Featured What kind of stones were in this Austro-Hungarian gilt silver brooch?

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Barn Owl, May 15, 2019.

  1. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    The middle option is to hunt down good quality costume pieces that are in good condition. :)
     
  2. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    i took your advice...sort of. Partially. This was a 3 for 37 deal. I spent more than I usually would, but all save for the buckle are in good condition. I think I have a period era stone for the buckle, so I wasn't too worried. (I bought a bohemian garnet and seed pearl necklace from the same seller for 4 euros, which I'll post in finds once I get home).

    20190518_135039-1.jpg 20190518_135039-1.jpg 20190518_135159-1.jpg 20190518_135206-1-1.jpg
     
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  3. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Gorgeous pendant. It looks like ca 800 silver, but probably no marks.
    The brooch is a beauty too with the little fauns and their flute and pipes.
    Some loss of plating on the chubby parts of the fauns, but not a huge problem. There is such a thing as silver plating liquid, which doesn't require equipment. Just repeated applications and some elbow grease.;)
     
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  4. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    Admittedly, I didn't notice the plating loss when I first bought it :( It was sunny out, so I thought it was just a bit of tarnish. Are they both AH?
     
  5. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    The buckle pictured didn't attach before, so here is it and the garnet bracelet (which needs to be restrung, but for 4 euros I'm not going to argue.
    20190518_161830-1.jpg 20190518_162048-1.jpg 20190518_162056-1.jpg
     
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  6. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    In spite of the undecorated back, I vote for AH for the silver pendant. I would guess Hungarian made.

    The chubby fauns are probably AH in the sense that they are likely to be Bohemian. They are costume, which the pendant is not. Bohemian is generally seen as a separate group, although they also use historical motifs, and the styles closely related to 'real' AH.
     
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  7. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    That gilt buckle is a stunner, and with the appropriate replacement stone it will look perfect. Ideally that would be an imitation pearl, like the one it has now. But the right size and shape imitation pearl could be difficult to come by. A replacement stone that works with the general feel of the piece is good.

    In my opinion it is Bohemian Recession Gürtler work.
    Recession is the Bohemian counterpart of Austrian Secession, so Art Nouveau. There is a hint of Orientalism, which was very popular in the elegant cities of the AH empire.
    Gürtler were the craftspeople who made the base metalwork for Bohemian costume jewellery makers. They started out as makers of buckles and similar chunky pieces.
    Officially they were not allowed to work with precious metals, but some of them did make silver or gold-plated pieces.
    These are often family made pieces, with the men doing the metal stampwork and soldering of the stamped elements, and the women mounting the glass stones.

    Search for prices of Bohemian buckles, you could be pleasantly surprised, as this will appeal to both collectors of Bohemian jewellery and buckle collectors.
    It is a pretty composite piece, imo. It looks like the floral elements came from a Bohemian/Czech necklace which was probably broken at some stage.
    Some time in the second half of the 20th century (1980s?) someone decided to make the remaining pieces into a bracelet, using recent cultured freshwater pearls, and a very nice gilt Art Deco clasp from another broken necklace.
    The floral elements are nice, although they look like quality costume rather than real Czech garnet settings, and the stones don't look facet cut. Maybe it is just the photo, it would certainly be worth testing them to see if the stones are real garnets.

    All parts are nice, but they didn't start out life together, imo. I would keep the three styles separate, and see if I could find other bits and bobs to make three different pieces of jewellery. The clasp would look nice with quality Deco costume beads.
     
  8. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    THAT sounds like an AWESOME idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:singing::singing::singing::singing::singing::singing::singing:
     
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  9. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    Thank you!
    I'll look into Gürtel jewelry. I won't lie--as expected, I had a paralyzing moment of self-doubt the moment I handed over my money to the seller. I always worry that I'm squandering my savings. So, at the very least, I hope to recoup the money I spent...

    I'll definitely come here before I replace the stone, if I replace the stone. I may just sell the buckle as-is, if I decide to sell it.

    The garnets are rose-cut and the bezels have the smooth backs I associate with older pieces of Bohemian garnet jewelry. Interestingly, two tubes are soldered onto the backs of each garnet piece, to allow the strings to be passed through.
     
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  10. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    In your postings I have always seen good pieces to make up for the lesser ones, so I think all in all you should make nice profits on your investments.
    I could see that buckle making 120 euros, maybe more, once it is restored.
    Probably a bracelet then, not a necklace. But a bracelet with only the same elements, no late 20th century Chinese freshwater pearls.;) Most Bohemian garnet jewellery is all garnet, no other stones. It was occasionally combined with round (faux) pearls of the same period.
    With those tubes it could have been strung on elastic cord. Or threads attached to a box clasp or sliding clasp (sliding from top to bottom).
    And you know, we love to see backs when you post photos. It helps in the general assessment.:)
     
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  11. Barn Owl

    Barn Owl Well-Known Member

    Thank you. :)

    The seller had some other amazing buckles he was selling for 15-25 euros a piece. I think I'll go back there next month and see what else he has on stock. Do Secessionist and art deco buckles also go for a good price?

    Sorry, I'll make sure to post the back next time :)
     
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  12. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    They probably do, but it is best if you do some research.
    I am not a buckles collector, but happened to come across some Bohemian Recessionist buckles on Etsy some time ago and was amazed at the prices. I know they don't always sell for the listed price, but I also know you sell on Etsy, so you have something to go by.
     
    judy likes this.
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