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

Maybe just a mild soap and water until you know if it is silver? Don't soak, I don't know how secure those beads are, but rub with your hands. A little alcohol for the dark spots. And for yourself if it all goes wrong.

 

Hah, sorry. It's been the best thing I've found. I don't apply it with a brush, just gently rub it in with my fingers.
I'll try out soap and water.

 

Ah, but what about the doorknocker on the back of her head?

I don't think the toothpaste would hurt it, but may as well see what soap & water can do first. I too use my fingers when I use it.

 

I think that was added to illustrate her hangover. People drank a lot of alcohol in those days.

This is my second alcoholic post in this thread. I must be having withdrawal symptoms from years of not drinking.

 

Barn, since you are looking for Austro-Hungarian, just a few examples of typical AH things to look out for. Silver and mostly real stones. Photos of different quality, bad light and shaky hands.
Dangles and garnets, often with turquoise, pearls or mop:



Enamel and crosses, the two on the right are silver gilt:


Stone clusters, on the left citrine (heat treated amethyst?) and pearls, on the right Central European turquoise. The one on the left is a city piece, on the right is a very rare Transylvanian piece:


Note the backs. AH backs are nearly always nicely decorated, but the Transylvanian one is extremely crude. It is from a specific production line between 1860-1880 for the increased demand for bling by the Transylvanian Saxons. Crude, but highly collectible:


A ring, probably Transylvanian. Silver with traces of gilding, mop and Central European turquoise. One glass cabochon, top left, either replaced or original, in the devil-may-care folk style:

 

A phrase I never really expected to hear in my lifetime. (Or any other time.)

 

There are also tricky Austro-Hungarian styles.
First the Gürtler pieces, the direct ancestor of Bohemian costume jewellery.
The Gürtler were craftspeople who made utilitarian jewellery, things like decorated buckles. They were not real silversmiths and were not allowed to work in precious metals. Gürtler pieces are usually layered pieces, assembled using die stamped elements.
The central pendant is gilt brass with mop and amethyst glass, the other two are silverplated brass with glass and faux pearls:


The next tricky style is the silver, gold, rose-cut garnet combination. It is an old style, but it continued in Austrian regional jewellery, so it can be difficult to date.
For instance this necklace is antique AH, the earrings are ca 1930s Austrian:

 

A substantial and very influential minority ever since the Middle Ages, although many were kicked out after WWII. They were given part of a region in West Germany, a country they didn't know, but at least they could stay together.

Most are not Saxon btw, but that is what their Hungarian and Romanian neighbours called them. They originally came from the western rim of Germany and neighbouring parts of the Low Countries, and had been invited to come and develop Transylvania by one of the Transylvanian kings. They were known as hard working and trustworthy, which is why they were often employed by the rulers of Transylvania. They had some money to spend and loved their bling.

 

Unlike the Pennsylvania 'Dutch'.

 

I guess that's the way to tell Transylvania and Pennsylvania 'Deutsch' apart.
Of course they came from different regions of Europe during different times, and had different reasons for leaving their places of origin.

 

Thank you for the extremely informative posts! I'll definitely be on the lookout for jewelry like those. The person I bought the garnets from was selling a set of silver and garnet jewelry that looked kind of like some of the AH stuff you posted, but it was newer, with a safety clasp on the brooch. I decided not to buy it since I had spent most of my money on the BG stuff.

I'm glad to know about the crudeness of the backs. Sometimes, when I see a piece of jewelry with no marks and that looks rough from behind, I rethink purchasing it. Would Transylvanian Saxon jewelry be marked?

 

Thanks for posting the backside of the garnet pieces. Because of the construction I would place these pieces at about 1880 + or -. And yes they are probably set in silver but perhaps not sterling. Some of the time they were set in low grade gold with silver and copper mix. During this time fashion dictated that neck jewelry was worn outside the clothing not next to the skin, ergo; tarnish did not discolor the skin. If you take out one of the garnets you will probably discover a small square of dull metal. When new, this dull metal was highly reflective silver and gave the garnet a high reflectivity so that the piece sparkled when new. These pieces involved a great amount of hand work, something we could not afford today. I prefer these old pieces to be somewhat dull, with a semi cleaning of the silver leaving some of the patina. Yes, these pieces want and need restoration and the job should be relatively easy. In the day, these garnet pieces were considered as costume and of not much value (Garish perhaps). The new garnets are not the same color or cut but you can pick up old irreparable pieces, on line, cheap and recover the garnets. And now a disclaimer: Although I,ve had some experience with old garnet jewelry I am still learning more and my opinions are based upon my experience and what I have learned over the years and are open to future amendment.

 

@Any Jewelry sorry to keep tagging you with jewelry questions, but I unearthed this from my stock and was meaning to ask, do you think it's Dutch like the bracelet I posted about a while back? It doesn't have any hallmarks, and the back looks kinda rough. C clasp. 5 cm wide.

 

Thank you for posting! I'm still learning, too. One of the reasons I bought it was because of the closed back; three of my Bohemian garnet brooches from around that time also have closed backs. I have another brooch with an open back, but it has table-cut stones, so it might also have something to do with the way the light enters.

Antique Bohemian garnets are my favorite kind of jewelry. They're so Gothic, I just love them.

 

No problem at all, Barn, that is what I am here for.

My guess is somewhere along the Mediterranean, could be along any of the coasts. Maybe Palestinian.
Nice front, but the back is very sloppy, and the silver fineness is probably below the Dutch legal grade.

 

Here in the Netherlands they used to be sold at fairs by traders from Bohemia.

 

No, it wouldn't. Don't look for rough backs, btw, or you'll end up buying the entire contents of your average flea market.
It is: Austro-Hungarian style, studded with stones, preferably real ones, often mop too. Crudely made back-Transylvanian, nicely decorated back-other Austro-Hungarian.
Never rough, all backs should feel smooth on account of the age-related wear.

 

Haha, good to know. I'll keep my eyes out.

 

Ah, ME was my initial thought. I didn't pay much for it, so even if it's base metal, I don't mind.

 

Dutch pieces would be marked with at least an assay mark, often a maker's mark as well. It is very unusual for pieces not to be marked.
And they would be of a better general quality, more finesse, and the back would be nicely finished.