Featured MASSIVE Victorian gold find! Pocket watch chain!

I got this at a store I go to from time to time. They specialize in high end estate jewelry. Off in the far corner of the store there had always been a tray of neglected pocket watch chains and I was always interested in this one chain. It had a price tag that said GOLD FILLED... However after a few years of seeing it in the dimly lit case I bought it for $300 because I was feeling confident after looking at it again today. I took it to an xrf and it turned out to be solid 10k gold and 14k clasps.... weighing in at..... 51 grams and 32 inches long almost 3 feet!!! It's a STUNNING piece although I don't know how I could wear it myself as it is way too long for a necklace or bracelet and I am definitely not cutting it up in any way! I have found similar chain designs online and I think this one dates to around 1880?

The clasp is so cool with the screw part that secures the hinge! I don't know what it is called!

 

Is it a swivel?

What a find. The fancy construction of the chain speaks for a quality piece. As for use...dog lead?

 

Holy cow! That weight in 10k at today’s price is worth $1,293!!! You did great

I love the design of the chain!

 

Really magnificent chain & astounding price ! Sorry my Jewelry knowledge's sadly lacking,but you said-"I took it to an xrf ..."
What's an XRF ?...would a home tester work almost as well ?
PS-Need to brush-up on my jewelry smarts ! Boy,that's the last place i look for a deal on vintage bling !

 

I couldve worded it better my bad, but my friend has an XRF analyzer and it reads the composition of the metal without having to scratch the jewelry! It's a great tool just very very costly!

 

Wowza! That's fabulous!

 

you could double it as a necklace...

way to bye it on a solid hunch !

 

A gorgeous ladies guard chain or muff chain. Guard chains could have small pocket watches on the end, but also muffs, chatelaines, or even lorgnettes.
Love the links. 1890s imo.

A guard chain was worn around the neck. If it had a watch on the end, the watch would be tucked into the waistband, which sometimes had a small pocket.

 

What a gorgeous chain! Love the design. As for the value, it is indeed high but if it was mine, I would not sell it for scrap, it is way too beautiful and sophisticated, IMO.Maybe it can be worn as a necklace, if it is rolled around the neck two or more times. I used to have a long chain that I wore in this way.

 

The cone-shaped 'nut', when backed off the split hoop, allows it to open. So the spring ring could be removed, an' another small item inserted in its place. Very exquisite!

 

Kind of like the lady in the first photo on this page?
https://www.morninggloryjewelry.com...dwardian/victorian-watch-jewelry-chains-fobs/

 

Wowza. Great purchase. Agree that the construction of the chain shows quality.

 

That is a slide chain, a variation on a guard chain. She is wearing a fob brooch or watch brooch in addition to the chain, with the watch attached to both brooch and chain.
The other way is to tuck the watch into the waistband, usually a bit to the left, so the chain hangs like a garland towards the left.

 

A well-considered thought out piece of gambling that paid off-great job !
Here's prob a dumb question-could one buy a piece like this & then return it after testing ?
I'd imagine most antique stores would heavily frown on this,I've never done it.

 

it was sold as gold filled........
if u test it and it comes back as gold filled.....
what claim would u make for a cause to return ????

 

It isn't gold filled but solid gold! And I really, really wanted gold filled!

 

Sorry for my stupidity amigos-i slipped on my own banana peel !
PS-This makes more sense (hopefully). If a piece was advertised as 'solid gold',could you return it if it was actually 'GF' ?

 

......

 

XRF = X-ray fluorescence. It can identify materials based on their reaction to X-rays. The limitation of XRF is that it can only slightly penetrate the surface of the material being analyzed. X-rays can only penetrate gold 8-10µm (micrometers), so it may not be accurate if it is used to analyze gold-filled jewelry. It may see the gold on the surface, but not the underlying metal, depending on the thickness of the gold on the surface.

When discussing the difficulty of identifying forged coins created with gold-coated tungsten, Peter Zygorzynski notes: "if XRF was used to test a copy that had been gilded, the results were often correct; however, if the copy had a coating of [thicker] gold plate, the results would be entirely incorrect."
https://coinsweekly.com/how-to-tell-cheap-tungsten-from-precious-gold/#:~:text=It was also unclear whether,be considered reliable or conclusive.

I would ask the people at the shop how the chain was tested and identified as gold-filled before assuming it was "solid 10k gold".

 

Gold-filled is usually 12kgf . Without XRF, I scrape/acid test for both 10 and 14k. If the scrape holds up to the 10 and disappears under 14, the odds go waaay up for gold-filled.