Featured What kind of stones were in this Austro-Hungarian gilt silver brooch?

I bought this a while back. It has a tiny hallmark on its hook that I think is a AH silver mark, but I haven't tested it. I was wondering what kind of stones (or pearls?) might have been in the brooch, and if there's a way to restore it. There aren't any prongs, so I'm curious to see how the stones were held in place.

 

glued , i'd guess

 

Then glass or pearls, I presume?

 

The stones were most likely different colours faceted glass, glued, as komo said.
It looks 1900-1910. Google Edwardian flower basket brooch, or something like it.

 

You can buy replacements very cheaply on ebay etc. Look for Swarovski crystals and check the sizes. There are many cheap Swarovski lookalikes, and they sell packets with different colours and different sizes.

 

I'll do that. Do you think the stones were the round cabochon ones or faceted?

 

If each little 'cup' has a hole where a post could have been, I would guess pearls. And if every last one is missing, would further guess deliberately removed, so might have been real. Strictly speculation based on what I think I see.

 

Each one has a hole.
Hmm... I wonder if I could find pearls of a similar size. But I can't really afford real pearls, because this is just a piece I plan to probably resell...

 

Not convinced there is anything you can do that will make it worth the money, time & effort you would spend doing it, unless you have kyratitis & just like taking on such projects.

 

Colored resin would look great in place of the pearls, but this is definitely a labor of love rather than labor for profit.

 

I think I see three flowers, two buds, and leaves. If you want to make this a project, make sure the flower petals and buds are all the same colour, the hearts of the flowers a different colour from the petals, and the leaves a different colour (green?) again.
Make sure all stones are set with the upper facet facing straight up, and there are no blobs of glue showing. Badly set stones are a collector's nightmare, and yes, they check with a loupe.

Just an aside, I noticed you have bought some pieces lately that need repair. Some need expensive repair which only a jeweller can do, like the first two in this thread:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/gold-jewelry-and-tarnish.37760/
If you want to sell, and are not sure if you can repair a piece easily yourself, or know if you would have to spend much on replacement stones, wires, etc, I would advise you not to buy a broken piece. Buyers know they would have to pay the cost of an expensive repair on top of the price of the brooch, and most people wouldn't do that.
Save your money for jewellery in good condition, it will make you more money.

As for Austro-Hungarian, jewellery that is in the Historic Revival style is highly collectible. Other recognizably AH styles are also collectible.
But AH jewellery that is in a general European or Western style of the period is worth just as much as if it were English or French, etc. This brooch is very cute and nicely made, but it is in a general style, so worth as much as a similar brooch from another Western country.

 

Thank you for the advice. I usually don't spend more than a couple euros on a piece, so I don't mind that they're a bit damaged. This flower brooch, I bought for less than melt value, so I was thinking I could practice repairing it for fun, then sell it if I decide to. I actually want to start learning how to repair and make jewelry, so I figure that I paid the same amount for this brooch that I'd have paid for a blank brooch at the craft store.

But yeah, I get what you're saying. I think one of the problems is that I never see this stuff back in the US, so when I spot an antique piece, I'm eager to buy it even with its flaws. But I don't have a lot of money, so I have to settle for the damaged pieces... Maybe I should instead just spend a bit more to get pieces in good condition?

 

That is what I would do, save til I can spend a bit more on one piece. In Germany you can still find Biedermeier (ca 1840-60s) gold brooches and pendants in good enough condition for 15-20 euros.

Buying pieces to practice repairing them is good. But if you buy more repair pieces than you'll ever have time to repair, you end up with boxes of broken jewellery, and no return for your money.

The first two brooches in the other thread need professional repair. The first one in particular is a real beauty, but finding, cutting, polishing and drilling the right piece of white onyx is time-costly precision work.

 

I always try to encourage people developing a taste for cameos in this general direction. Not so much broken vs. intact as pretty but ordinary vs. pretty & unusual/better quality.

Which you can eventually send to @kyratango

 

I love glueing (Can't believe I just had to google how to spell that!) stones back into pieces that are missing them!. I'm not bothered if they are worth any more afterwards as I'm trying to improve my skills and I love the history and understanding about where they have come from. If you are glueing stones back in GS-Hypo glue is your friend as it's got a needle on the end for accuracy and is designed for the job.
Kyratango has inspired me and I've got a box of nice but broken bits that I'm planning to try to restore when my skills are honed on the cheap bits!.
Edit- watch out for the fake GS-Hypo glue ( yes really!). Buy it from a decent shop as lots of fakes on eBay etc.

 

Was thinking I need to try to remember this, as I occasionally need to do this sort of thing, then occurred to me we might want to start a reference thread re: materials & methods for jewellery repair/touch up. Whatcha think?

 

Truthfully, I've made most of my sales with costume jewelry, so that's another reason why I'm intimidated to invest money in nicer precious-metal pieces... I don't know how much I should pay for a gold pendant or brooch, especially since I usually just scrap the contemporary gold jewelry I find.

That would be a great thread to have!

 

Yes! Definitely, even if it’s a step by step ‘ before and after thread of how someone has restored something. What worked and what didn’t!

 

I usually forget to take 'before' photos. I guess I am too impatient to get started on something.

 

My three Ms - Modern + Mass-produced = Melt it! I bought some of that this morning myself. Cheap-looking 14k necklace and some bitty no-account pendants, worth most as melt weight.

I do buy some broken bits myself, if I can repair them or just melt them.