Could these be rose-cut diamonds? (plus hallmark help)

Hi,
Do not bother to lick them, you only do that with pieces of Fiestaware if you are not sure if old or new.
greg

 

Hi,
Could they be mine cut diamonds? I though they had six or seven facets and a table on top.
greg

 

I checked mine cut, Greg, but they looked more "polished" than these - which is why I thought perhaps they were rough cut.

But some of those rose cut diamonds SOS showed also look like the one in the pin.

 

The center diamond of the pin is rose cut. The others are an even older style. The pinback was added later, so it doesn't tell us much.

 

Is this a white metal ? If it's white gold, that wasn't used for jewelry until the early 1900's. Maybe platinum or silver ? Like I said the color is not clear on my monitor.

 

I'm sorry Calico ... you did ask that earlier. The body of the piece is a rosy/coppery/yellow metal, while the pin mechanism is white metal on each end with the pin (the actual metal rod with the pointy end) looking yellow to me.

Just as soon as this auction for a book I want ends (about 20-some minutes) we're going to my jewelers to find out more info.

I'll post his comments when I get back.

 

I never heard of licking Fiesta ware. What does it taste like?

 

Depends upon the color...

 

OK ... Didn't get the book It was tres cool but there's no point in whining about it.

The stones are real diamonds and he called them rose cut but he really doesn't come across them often at all and didn't know too much about them.

He commented on all the work and reworking that the piece had done, saying "there's lead solder all over the place ... that's not good" .... and tried to test a spot where it would be inconspicuous where there was little or no solder ... but it looked to me that he was testing some of the body as well as some of the pin mechanism (I didn't want to tell him how to do his job ... he does this for me at no cost) ... he thought low karat gold and based on that, he thought cultured pearls. He also guessed 1920's as the age but said that he doesn't know much about dating jewelry and he thought that I should take it somewhere with more knowledge regarding antique jewelry.

So there ya go ... sort of an answer.

 

Hi,
One of the quick ways to test for old Fiesta is to use your tongue. On the back where there is a ring with no glaze lightly run your tongue on the ring you will feel a little drag since the clay is not highly fired. On the new Fiesta your tongue will glide with no drag since the clay is more highly refinded. I suggest doing it where no one can see you as not to cause concern.
greg

 

Hi,
Congratulations on being real stones. I am ingreement with the pearls being natural and not cultured.
greg

 

I am now even more of the opinion that this is the remains of an 18th C or earlier piece that has been reworked, and I agree that you should take it to someone accustomed to antique jewellery. Examination with a loupe should show traces of a ring structure like tree rings where the pearls have been worn, as natural pearls grow in layers.

 

"like tree rings"

af - am I going to have to cut these pearls in half to find the rings? I nearly jumped over the counter when he started to take a grinder to my diamonds. I'm not really sure that he appreciates old things.

 

Grinder?

 

Grinder ?

 

No you do not need to cut the pearls. The wear will have exposed the inner layers. Like a gob stopper with one end partly sucked away, the rings should show from the top. You may need a polarising filter.

Grinder? again.

All you need is a heat dispersion diamond tester. They are cheap enough that even I have one.

 

Grinder? I agree with the jeweler - take it to someone else! Fast!

 

Hi,
Is it safe to get up? greg was on the floor in a dead faint, he thought someone said they took a grinder to a diamond.
greg

 

I am speechless!
I would never take anything to that man again. At least, not anything I wanted to sell as a piece of jewelry. Scrap maybe, but . . .

 

Thank you all for confirming that I wasn't overreacting! He assured me that as long as they were diamonds that particular wheel wouldn't leave a mark on them ... I had to tell him that I still may want to wear the piece even if they weren't diamonds ... so he proceeded to use it on the edge of one of the really gnarly stones.

In the end ... no harm was done ... and I think it was a valuable lesson on what to take to him (he really is good at repairs and handcrafting from scratch)

Now to find an experienced jeweler with knowledge of antiques in the Metro-Philadelphia area ...