Featured Very Interesting Old Pin Brooch - Sterling?

Bought this awesome looking pin. Measures 1 3/4" x 1 3/8". Possibly sterling. No marks. The center has a dragon with a crown. Pin closing looks old. What do I have?

 

Cool dragon!.
Presumably no marks? Is the brown on the reverse reflection or plate loss?
Magnetic?
So many questions, sorry!

 

KSW the brown is areas that are hard to clean which I need to do better at. Very lightweight. Not magnetic. I do think it is sterling.

 

It is so intricate, it’s got to be good quality but I don’t know enough to help more i’m afraid.

 

KSW thank you.

 

Have you tried polishing it? I know it’s not a sure test but if it shines up nicely and easily it’s a good start!

 

Does it have a metallic smell to it? I find sterling silver does not. It looks silver to me based on the tarnish in the center. Was the entire pin tarnished and then you polished it? good indication also that it is silver.

 

I'm also curious to see what time era your pin is from. I can't tell if that's a trombone clasp? It does not have the longer flat tube hinge you see on the much older victorian pieces so my guess is early 20th century.

 

French!
Your dragon is Kinf François The first emblem and is... a salamander


It is on the Azay le Rideau castle with the motto NUTRISCO ET EXTINGUO
(I feed and I quench):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_d'Azay-le-Rideau

Must be a souvenir or a regional jewel for the Val de Loire, 1920s in my feeling with the hinge and clasp style.

 

KSW it was black when I bought it. I did polish it.

Mek, will get a better shot of the closure.

Kyra, Thank you!

 

Beat me to it! Souvenir of Chateau Chambord would be my first guess, but that's Francis 1st's salamander for sure.

 

Mek, here is a better picture of the closure. Also did more polishing.

 

Looks like a c clasp variation and if I'm not mistaken it's a later version because of its width. Kyra is probably spot on, 1920's

 

Alpaca polishes beautifully also, have it tested, it’s the only way to be sure.

If you keep buying things that you think are silver you should invest in 18k acid for testing gold, it works very well for testing silver and it isn’t expensive. There are silver testing acids but I can’t seem to read the results, I have very good results with the 18k acid

 

@kraftblue, it looks like a mark on the side of the closure in the NEXT to last image....OR I'm seeing things....again!!!!!!!!!!

 

Aquitaine I searched hi and lo, but no marks.