Silver Chinese? Bangle signature help

hello all, i need some help with a bangle i picked up today. Im assuming its chinese, but i have no idea about the characters, can anyone help?

Also when i come to sell should i keep it in its current condition or give it some polish?

Thanks in advance
Ratsy

 

I have recently learned that; the bottom part of the hallmark at the top: is the Fu character for luck/happiness. I have the same character on my Platinum ring: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/is-this-platinum.18959/

 

I don't think that mark is meant as a happiness mark. It is a composite of characters that could be a name.
The bottom one could be a silver mark, but I think it is best to wait for @khl889.

 

Thanks for the replies, was interesting to look at that ring. Ive not owned any chinese jewellery before so it will be interesting to find out more.

 

Sorry, forgot this one. Yes, I would give it a polish. It doesn't need to glow in the dark, I don't mind to see some age, but it would look lovely with less tarnish.
Do you have more pictures of the decoration? We always love to see that as well.

 

Will give it a shine and take more pics after work

 

I'm familiar with the silver marks on Chinese and Japanese pieces, jewelry and decorative items. Depending on maker's purpose, some are only impressed with the script marks of the country, others have the world SILVER, some have the grade 900, and the name or initials of the maker. Here are a few images from my files. A Chinese hinged flat link bracelet silver mark, a Japanese cloisonne vase silver base, and another Chinese filigree with carnelian red stones bracelet, with mark on the back of a link (on top).

 

Nice toomany, would love to see the rest.
I love Chinese export jewellery, and have a collection myself. We occasionally sell as well, but many I keep for myself and as an investment, over the decades I have noticed that there is always a strong collectors market for them.
However, the cuff, though it ended up in the West, may not necessarily be an export piece. And likely not from the heyday of export jewellery. That means no 'SILVER' or grade in our numerals.
A common Chinese silver mark is 純銀 , pure silver.
There are several sites with Chinese jewellery and silver marks, but frankly I've stopped looking up Hanyu/Kanji marks for others because of my health. Besides, khl can read them without getting dizzy or a headache.
But for anyone interested, this is a truly wonderful site: http://chinese-export-silver.com.gridhosted.co.uk/

 

Yes, please always polish! Tarnish is damage and should be removed. Don't use a dip, it's much too harsh. Use something like Wright's Silver Cream, it's a foaming polish that you apply with a damp sponge. Afterwords you wash off the foam so there is no buildup of dry polish in the design. As Any Jewelry said, don't overdo the polishing, you don't want it to look like it was made yesterday!

 

I feel the same way - its great to find the few pieces that are in great condition and made with either solid silver or solid gold. A funny circumstance was when they would put the K in front of the 14 instead of after. Got a few goodies that way.
I don't read Chinese script or Japanese, but do recognise the characters they use, problem is these aren't always consistent. Agree, with just the impressed mark here on the bracelet, not an export, but found it's way out of the country.

 

Hello boys and girls. Here are some pics post polishing:

 

Beautiful RB, never seen this style before, great find, thank you for the new pictures.

Here are a few more pictures I have of some Chinese jewelry I could find today. A partial set of a 14K gold carnelian bead necklace and 1 earring (tested), I owned. Another Chinese silver mark. An old auction lot with the more common misc Chinese pieces (might be a few Japanese beads in there as well) in the usual silver filigree with enamel and gold finish, cloisonne, and pierced enamel metal.

 

Wow toomany what a fantastic collection. That carnelian necklace is particularly striking!

Ive been looking through all the chinese makers web pages i can find but no luck matching up the signature yet, cant find a similar design anywhere either. The search continues...

 

Gorgeous, toomany. I love cloisonné enamel, whether Chinese, Central Asian, Russian. Are you going to string the loose beads? With nice stones maybe?

 

Yes, much nicer now. It could be from one of the many ethnic minorities in China, I'm thinking the Miao and neighbours. They make beautiful jewellery that is Chinese, but not ethnic Han, which is 'mainstream' Chinese. Much of their jewellery is not silver and referred to as 'Miao silver', but they make real silver jewellery as well.

 

I don't usually modify old estate pieces, I sell them 'as is' for the buyer to use as they see fit. That picture is about 10 years old, so, all the pieces are gone now. As well as the necklace, I'm sure you know how that is. I keep pictures for my files of the items I especially liked, were special or rare.

 

From a bit of knowledge about Chinese metal marks, they can represent a combination of several aspects. The name of maker, the type of metal, the place, even a symbolic mark as Fuku, there were no rules, between 1912 to 1949, during the Republic of China years, between the Imperial and the Mao Communist governments.

I found a full FUKU mark from the base of a cloisonne vase I owned, this one is an old 19th century Japanese piece, they also used some of the same good omen symbol as decorations and marks. Not saying your mark has this symbol, but may have a few of the same characters, such as the square.