Featured Austro Hungarian Garnet Brooch?

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Barn Owl, Oct 21, 2020.

  1. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    I picked this brooch up online. It's huge. The style screamed Austro-Hungarian to me, and it feels a bit sturdier than Czech filigree, but I'm not entirely certain it's AH. What do you think?
    il_794xN.2651930217_hubq.jpg il_794xN.2651930271_4rmq.jpg il_794xN.2651930273_9fjh.jpg il_794xN.2651930279_b3e3.jpg
     
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  2. KSW

    KSW Well-Known Member

    That’s a whopper in the middle!.
    Is that stone faceted or irregular, it’s hard to tell from the photo. From the (Very)minuscule amount I know (learned last week) I can see why you are thinking AH vs Czech as the pearls/gems look AH and the back looks Czech. Do Czech have the windows for the gems at the back?. Do they test as garnets?
    Sorry I’m no help, just thinking out loud. Whichever way it’s a stunner!.
    Is it missing a dangly from the bottom?
     
  3. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    The stone is irregular (irregularly faceted/jagged on back, but polished smooth on the front), which I find strange and interesting, because I haven't seen anything like it before. The back seems too solid to be Czech (it doesn't feel really die-stamped like some other Czech pieces I have), but the fastenings holding the stones in place don't quite make me think AH...

    I think the other AH pieces I've owned didn't have those windows.

    I can't test either the silver or the stones at this time. I don't have a testing kit anymore. Not quite sure how to test garnets with my cheap diamond tester...

    Looks like it's missing a dangle. I suspect probably a pearl.
     
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  4. KSW

    KSW Well-Known Member

    Did Czech brooches have real pearls in them?. Sorry more pondering!
    Maybe they lived on the Czech/Austrian border and couldn’t make up their mind!
     
  5. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    It is gorgeous, Barn, you didn't say if it is silver? It is missing a dangle, which isn't unusual, so no real problem.
    It looks like those are genuine garnets and real pearls, so I would guess silver and certainly AH in style. There is no real filigree, btw, just ropetwist wire around the bezels. The back and the bezels look die-stamped.

    If it was made in Bohemia post-1918, it is Czech, just not Czech costume. If it was made in Bohemia before 1918, it is AH. If it was made in another AH region before 1918, it is also AH. And after 1918, it is from another former AH region, now independent or part of another country.
    Looking at the style, I would guess 1890s Bohemia or Slovakia. So AH, no matter what the material is.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2020
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  6. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Czech backs are essentially AH.:)
    Bohemia was in the centre of the AH empire. Bohemian costume jewellery was simply the costume equivalent of fine and folk AH jewellery. Bohemian costume continued as Czech costume after the AH empire fell apart.
    So what you think of as AH vs Czech, is a matter of material rather than culture. And period, of course, but that is a detail since Czech costume is just post-1918 Bohemian costume.
    They did if they were fine or folk jewellery.;)
     
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  7. KSW

    KSW Well-Known Member

    Think I may have to read this more than once.......:hilarious:
    Need to mug up on the changes of geographical country boundaries from 1800 onwards I feel!.
     
  8. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    The history of Central Europe is very complicated. I think the Central Europeans themselves didn't know which country they lived in, half the time.

    The most important thing for us joolies is that pre-1918 is AH, whatever the material. Post-1918 is where you have to start thinking.:confused:
     
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  9. KSW

    KSW Well-Known Member

    :hilarious:
    What hope have we got then?!
    Being really stupid here (Don’t tell anyone please)- which countries (now) did AH cover pre 1918? Or is it just modern Austria and Hungary?.
    Need a book.....
     
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  10. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    None.:inpain::hilarious:
     
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  11. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    I won't.:muted:
    Below are the countries that directly succeeded the AH empire. The empire didn't always cover an entire (later) country, but you get an idea.

    Republic of German-Austria [​IMG]
    First Hungarian Republic [​IMG]
    First Czechoslovak Republic [​IMG]
    West Ukrainian People's Republic [​IMG]
    Second Polish Republic [​IMG]
    Kingdom of Romania [​IMG]
    State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs [​IMG]
    Kingdom of Italy [​IMG]
    Italian Regency of Carnaro [​IMG]

    From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria-Hungary

    The Czechoslovak Republic was three countries: Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia. Bohemia and Moravia are now Czechia.
     
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  12. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    Interesting piece,the center stone is half of a river tumbled garnet crystal.
     
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  13. KSW

    KSW Well-Known Member

    Oh wow, ok, off to study a map........
    Thankyou
     
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  14. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    I haven't been able to test it because I don't currently have a kit, but it cleaned up like silver and it has that sort of weight and feel I associate with silver, so I'm pretty sure it's 800 at least.

    That's fascinating! I've wondered why some of my Czech pieces really resemble AH pieces. I had no idea!

    I'm really glad it's AH. I paid more than I normally would (since I can't go to flea markets anymore), and afterwards, I got anxious that I made a mistake.

    Now, I love the idea that the brooch's original owner found that tumbled garnet during their stroll along the Danube one day and decided to get it set in a brooch.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2020
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  15. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    You romantic, you.:joyful:
    I am sure it is a Bohemian garnet, so pretty far from the Danube.:sorry:
    The Danube flows south of Czechia, these garnets are found in the far northwest. Maybe a stroll along the Elbe will give you more of a chance of finding one.
     
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  16. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Bohemia is in the Northwest :)

    [​IMG]
     
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