Featured Help with earrings

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Dessert58, Apr 2, 2024.

  1. Dessert58

    Dessert58 Well-Known Member

    IMG_6336.jpeg
    IMG_6335.jpeg IMG_6333.jpeg IMG_6334.jpeg Hello everyone,

    I thought I had a pretty clear idea about some basic materials. I have been collecting jet and french jet for over a decade.
    But I was wrong, I don't have a clue.
    When I saw these earrings for sale online for not much money, I thought I would take a chance and buy them (because I thought they might maybe be gold and French jet/ glass).
    But now they arrived and I m stumped!
    They do test as 18 carat gold, but what is the black material?
    The earrings are huge, as you can see, but they are very light weight.
    Almost lighter than bakelite (nope, simichrome test didnt give bakelite as a result).
    If they were glass, you would expect them to weigh a ton, wouldn't you?
    The lustre also made me think 'glass'.
    I THINK they feel cold to the touch, like what you would expect glass to be, but I m second guessing myself very much right now and I m having tunnel vision :hilarious:
    Can anyone chime in?
     
  2. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Gorgeous!:happy: I think I need them.:greedy::joyful:

    The last photo suggests French jet.
     
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  3. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Dessert, have you tested the hardness?
     
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  4. Lucille.b

    Lucille.b Well-Known Member

    I agree these look special. Due to lightness, maybe cherry amber Bakelite?

    Thinking some kind of non-glass material if they are that light weight.

    So the ear wires test at 18K? They are very interesting!
     
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  5. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    Faceted Whitby jet?
    IMG_4831.jpeg
     
  6. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    Test for jet is to rub it very gently on white unglazed ceramic. If it leaves a smear, it’s jet.
     
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  7. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    I considered jet for a moment, but then saw the last photo. That translucency doesn't look like jet.
     
  8. Dessert58

    Dessert58 Well-Known Member

    Testing hardness was a good idea, why didn't I think about that myself?
    :hilarious:
    Its same hardness as glass.
    So...how come it is so light weight?
    Would they make these hollow?
     
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  9. Dessert58

    Dessert58 Well-Known Member

    Obb, no black smear is left on unglazed ceramic.
    but indeed, I believe it must be glass because it has a purple translucency under a very strong light.
    real yet would not have that.
    The one question remains: how come it is so lightweight?
     
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  10. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    You can't be brilliant all the time.:playful:
     
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  11. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Can you compare the weight with glass beads of a similar size?
     
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  12. Dessert58

    Dessert58 Well-Known Member

    AJ, hah! I m brilliant only in my own dreams :smuggrin:
    Ok, comparing is difficult but here is what I found:
     
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  13. Dessert58

    Dessert58 Well-Known Member

    IMG_6342.jpeg IMG_6345.jpeg IMG_6343.jpeg So the earrings weigh 15,4 grams, which is not heavy for how big they are.
    The four beads are not as big, but they are bakelite.
    The red beads are glass, sorry...I wont break up this necklace just to weigh, but you can already see its much more heavy.
    The black necklace is a French jet necklace I had laying around IMG_6344.jpeg
     
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  14. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    What if you put as much of the French jet on the scales as is comparable in size to the earrings?
    I know it can't be exact, but I'm sure you can get close.
     
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  15. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    I’m with aj, the translucency isn’t jet. They don’t look glass either.
     
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  16. Dessert58

    Dessert58 Well-Known Member

    IMG_6354.jpeg IMG_6355.jpeg IMG_6356.jpeg Unfortunately, my 'good stuff' is all unavailable to me for the moment.
    I had to make do with what is available.
    The brooches are regular jet. Weight-wise they match the earrings a lot.
    All the French jet is heavy! i dont have anything close to the weight of the earrings.
    The black faceted necklace is French jet. This does look like rhe earrings, apart from the weight though.
    Ah well, it would be a boring life is everything was easy and clear, wouldn't it? :rolleyes:
     
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  17. charlie cheswick

    charlie cheswick Well-Known Member

    hows about black obsidian to put into the mix

    The Differences


    If you do come across Whitby Jet and Black Obsidian here’s a few tips to differentiate between the two.



    • Obsidian is heavier than Jet. Although both are fairly lightweight, Jet is the lighter of the two.


    • We have to admit that Black Obsidian has a beautiful high sheen similar to Jet however, Obsidian has a more glass-like appearance due to how it’s formed. Whitby Jet is fossilised wood whereas Obsidian is natural glass.


    • An Obsidian stone can be transparent in areas with the light shining through the darkness.
     
  18. charlie cheswick

    charlie cheswick Well-Known Member

    ps you shouldn't be weighing things on a wild boar, they can be dangerous :playful:
     
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  19. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    If it weren't for the 18K findings, lightweight & translucent would add up to plastic for me.
     
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  20. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Too light for garnets. Some garnet varieties will look black until you shine a light the right way. Obsidian may well be the answer.
     
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