Featured Dragon's Breath Domed Square Cabochons Bracelet

Length of bracelet 6.75 inches (17.145 cm).
Glass cabs measure 5/16" square (7.9375 mm). (I went to the conversion sites to get metric measurements for all our boardies who think in metric instead of inches. ) The metal findings don't stick to a powerful magnet. I'm guessing brass that may have originally had some kind of silver colored plating over it.

I've had this little thing laying around for 10 years or so and I've never found square dragon's breath cabochons anywhere on the internet. Does that mean they are rare?

I've been thinking about bending the prongs and taking the stones out to use in a little artsy craftsy project I'm dreaming up. Would that be considered sinful to jewelry collectors?

 

I think they deserve better. Cannibalize it if you're got something better to do with them.

 

If the metal won’t polish up at all I say why not.
Here’s a similar one that sold on EBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-VI...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

I'd vinegar soak that. If it doesn't work, then repurpose.

 

The vinegar soak worked very well. Took all the black crud off down to bare metal.

Thanks for that advice Bear, I'm very pleased it looks so much better. @Ownedbybear






Thank you for the eBay link @Pattywithay ! That is almost exactly like my bracelet. Looks like same findings, that one has 9 stones and mine has 10. And most importantly it's the first time I've been able to find one with square cabochon dragon's breath stones. Thanks for that great sleuthing job!

@Bronwen I've decided not to take it apart and cannibalize it for the stones. Going to keep it for now, maybe sell it someday, don't know.

Well I was out of vinegar when I posted this, so it took me a week before I got any vinegar in the house. Then another week procrastinating taking pictures.

Thank you again, all three of you for all the help and advice.

 

Excellent. That's wearable nicely now. You could try a Sunshine cloth to see if it brings any shine back. Pot metal or a pewter type alloy rather than brass.

 

I'll see if I can order one from Amazon. It'll probably be another week before I get that, LOL.

 

Hard to tell from photos - do you think the black had been there purposely for an "antiqued" look?

 

wow, what a difference, looks wonderful now

that is great tip bear

 

@Bev aka thelmasstuff
If the black stuff ever was intentional, by the point in history that it came into my possession it was all crusty and lumpy, LOL. I do think it originally had some kind of a silver colored plating, maybe nickel or just some silver colored paint, I don't know.

It did have a goldish colored metallic shine showing through in some spots, which is why I thought the base metal was brass for so long. Whatever it was it came off with the black stuff, it's gone now.

So, to the best of my knowledge, all that black crud was tarnish and accumulated dirt.


And that reminds me, thinking of all the years that it tarnished and accumulated dirt. Can I date this by the clasp?