Featured Small dragon ... hat pin? Sterling/opal, what era?

What era are we thinking for this piece? Would this be for a hat? Not thinking it's super high quality, but not zero either as it's sterling. Any idea of age?

 

From the back:



Also there is a very even line on the small opal. Thinking a scratch or could this be part of construction?

 

Oh, that is lovely (says the dragonlady). I am thinking tie pin.

The opal could be a triplet, and the scratch in the top layer.
I know it is a small stone, but maybe you can look at it from the side to check if the top is transparent. If it is, it is a triplet.

 

Thank you, AJ, I'll check the side. Off to have a look.

And adding "dragon tie pin" to my search I'm finding similar in gold on Ebay. One auction is calling theirs a "winged griffin".

 

Also try "stick pin", see if that gets you any info

 

Turns out it's deep in the setting so hard to see the side. I'll just describe it in the listing I guess. I don't think it's a super valuable opal, but it does have some nice color.

Thank you.

 

Yes it does, which really adds to its attraction.

 

Interesting piece!
I agree with tie/stick pin. Hat pins are generally 6-8 inches, and could be even longer depending on the hairstyles and hats of the time.
Hat pins were used to secure the hat to the hair so the hat didn't inadvertently come off the head, they weren't just a little decorative bit.

 

It looks more like a griffin than a dragon, but use both words if you have room. I'd test the head of the stick pin, if not the whole thing, for silver before listing. There are thousands of D&D and other fantasy/SF fangirls out there and I can see this going away quickly. Fantasy/scifi fans like both creatures.

 

I like it a lot ! I was collecting those for a minute but they are rare in the wild and when you do find them they are expensive.

 

This is me continuing to try to learn: How did you establish the silver is sterling (925 fineness) & not a lesser grade? If by home acid test, can that differentiate grades of silver? Or does it just react when there is some minimum silver content?

In doing a little poking around on the Internet, the stickpin I saw that was most like yours was being offered on eBay Australia, land of the black opal, although that piece had a pearl, the usual object of dragonly desire.

Suspect AJ is correct about its being a triplet. The way it is set would do a good job of disguising the fact.

 

Home acid tests can differentiate to some extent if you have experience using it. I use the 18k acide and a stone. The speed of the reaction determine the fineness. The purer the silver the faster it reacts. If the mark "curdles" almost immediately it's usually plate, unless it's Fine Silver. If it scratches "red", it's plated brass. If you apply acid and the mark vanishes without turning blue/white and "curdling" up, it isn't silver at all.

Sometimes you can feel that when you scratch it too. If the metal feels too hard, it usually is.

 

I did a scratch test on a stone with 18K acid, how I usually tell, and it turned bright white/blue with a strong result. I guess the strong result made me think 925.

 

Thank you both, @evelyb30 & @Lucille.b That is really useful guidance. I bought a starter kit years ago but then was afraid to use it. The instructions did not say what reaction to expect from the silver test. In fact, I had the impression that silver turned it red, so very glad to be corrected on that score. Kit came with a stone, but obviously would have to replace the acid if I wanted to try this at home.

 

The silver acid goes bad quickly. Most jewelers don't bother with it. We/they use the 18k gold acid instead. It's more reliable.

 

you are correct though as well bronners, a silver testing acid kit will result in red (if your luckers )

 

OK, have I got this sorted yet? A positive test using the silver acid to test returns a red result; using the 18K gold testing acid produces blue/white bubbling? Thank you both for sticking with me on this.

 

correctamundo

imagine my terror and surprise when an oldish bottle of gold acid exploded all over my face and neck once

i musta moved like sht off a shovel to get it all off and fast....and apart from a little glowy feeling on the skin...........nothing bad or marks etc

it was just that initial horror feeling of.......what the flip has just happened, and how bad is it gonna be

 

......thinking about it..............mighta taken care of those crows feet, cause they seem to have vanished

 

OK, now we're cooking with gas.

Speaking of which, just yesterday, frying a couple of cage-free eggs, looked at the pan just in time to get hit in the forehead with a dab of flying butter.

More seriously, although just as harmlessly in the end, in 8th grade science class, got (diluted) hydrochloric acid splashed in one eye. Of course instantly clapped a hand over the eye. When the teacher asked to see it, I didn't want to take away my hand because I was imagining the acid dissolving my eyeball. It felt like that, believe me.

Think in the school office the assistant principal produced an eye cup & flooded the eye good & proper. Was probably at more risk from the communal eye cup.