Featured Help with earrings

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
Can anyone chime in?

 

Gorgeous! I think I need them.

The last photo suggests French jet.

 

Dessert, have you tested the hardness?

 

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!

 

Faceted Whitby jet?

 

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

 

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

 

Testing hardness was a good idea, why didn't I think about that myself?

Its same hardness as glass.
So...how come it is so light weight?
Would they make these hollow?

 

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?

 

You can't be brilliant all the time.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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?

 

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.

 

ps you shouldn't be weighing things on a wild boar, they can be dangerous

 

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

 

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