Silver cross necklace

I found this necklace in a box of costume jewelry yesterday. Does the 90 mean that it is plated? I am unfamiliar with this mark, and I do not always trust google. I have found similar necklaces online. Many claim to be 900 to 950 silver.

 

It is a Jerusalem cosss. My mother gave several to me as gifts in the 1960s, and I inherited a few more. (I fear my favorites--her gifts--were stolen but still keep hoping to find that I misplaced them.) I always thought she bought them when she visited Jordan in the 1960s with a Laubach literacy tour but later heard she bought them (or at least some of them) from a friend who imported them. I believe the centers are various semi-precious stones. I do not know what the silver composition is. The metal experts can advise you on that. (I do not have mine with me to compare, but I believe the ones my mother bought were hand crafted.) Of course, Jerusalem crosses can have different sources/crafters/manufacturers. The jewelry experts should be able to tell you more. My info is from family stories.

 

Seconded. Jerusalem cross, made in Israel if not Jerusalem. The center stone may or may not be real; they used both stones and glass early and often. The metal is almost certainly 900 silver. That was the standard.

 

Ditto. Jerusalem crosses are made in other parts of the world as well, but this cannetille work (wire decoration on the front) is classic Palestinian. Quite a few Palestinians are Christian, and Palestinians already made these for the tourist trade before the founding of the state of Israel.
90 - 900 is an older silver standard dating back to the Ottoman occupation of Palestine.

 

The faceting of the stone looks quite sharp to me. Stone seems more probable to me than cut glass/crystal. If stone, then citrine, although no doubt started life as amethyst, heat treated to get this color. Quartz, either way.

 

As always, thank you so much for the information! I knew y’all would know!!

 

I love hearing people’s stories! Thank you so much!

 

I like the necklace on yours. It gives it a more formal look, almost like it was made for clergy.

 

Thank you! I really liked the chain on it as well. I thought it was just in time for Easter!

 

Thank you! If it doesn’t say 925, or sterling then I am usually at a loss.

 

Thanks! I did see quite a few with purple/amethyst stones online.

 

I have one, also a pair of earrings close enough in design to look like a matched set, with color change sapphires, lab grown stones that show drastic color changes, depending on the light. The earrings are marked 990; the cross says Jerusalem & what looks like 999, but suspect it's really 990. The third numeral is a bit dodgy looking. Last I knew, Israel had no national standard for precious metal fineness.

 

Modern pieces made for export generally use the sterling standard. The old ones from the 50s and earlier are a mixed bag. IIRC my mom's is .800 .

 

They are a member of the Hallmarking Convention, but when it comes to silver there is no legal minimum and marking isn't mandatory. No idea how they can be a member without proper control and state guarantee, but there you are.

"The silver purity levels generally accepted in Israel are:
99.9% purity – 999 thousandths.
92.5% purity – 925 thousandths.
83.5% purity – 835 thousandths.
80% purity – 800 thousandths."

https://www.gbl.co.il/gold-and-silver-purity