Featured Antique (Austro-Hungarian?) Brooch and Broken Bohemian Garnets

Picked these garnets up for a decent price today, owing to the fact that they're broken. The bracelet is in need of a new clasp (and at 15 cm (5.9 inches) long feels way too short for a modern wrist), while the necklace is broken (but easy to repair) and is also in need of a new clasp. Do you think it's better to leave the bracelet (whose panels have hinges instead of links) and necklace alone, or should I try repairing them?

Also, what are your thoughts on this brooch? I think it kind of looks like the Austro-Hungarian jewelry posted here before... No silver marks. Maria Theresa, perhaps?

 

If you can repair them well, then yes, I would. But obviously disclose. The brooch certainly looks late 19th.

 

Thank you! Very quick reply
I think with the necklace it would be as simple as gently parting the connector rings wide enough to slip the end of the tongue-clasp out, then replacing it with a spring clasp (since I don't have an original clasp lying around and the last spare clasp on Ebay sold for more than I bought this necklace for). The bracelet is more intimidating...

 

Is any part of the original clasp still there? Less than 6 inches was probably a bit short, even when it was first made. Perhaps when the clasp was intact it added that last tenth of an inch? Probably is better to sell 'as is' rather than sink money into it for a repair potential buyer might not want.

Edit: Oh, & great haul. The brooch is fascinating but figure rings no bells with me.

 

Having doubts about brooch lady. If copied from a formal portrait, I don't thing the earring would defy gravity that way.

 

Yes, the "box" where the tongue of the clasp goes inside. It's missing the tongue part (which, ironically, the necklace has). If it wasn't attached to the bracelet by a hinge, I would want to use it to replace the necklace clasp. Good point.

I really need to check things better before I buy them. I was so eager to snatch these up (there was another buyer eyeing them), I didn't think to actually try to measure the bracelet around my own (17 cm wide) wrist.

Thanks! It cost a bit more than I'm used to risking, but I have a special spot for Bohemian garnets.

Good point about the earring; didn't even notice that, haha!

 

From years of evaluating cameos.

 

Gorgeous, Barn.
Yes, the brooch is Austro-Hungarian Renaissance/Baroque Revival. Beautiful! It looks like it could be ca .800 silver, do you have a testing kit? The 'stones' are glass, which is often the case in AH jewellery.

No, wrong period. She is more in keeping with the Renaissance/Baroque era they got their inspiration from.
I'm with Bronwen, the earring would not have defied gravity like that on the original portrait.

 

For me, I can't even tell if a cameo I bought is glass or stone.

Thank you!

Finally! I've been looking for Austro-Hungarian jewelry since I came here. When I saw this at the flea market, I thought, "hmm, those small stones look familiar...could it be?" I don't have a testing kit anymore. The last time I bought one, the tiny vial of silver testing acid burned a hole in the lid and it went bad within months. I need to buy a new kit.

 

Yay!
This is the more folksy type, there were different grades, just like in any other style.

 

Not always easy to distinguish. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I have bought glass that turned out to be stone. I have also bought pieces I hoped would be stone that turned out to be glass. Most often I have doubts, but hope pushes me forward to take the gamble. I never venture very much in those cases.

I have my eye right now on a ring seller says has a faux cameo & is gold plated. I think I see evidence the cameo is stone & think seller is just being cautious about unmarked, untested gold. It ends later today. Suspect there will be more competition than current bidding suggests, but after it ends will show it in the cameo thread & point out why I thought stone instead of glass.

 

Can you put in photos of backside of necklace and bracelet?

 

That reminds me, I thought of you today when I picked up this little tie bar. It's a keris, isn't it?

Here you go

 

Yes, it is. Made in Kota Gede, Central Java, but called Djokja/Yogya silver after the nearby city of Yogyakarta.

 

Thank you!

 

My husband has a lapel pin just like it.
I also have a small collection of keris brooches/lapel pins, one of which was given to me by our wonderful fellow member Phaik Hooi.

 

Now that I know what to look for, I'll keep my eye out for brooches.

 

They will always appeal to keris collectors, but outside SE Asia and the Netherlands that is very much a niche market. Here in the Netherlands those old Djokja silver keris brooches and tie slides will sell for 10-25 euros. Not much, but they always sell.

 

I tried to see if the ear pendant of your Renaissance Revival lady would be less gravity defying if the brooch was straight. It is better, but still a bit iffy. I think it must have been a windy day :

 

Haha! I'm one of those people who can't draw straight lines, so I can't find too much fault in a gravity-defying earring.

Do you think it would be safe to gently polish the brooch? I use smooth toothpaste and haven't had bad results with it before, but I haven't tried polishing gilded jewelry before.