Featured Is this design Etruscan Revival, Ethnic, or something else?

Hi all!

Here's a recent find. Just over 2" (almost 55mm) long and was filthy when found. The stones test as diamonds but I haven't yet tested the metal yet. My first thought was Etruscan revival with the twisted wires and granulation ... but not finding examples featuring diamonds. Could this just be a design from someplace else? Does the closure point to any area or time period?
Further confusing me is: 1)that these stones have huge culets and smallish tables, which suggest that it has some age (or, at least the stones do). 2) The color and texture of the gold is unusual (the pointy pin part is smooth). Would anyone plate high karat gold over lower karat gold? That what it looks like to me ... but I've never heard of it before. The ends of the prongs are worn smooth and look more 'normal' to me Also have areas lower on the prongs that look as if they had 'peeled' (with gold underneath) ... but there is actually no loose, peeling metal.
Only marking that I can find is what is scratched (?) on the side. Looks like "mm?kh-" to me.

Any thoughts to period, origin, translation of mmkh, or any other helpful information will be welcome.



big culets

mark on side

showing 'peeling' and smooth prong ends

 

Prongs may be made out of a different metal or different fineness of metal for strength. Body could be 18k with 14k prongs for example, the prongs plated to match the rest. The Metropolitan Museum's high end jewelry pieces are often 14k with 22k over if they want them to have that look of antiquity.

 

Maybe old European cut?

 

That seriously bright yellow gold, with that odd matt finish is often Indian. Which is where I think this originated. Design is right for there, too.

 

I do not see it as Etruscan Revival. More on the border between art nouveau & art deco.

 

Thanks Bronwen, that possibility hadn't occurred to me.

I was leaning towards that, too. I'm still pretty unsure of myself when it comes to identifying cuts of diamonds.

Hadn't even thought of those two ... I'll try to search with those terms and see what pops up.

 

Thanks for that suggestion, Owned. That thought did come to me (which is why I wrote 'ethnic'). Wasn't sure if Indian, Persian (or other Middle Eastern country) would make or wear a bar pin.

 

Have a look at Anglo Indian jewellery. It's not so much what would be worn in India, as what was made for export and expats.

 

Will do. Thanks, again!

 

Looks like it may have been fire(mercury) gilded,the construction of the bars under the stone settings are strange also.

 

that's a nice whack o' diamonds.....!!!!!

 

Gorgeous, quirky. I'm with the others, not Etruscan Revival, but ca 1900-1910, and Asian made.

 

Nice find!

 

WOO HOO! I wouldn't have known about the Indian part either, but it's definitely an oldie.

 

Lovely find.

 

Clever clasp, which I call « anti poke », because I often wear my brooches clasped on pearl necklace as front piece , and normal C clasps let the sharp end of the needle poke me between my breast

 

I see a lot of Indian gold here, some recent, some old. That colour is a real giveaway, and it's one of those things you get your eye in for. A rather nice find, to say the least.

 

We get very little Indian gold here, although some costume bits turn up once in a while.

 

Had to go look that term up ... very interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts

Are you referring to all those lines/serrations? Yeah, I wonder why those are there?

 

Thank you, sir ... it sure is! (and was worth the whole 2 and change they wanted for it) Not quite as many stones as this bracelet 'find' (from the same thrift about month ago). So filthy, it looked like pot metal and pastes ... but I recognized the J.E.C.&Co on the clasp as an old Phila. jeweler - J.E. Caldwell &Co.