Featured Mystery silver pendant with pearl and turquoise

Hello everyone,

I m new here but I must admit I have been reading a lot on this forum (omg, so much info!)
I like to collect nice bits and pieces around me, but my newest acquisition is a bit of a mystery to me.
Its silver, some vermeil, pearl and (I think) turquoise and topaz/citrine.
The decoration of the filigree with turquoise screams Middle Eastern to me but it also has a Czech feeling because of the pearl, topaz/citrine and turquoise...
I m SUPER bad ad reading stamps, so is there anyone out here that would want to shine a light on my mystery? region? Age?
Thank you very much!

 

stick around....our Joullies will find this !!!!

where r u...
where did u get it ...

 

Thank you I m from Belgium, (and proud of our chocolate) but this beauty came from a buying site inFrance, our big neighbor

 

Hello from France! Welcome on board!
Your piece, as you said it's coming from France certainly bears the French boar's head mark for silver (can't see the details, but the general shape fits)

 

Hello Kyratango, thank you very much for your reply. Ok, tête de sanglier, vous avez raison bien sûr. You are right!
I saw absolutely nothing in that mark

 

par ce que nous sommes des expert ici !!!

n'est pas !!!

hehehehe!!!!

 

Mais oui c est extraordinaire! But I m not francophone, its only my second language.
So what age would you think this French pendant is?

 

I'm a Montreal anglophone.....but this is Quebec....so my 2nd language is ....
well u guessed it !!!

as for age...... I wasn't there when it was made.......so...

The most common mark on jewellery is the boar's head, the mark of the Paris Assay Office, indicating a fineness of 800 or higher. This mark has been used from 1838 to 1961.

 

Oh enchantee Komokwa, and thank you for the update about the pendant. Its also very helpful.
Here in Belgium we speak Dutch, French and there is even a small part who speak German. But lets just say thats not my cup of tea.

 

we have some folks from around your way too.

& You're most welcome !

@Any Jewelry

 

Welcome, Dessert58. Interesting piece. Unless it is heat treated amethyst, think the yellow stone is more likely to be glass than either citrine or topaz. A natural stone with this color & clarity would be much more valuable than the other materials used. Also, in the photos, the edges where facets meet look rounded to me.

In the period we anglophones call 'Georgian' (most of the 18th century & first third of the 19th) delicate jewellery set with pearls & turquoises was very fashionable. This has that same feel.

 

Welkom Dessert, en uw hanger is een charmante schoonheid. Ik zou haar ook gekocht hebben.
Ik kom van net ten noorden van u, Noord Brabant, vlakbij de Belgische grens.

Seeing your gorgeous pendant, my immediate thought was France, and given the style most likely Provençal.
If you scroll down this page to Provençale fibula, you'll see a similar style with the use of coloured stones, gold accents, and filigree:

https://www.bijouxregionaux.fr/en/contenu.php?idcontenu=14

Unfortunately they don't show pendants in this style, but they do exist, as do delicate necklaces. I have a necklace in this style, and I believe our esteemed French member @kyratango has too.

Regarding the stones on your pendant, they look real to me.
In general Provence used both real and glass in their jewellery. My Provençale fibulas all have glass 'stones', but my necklace has real stones.

My opinion is late 19th century.

European regional jewellery often has influences from earlier fashions, just like regional dress.

 

Hello Bronwen, nice to meet you!
thank you very much for your reply. I just tested the stones with my cheapo diamond tester, and the yellow 'stone' gave only one stripe, so I guess no topaz/citrine but glass.

 

Hello Any Jewelry, leuk je te ontmoeten en bedankt voor je uitgebreide uitleg! Indeed, we are almost neighbors. Belgium being so small, I see the French and Dutch people alike as my neighbors.
I already knew the site you showed, its an amazing source of information!
'Knowing' something and recognizing something you have in your own hands is apparantly a different thing, although I must say its far more easy to date brooches than anything else. So I mostly buy brooches
Personally I love les bijoux regionaux although I m a bit more drawn to jewelry of my own region, namely old Flemish.

 

Ah, you need to go look at my old Flemish pendant.

 

Ha, I don't own something similar and not an expert in regional-provincial jewellery, but I'd place it, as Any Jewelry said, in end 19th era
I too mainly buy brooches, most easy to date and very fewer convincing repros

 

Ownedbybear, nice to meer you. Its a wonderful pendant. Lovely diamonds and nice setting. Of course, finding its mate would be even better, one can dream, no?
I was a bit concerned about the whole discussion that followed, though.

 

Kyratango, yes, you are absolutely right! And as a bonus, brooches aren't as sought so its easier to score a bargain

 

Ah, different thread that. I've tagged you in the proper one.

 

Yes, it is. You may have seen something before and stored it in some inaccessible part of your brain.

Absolutely, hinge, clasp, the entire back treatment. Of course there can be repairs and replacements, but in general, yes.

Another brooch buyer here (raises hand). I also have a few brooch converters to wear brooches as pendants.
Clever @kyratango also uses brooches as clasps on the front of long necklaces, much like the slides on antique guard chains.

That is usually the case. One exception seems to be Amsterdam School jewellery of the 1920s and 30s. In my experience Amsterdam School brooches are more expensive than pendants, even though pendants are pretty rare. Maybe because it is set in the mind of collectors that Amsterdam School jewellery equals brooches.