Featured Green glass acorn & bling pendant

It’s amazing what you find in a Nescafé jar of 90% junk jewellery!
I’m wondering if I have learned enough on the forum to dare to think this pendant is really quite old?
The general style I’m pretty clueless about, sort of 3D. It’s filthy and looks like some areas have embedded mud.
My detective work so far-
-the Victorians liked acorns?
-Georgian pieces have closed backs?
-the little tube shape mounts look like some on supposedly Georgian pieces on the web but we all know how unreliable that is.
-it’s quite handmade and ornate looking but I don’t know if that helps.
-It possibly started off life as a pendant and then was altered to be a brooch. The clasp is a roll over, so later. On close inspection the whole clasp assembly looks to be a later addition. It’s been added by a true craftsman with a half moon shape. Someone thought it was worth altering and altering well,however they didn’t use silver for the pin.
The pendant tests as silver but not the bright red 925 reaction so lower fineness.
The glass is a bit scratched up, the clear gems don’t look well cut like modern ones. Or they are just badly cut…….? All held in with little claws.
So I’m a bit confused as to what it’s telling me so is it old or newer please??
Then can I wash it with jewellery foam to polish the silver or will I kill the stones? Some may be dead already but it’s so dirty it’s sad!
Thankyou

 

The hinge & clasp say 20th century. Should be really pretty cleaned up.

 

I'd take an old dry toothbrush to that and knock some of the mess off. I'm a Yank, and we rarely see the old bits, but I have a hunch that's been around for a long time. As Bronwen said, the hinge/clasp are 20th century. Those rhinestones though, are o-l-d.

 

I’m not sure they aren’t a later addition and it started life as a pendant.

That’s what it’s telling me too!

 

A lot of 19th and early 20th pieces are both pendants and brooches. A lady loves a convertible! Is the hook at the bottom holding in the green glass or is it separate? It looks like a watch hook.

 

It looks pre-20th century to my eye, how old, not sure. Could be replacement clasp. I've never seen similar, which makes me think old!

Going to check back to see what others think. It's very interesting! Can see why you are researching it.

 

It’s holding the glass in. It’s too small to hold a watch and not hooky enough but good thought.

Just realised I didn’t add dimensions. It’s 5cm long and 3cm wide so a decent size.

 

To my inexperienced (!!) eye, its a bit of a conundrum. The back, the stones, the bow style scroll at the top, and the design of the acorn definitely look old old to me, early victorian? However, its interesting that the brooch construction seems in keeping in color and condition with the rest of it, at least from the photos. Also, weren't claw mounts introduced later? I'd personally want to put this 1840/50, if those questions were answered favorably.

 

The stones look old paste, but the hinge and clasp do look early twentieth, so it makes sense they’ve been added on.

It wasn’t designed as a brooch, either, too heavy and stands too proud. The ones designed as proper dual purpose ones have neat bales qhich tuck in. I’d agree it was a pendant, once.

It’s too fussy for early Georgian, they’d not have put the cap bit over the stone. And I don’t think it’s meant to be an acorn, that’s a crown on top.

I’d say late Georgian into early Victorian. Pin added much later, and using non silver is right, later brooches had metal pins for strength.

I’d test the stones.

Soft brush or a can of compressed air with caution. Then some spray window cleaner on a toothbrush.

 

Very regal piece, K.

I'm sure they liked acorns, as do squirrels. But I think this is a variation on a Luckenbooth type brooch/pendant, not an acorn. There are many variations on the crowned heart across Europe.

Yes, they do. This is not Georgian imo.

We do.

Uhmmm, not really.... But it is certainly well made.

You have it in hand, I don't, but from what I see the clasp assembly could be original.
It looks like some later work was done in the crown area, both the loop and where the crown is soldered on the main body of the piece. I'm sure the crown is original, but it is the most sensitive part of the construction and it may have broken off at some stage.

Trying to visualize a true craftsman with a half moon shape....

A non-silver pin was often used, especially in Continental Europe. Check for microscopic marks, you know how those assayers love to make life difficult for us.

Another indication that it is likely Continental European. Maybe Iberian Peninsula or Italy?

Ditto.

 

What's going on with that little post at the top of the acorn cap? Why is it there?

 

Absolutely in love with your find! A substantial beauty
Agree of course with all AJ said!
Concur with OBB for the cleaning method!

 

IMO it is the fixation of the green "stone" to the cap.

 

Luckenbooth! Yup, agreed. I knew it was something, my brain was farting.

British pieces seem to have non precious pins from when non corroding steel became a Thing. Sort of late nineteenth and on. I’ve precious metal pieces where the pin is actually marked METAL.

 

The same here. Older pieces have the mark in Dutch, METAAL, later pieces in English, METAL.

 

Funnily enough, I bought a marcasite floral spray brooch last weekend. Body of the brooch marked sterling, the pin marked metal.

And a fair while back. A very modern Cz tennis bracelet. Marked 925 except for the clasp tongue, which is marked metal.

 

Hmmm. probably shouldn't test the tongues on those from here out!

 

Thankyou AJ, I haven’t heard that term before.
I’ve just googled and can see what you mean although I couldn’t see any that are as ridiculously OTT this one with the bling and the squirly bits!

So, say the clasp is original, would it be Edwardian? If it didn’t have any clasp where would the style date from? If it is later and a revival piece then I suppose the stones could have been harvested if they are earlier? This dating thing is like detective work………

I will do. It is so dirty that I can’t see anything at the moment. I suspect it will take several attempts to clean it.

Yes, I think so.

 

Luckenbooth is the Scottish (Edinburgh) term. This beauty is probably from way further south.

I think 1910-1920ish.

 

I question that post also. Then too, there's the hook at the bottom. What's it for, if not a watch or some sort of dangle? Perhaps the stone could be detached and an alternate stone inserted?

It looks as though all the stones are present, so they must be fastened quite securely. Therefor, I would give it a thorough cleaning without overly worrying too much about damaging the piece. The stones appear to be brilliants but could be diamonds? Test them. If brilliants, that would be nice. If diamonds, that would be nicer.