J'antiques & Collectibles

"MARRIED" PIECES
"Married" is a term used to describe jewelry created by combining two or more elements together. It's a good way to use orphaned pieces - to make them beautiful and wearable again. For instance, add a bail to a single earring, it's now a "married" piece to create a pendant. Rings can be created from tops of stickpins, cufflinks, brooches into pendants, - buttons into brooches. When purchasing, you'll want to look for clues to see if a piece is "married". Look closely on the underside and connecting surfaces.

LOOKING FOR REPAIRS

Lead Solder - Gray metal used to fuse broken jewelry together or to add to a piece. It's an inexpensive means of repair when a piece can't tolerate the heat necessary to apply gold or silver solder. When it's been used, you'll see blobs of metal that look to be crudely applied. Make sure it hasn't been applied to a stress point of a piece that will be easily re-broken. Solder can be painted with gold or silver paint or plated with precious metals to fool the eye.

Wrong Stones - Look closely to see if all the stones are of similar cuts, showing similar wear. Learn what specific stones and cuts would be original to each era.

Style or Scale Differences - If different sections of a piece just don't seem to "go" together. Look to see if some areas seem too big, too small, too angular, too swirling, in relation to the item, as a whole.

Brooch Clasp Changed - It's not unusual to find a replacement, particularly when a piece is very old. Look to see how well it's been added and make sure it's firmly attached to the brooch.

Earring Closures Changed - Can show evidence of a break at a stress point, area of cold solder, or adaptation from pierced to un-pierced (or vice versa).
Brooch Clasps by Era:
Oldest - "C"-clasp sometimes in combo with stickpin on chain as safety.
Beginning late 1800's - trombone clasp
Beginning around 1910 - lever-type safety clasp
1920's to present - roller ball safety clasp
(From 1800 - early 1900's, a brooch can also have watch-hooks in addition to the regular clasp.)

Earrings Closures by Era:
Oldest - simple hooked wire (shepherd's hook)
1800's to present - lever backs
Late 1800's to present - threaded posts
Beginning of 1900 - screw backs
1940 to present - clips

REPRODUCTIONS MASQUERADING AS ANTIQUES
Here are some clues you should consider when buying to be sure a piece is as old as you think. More and more reproductions are being made to duplicate all antique jewelry styles.
Even dealers don't always know if a piece of jewelry is old, particularly if they don't specialize in jewelry. Hallmarks can fool you - they can be intentionally added to a newer piece. Study both old and new pieces closely and read all the books you can. The more jewelry you see and touch, the easier it'll be to train your eye to spot the differences between old and new.
*Be suspicious if you see:
No wear where it'd normally be.
Edges that are too sharp. (Age generally softens edges.)
The back, concave areas, show a "sponge-type" texture. (This is usually indicative of a modern piece made using a mold.)
Hard ridges on edges and sides of beads. (Evidence these have been molded.)
Brooches with the wrong type of clasp for it's era that don't appear to have been replaced.
A patina or a finish that's too bright and new looking.
Lobster clasps on necklaces or bracelets that are purported to be in original condition..
Items that are lighter-weight than they look.
Backs of pieces that aren't properly finished out.
A number of the same piece suddenly appearing on the market.
A piece priced way too low.
A piece described as "antique style", "Victorian style", "Deco design", or "style of", etc.
that the size of the piece isn't consistent with what was normal for it's era.
Enamels that aren't uniform in color or don't show subtleties of shading.

Buying and Caring for Antique and Vintage Jewelry

Buying Antique Jewelry
Cleaning
Gemcuts
Tests to Determine Material

---I'd welcome your comments, suggestions, and any knowledge you'd care to share, as well. Is there a subject you'd like to have added to these pages? Please feel free to email me at: jthomas@jantiques.com