Featured Dealers sans clue again. Saphiret and.... hm. Pinchbeck? Well now

Did my little table top again yesterday. Nice rose gold stick pin. Five quid. And a HUGE brooch which was not cheap. Dealer who sold me it is a miserable git but misses things despite the fact he was engaged in selling a grand's worth of gold to someone. Last time, he sold me Blue John which he swore was amethyst.

This, he said disparagingly, was only pinchbeck. I dunno. I've found three or four nigh on identical ones on line which are gold. They're almandine garnets by the look of them. It's feasible that the design was also done in pinchbeck. I don't care, it's in the Hoard now.

 

What a fantastic brooch!! I think it does look like it’s been scratched for gold testing in a couple of areas but are these letters/numbers?

 

But very impressive.

If he wants to get rid of any more pinchbeck, I'd happily take it off his hands.

 

I think he may have scratched it. But it shows gold colour underneath. Who knows! I thought that was letters on the pin too, it isn’t.

aj, I have to be pleasant to the bloke, through gritted teeth, because he’s such a snotty know all. But HAH!

 

THINKS he knows it all - that's the best kind. I'd seriously wonder about that brooch too. It's thinly made and has one heckuva lot of detail. Pinchbeck my aunt fanny.

 

That brooch is fantastic ! Yes,Id wear it ! Im a novice when it comes to jewelry but that sure looks like gold to me. That rich creamy gold color would be hard to replicate Id think.

 

Like my Portuguese friends would say... "Eu gosto!" - superb brooch and the stick pin is very nice too!

 

Isn't this the correct orientation of the brooch? Similars on internet are described as "Victorian," "gold," and "garnet."

Debora

 

Ha! Sometimes it is better to stay pleasant with such dudes
Good result! Beautiful brooch, pinchbeck and pastes to my eyes.
The stickpin is brownish mother of pearl rather than saphiret to my eye. If you proceed to the front tooth edge rubbing test, you should feel it gritty as pearls are

 

Goodness gracious!!!

 

Kyra, it’s not gritty, it’s smooth and cold. I can’t get it right on the photos, but it’s definitely glass not shell, and it’s got that bluish ness.

@Debora , you may well be right, it looks good that way up and the pin orientation would be right.

Stones test higher than glass, too. And yes, I found some very similar ones, including from auction houses saying gold. Who knows.

Ruth, I do agree it’s thinner than I’d expect from pinchbeck and it doesn’t feel the same. Georgian pinchbeck can be very finely crafted of course, but I think this is later, as in 1840s ish.

 

Possible then, but either way ...who cares.

 

I thought the same, and it looks like when you wear it like that the clasp is on the left, as is usual.

 

I think you’re both right, and it makes the safety chain right, too.