Featured A repair question

Those curved blade ones were made so that you could pick up a curl.

 

Yes, I saw those butter curls in front of my eyes when we were discussing different butter knife shapes, but somehow butter curls did not go with my idea of mid nineteenth century dinner table, so I hesitated to mention that.

The knife is from 1859.

As for the necklace repairs, I’ve cleaned the rest of it without causing further damage. All the green bits have open backs and there are tiny holes at the back of the biggest white ones that let light through.

Does that mean that none have foil backs?

 

Yes, it does. Better quality paste jewellery of the Art Deco period rarely uses foil backs. They prefer to show the clarity of the 'stones', as well as the reflection of light (through the cut).

 

Thanks AJ, the sparklies are a lot sparklier after I used a bit of rubbing alcohol on them.

The French silversmith’s mark is so tiny I need a microscope to see it. Not that it would matter, really. It also has the 800 silver mark.

 

That is a very nice piece! And the knife too!
The repair indeed need welding, no glue or resin will be supportive enough with such a tiny area to resist the weight and dangling of the piece.
As you said, it broke before you wore it so nothing was lost, pheew.

Edit to add: I repaired a necklace with resin, but it was a complicated motif, and resin could be applied on 3 different points on the back to hold firmly.
(I will share later when I can...)

 

is it just me or does the rear look like it's plated????

 

looks like u had more to work with...

 

Thanks Kyra!
I’ll have it fixed by someone who knows what they are doing.

 

Just you. It has correct French hallmarks for 800 silver in the middle piece, in the back. Very unlikely they’d be faked.

Edit. I think the silversmith is Raoul Moulin. Letters R and M plus mistletoe. His mark was registered in 1908. The lozenge mark can only be punched on silver. And the boar’s head says it’s 800 silver.

 

@kyratango

Lovely piece and a great repair, Kyra!

How did you get the sparklies so clean? (When you have time to reply…)

 

Thanks! I use a kind of Windex spray with ammonia, or you can use pure alcohol on a soft brush.

 

I use Windex ( equivalent) with vinegar on almost anything in the house. Don’t know if they have one with ammonia here.

Can you use rubbing alcohol on paste pieces?

 

A window cleaner spray is good too
Yes for rubbing alcohol just don't let the piece soak in it!

 

Thanks! I was afraid of using any liquid on the ones with foil.
I like fleamarkets but have a pact with DH — anything space-taking that follows me home means something else needs to go. That’s pretty limiting… and explains my sudden interest in costume jewelry.

 

For your necklace, I was thinking... If there is a gap between the front and the back at the end, enough for putting an open jump ring to connect with the chain, that would be an easier and quick fix! (Just to find a right thickness for the jump ring, and put a droplet of superglue to secure close the opening of it once connected!)

 

That’s where the old jump ring was, wedged in between the front and the back, but the gap is now filled with the broken ends that stick out a bit. After gluing the eyeglass frame to my finger, I probably should know better than to even consider DIY repairs.

But thanks for the suggestion!

 

Hi! In my opinion it would be better to take this necklace to the jeweler ti fix it.

 

It was a novel repair though, you can take credit for that.

 

That would be the sane thing to do, given my eyesight and tools.