Featured Age of Amethyst & Pearl brooch

I found this in a charity shop today. Although the pin isn’t gold I’ve had some good advice in here to look further than the pin and from a brief assessment it looked promising enough for a £1.99 outlay!
All but the pin tests as at least 9kt. I have only used a touchstone as I refuse to touch it with a file but there is no sign of plate loss anywhere. No hallmark I can see. To my uneducated eye the front looks older than the back but it all looks original bar missing a gold safety chain.
Mary Contrary gem tester is (for once) very confident this is Amethyst ( one I could have worked out for myself )
The pearls are slightly more difficult to assess. One is missing and the one beside the gap has lost it’s coating but I suspect it’s a replacement as all the others really look like real pearls under magnification- slightly irregular surface and good lustre. The possibly replacement one is completely smooth.
If 9ct gold was used , is it more likely the originals are real pearls rather than glass?.
Love to hear your thoughts on the age of this brooch - and ideas as to where I find split pearls that would blend in!
Thanks for looking.

 

Have you done the gritty tooth test on the other little split pearls KSW?
I agree about the faux replacement. Nice little brooch for £1.99.

 

I’ve tried but they are tiny and my mouth is too big!!. I trust everyone not to make comments on that statement

 

I would just rub one little pearl on the surface of a front tooth, they are slightly raised above the gold setting, you can soon tell if there’s a bit of friction or if it slides over like glass or plastic. Give it a go!!
It does look as if it’s good for gold and real pearls to me.

 

Tried and pretty sure they are real.

 

A lovely little 1880s sweet heart for your investment!
My says genuine half pearls, except for the obvious replacement one
Those little pearls have to be salvaged from broken antique pieces... Like mourning lace pins with hair under glass and names incribed, very likely to be found for cheap where you hunt
No comment about your statement...

 

Late 19th. Lovely.

 

Thanks Kyra!. So chuffed I'm learning to spot the good stuff thanks to you all sharing your knowledge.
I'll now be on the look out for broken pearl jewellery. I agree new ones are going to be too obvious.

Haha, you know me too well.

 

Thankyou

 

@kyratango can you tell me out of interest what sort of pearls were available in c1880?
Presumably cultured hadn't appeared yet?, Just saltwater or freshwater too?

 

Of course, natural pearls then! Both saltwater and river pearls! From the luster, usually, these tiny half pearls seems to be saltwater

 

Thankyou so much
Just water and cotton bud to clean?

 

Not to highjack this thread but a lady I’m buying some stuff from has a nice mourning brooch with hair (no pearls) in it, name and date on back. The date is in the 1860s. It’s not marked as far as I know. She says she had it acid tested and that it turned out to be 18k. How likely is it a piece like this from that era, made with gold, would be unmarked? That surprised me but maybe it shouldn’t have?

 

I'm not sure but I believe many pieces from the 19thC weren't marked. Hopefully @kyratango can answer that. I was worried a previous piece I posted wasn't hallmarked and @Any Jewelry said it wasn't unusual. Not sure what date it became compulsory?. Off to google.

 

The bottom 'pearl' doesn't look real, the paint has peeled off I think. 1880's yes...

 

Yes, it doesn't match the others. A later replacement possibly the two got knocked out together and someone replaced with faux. The rest look real.

 

It's more common for Georgian and mid Victorian gold NOT to be marked than to be marked.

 

It is a sweetheart of a sweetheart, K. I'm with the others on everything.

She did and she was right.
It depends on the country of origin though, just about all Dutch gold of the period is marked.
@J Dagger is in the US, where marking was a bit sketchy anyway. Not that the mourning brooch he mentioned is necessarily American made.

 

Ah ok good!

 

I’m certainly not sure but my guess is that it is an American piece. The family it is in goes back many generations here. Thanks