsistency was possible.

This is how: Jeweller, not wanting to risk marring the face, had tested the back of the locket compartment & assumed all metal was the same quality, while seller had tested the front part, & assumed...

 

I have a wonderful resource for you; type in Jodens World Resources, send them an email with adequate pictures. They are experts near me, they will actually tell you a little info if you ask and possibly send you an offer! Victorian style?, the only reason I say to use them is that they have a multitude of these in their showcases. Don't melt this if gold!!!!!

 

The second piece looks authentic and the other like a reproduction?