Vintage brooch marked '166'

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by GBam, Mar 10, 2017.

  1. GBam

    GBam New Member

    IMG_0592.JPG IMG_0593.JPG
    Hello,
    I've inherited a lovely brooch which is marked with the number 166 on the reverse. Can anyone help me to identify the maker or tell me what this means? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2017
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  2. SBSVC

    SBSVC Well-Known Member

    Hi, GB, and welcome! I've enlarged & cropped your photos so folks can see them better:
    pin 1.jpg pin 2.JPG
     
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  3. GBam

    GBam New Member

    Thank you very much!
     
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  4. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    It looks like a Czech piece, but with a safety pin clasp it could be Russian. It's not American, but where in Europe it came from is a very good question. That style shows up commonly on Russian paper mache brooches; I don't think I've ever seen it on a metal pin before.
     
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  5. Lucille.b

    Lucille.b Well-Known Member

    Is it possible the mark (if read upside down) says "950?" That would be a mark for silver. Perhaps gold wash over silver?
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2017
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  6. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    It looks like 991 upside-down, at least to me. I've never seen anything in that construction in gold, and the metal looks stamped. The stones are rhinestones as are their settings. The odds are low of it being anything but brass and glass.
     
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  7. Lucille.b

    Lucille.b Well-Known Member

    What got me looking at it was that the two 9's (or 6's) seem to be printed differently. Could be wear on the mark possibly. A close-up of the mark would be helpful.
     
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  8. GBam

    GBam New Member

    Thanks for all your thoughts so far. Here is a close up of the stamp... IMG_1314.JPG
     
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  9. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

  10. artsfarm

    artsfarm Active Member

    I think it's 766 also; if turned around, the loops on what would be 9s would be out of proportion. Plus, the 'L' would have a weird curve and serif.
     
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  11. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    Wasn't 66 a zolotnik standard?
     
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  12. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Zolotnik for silver: 62, 80, 94, 96
    For gold they used the gold grade .... /1000.
     
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  13. KRS-1

    KRS-1 New Member

    I’m in the same boat! Similar brooch, same stamp. I’m 99% sure my mom purchased this while she was living in Europe but that doesn’t narrow things down much.
     

    Attached Files:

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  14. Aznathalie

    Aznathalie Well-Known Member

    These clasps were in the 30s and 40s. Germany or Czechoslovakia.
     
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  15. Hi2022

    Hi2022 Well-Known Member

    I was told that rhinestones are from 50's or later
     
  16. Fid

    Fid Well-Known Member

    much utter BS explanations on the internet.
    in German - which was then still the main language - an Alsatian goldsmith by the name of Georg Friedrich Strass invented imitation stones around 1720s. as he was living near Strassburg ( no connection !) which itself is in the Rhine Valley certain "simple minds" called them Rhinestones.
    wherever German was the principle language those stones were known as Strass; especially in Bohemia where the famous Gablonzer Strass comes from.
    here a shocking example of made-up "knowledge" by eejets:
    https://rhinestonesu.com/blog/why-are-rhinestones-called-rhinestones/
     
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  17. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    I'd have said German or Czech, 30s to 50s. As fid rightly says, rhinestones are way earlier. The number will be a design reference. I've a fair few similar.
     
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  18. Fid

    Fid Well-Known Member

    in gold it's 585.
     
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  19. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    I think they may have meant Aurora Borealis crystals, which have a special coating for an extra colourful effect.:) AB crystals were first created in 1956, by Swarovski.
     
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  20. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    Yup, AB are way later.
     
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