Any help with this old-ish pin?

I came across this old looking pin in my parents estate, and while there are no markings of any kind on it (so I don't expect it is particularly valuable), I am wondering if it might have been a pin associates with some organization one of them belonged to, etc. Anyone seen anything like this before?

pin(front) by goslow2gofast posted Aug 31, 2018 at 7:39 AM

pin(back) by goslow2gofast posted Aug 31, 2018 at 7:39 AM

 

Welcome, goslow. Think you need to make access to your photos public; we can't see them.

 

Welcome, goslow.
It is best to upload your photos in the thread, here is how to:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/posting-a-thread-and-uploading-pictures.15990/

 

Should be visible now...

 

That's better. Think you are showing it to us upside down. Most brooches have the pin attached for the convenience of the right-handed, so wearer can insert the pin from right to left. What is that bit of metal on the back at the bottom: closed loop or small hook?

 

What's the diameter of the pin? Lovely, btw, and the decoration reminds me of a pair of earrings I have that were made from a 2nd great grandfather's cufflinks (he died in 1899.)

 

Welcome to Antiquers Goslow!

 

The pin measures just about 1" in diameter.

Yes, it was upside down from the rear, I rotated now. At the top is a loop, as if it could have also been worn with a chain as a necklace.

 

I rotated the photo to the orientation I think it goes in, with the pin running right to left & the loop at the bottom of the brooch. The design is asymmetrical, but of course you could hang it the other way round as a pendant. I notice the only enamel lost from the front is on that side; suspect from being held there while something was attached/detached at the loop.

If the diameter of the entire piece is about 1", that loop must be very tiny. Do you think a chain with the smaller side of any clasp could pass through it? Why position it where it is?

A circular back would be ordinary construction, but the keyhole shape cut out of the back is unusual. It allows the loop to be attached directly to the back of the front surface instead of being mounted in the same way as the hinge & clasp. I am guessing there was another piece that hooked into the loop & that the loop is where it is so that thing would hang straight down. Some old jewellery was 'convertible'; you could wear the top part of the brooch, or the earrings, for daytime, & add a pendant piece for fancy evening wear. My thought is this is something that way. In my experience, detachable parts often get lost.

It is very pretty, looks well made, a good quality piece. May we ask what part of the world you live in?* It could help us put a name to the style of decoration.

* Or the part of the world where your parents would have acquired the brooch, which may not be where you live now.

 

Welcome to the Forum, Goslow2gofast!

 

If OP is correct that it is a loop soldered closed, & not a hook that has been bent in, anything that attached would have to have a hook. There are detachable guard chains, & lots of old brooches have a place to attach one, but no reason to design the back this way to provide an attachment point for a little out of sight chain. I really was expecting it to be a hook, that you would put the loop of some pendant object, decorative or functional, through the round part of the opening, then slide it down onto the hook.

 

I just saw this shape labeled as a thistle ??

 

That would be a good word too. If that one little metal bit were not there, I would wonder if this was a button cover converted to a brooch. But I know my jeweller would not take on the job of soldering something to the back of the finished piece for fear of discoloring the gold.

 

I'm located in the northeast part of the United States, Boston MA, Providence RI area.

Here is a little more detail on the loop on the back of the pin. I like the possible theory that it might have once had an attached hanging addition, I hadn't considered that. Probably more probably than a necklace chain, although the hole in the loop is large enough for a small chain to fit through.

The loop itself is not open, it is a closed loop. I can see where it is joined and soldered near where it meets the pin.

pin(loop) by goslow2gofast posted Aug 31, 2018 at 2:44 PM

 

Poking around for this thread, found these, a way of making an ordinary shirt look like it has French cuffs with links:

https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/cuf...ef-arpels-cufflink-button-covers/id-j_198562/

 

That's definitely a loop, although it looks like maybe the 2 ends of the ring have not been soldered closed? You'll have to help my brain out; it doesn't always interpret properly the light & shadows relayed by my eyes. What am I seeing here? Is the loop attached to a piece between the back where the pin is attached & the decorative front? Or am I not seeing the relative depths of different parts correctly?

 

I'm sure you're also wondering about age. The safety clasp is newer than the pin/hinge assembly. It is not uncommon to see replacement clasps, either because the original C-shaped clasp has broken off or owner wanted the greater security of a more modern clasp. The work has been done very neatly & professionally, but think this one is a mid-20th century replacement.

 

Then again, maybe whatever was suspended there wasn't meant to be removable.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/302355091302

 

Good shot Bronwen!
Goslow2gofast, welcome!
Your brooch is a Victorian taille d'epargne enamel piece