Ummm - big old hunk of silvery magnificence

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by scoutshouse, Feb 23, 2016.

  1. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    ? :)->) a pendant, that's all I got.

    Someone tested it earlier... I didn't see the test, which just turned the same as the grayish residue it left at about 8 o clock on the inside ring (reverse side, of course)...

    I don't think it's silver, but it has a very nice lustre to it.

    Can anyone think of a costume jeweler who makes pieces like this?

    20160223_185853.jpg
    20160223_185923.jpg
    20160223_185932.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2016
  2. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    It's brutalist style, but a lot of people did that in the 70s. I'd have it tested for silver content; a lot of these pieces were done in it by random artisans. I have a feeling it's something called electroform.
     
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  3. clutteredcloset49

    clutteredcloset49 Well-Known Member

    Looks like a piece of lost wax casting. Whether by an actual artisan or a high school student back in the 60s.

    You make an item out of wax, cast it in plaster, put it in a kiln to melt the wax, put the mold in a centrifuge, melt your silver and let it spin into the mold.

    My high school had a jewelry class. We did things like this back then.
    You could buy silver to melt, or do what I did, go to junk stores and buy bent up old silver and melt it.
    So of course things weren't marked silver.

    Adding:
    Looking again at the pictures. On the back you can see little balls which would have been air bubbles in the mold. An artisan would have cleaned them up better.
     
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  4. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    I'll test it myself tomorrow - the photo really doesn't do it justice, and I notice it's much prettier sideways, not vertically - really too bad it's not a pin.

    So if electroform - the pieces I saw mostly were cast from real plants - this has a very pillowy look - like warm wax, kind of. (as I see cluttered mentioned above:))

    Sorry, I didn't complete my electroform thought:
    but I did find this:

    Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 9.38.24 PM.png
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2016
  5. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    Looks more like it was someone playing with a wax pen and cast it.Electroforming only "plates" an already made object like leaves,acorns,etc.
     
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  6. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    It reminded me of these sterling toothpicks I have a set of. ALP GULDSMEDJA GUNNAR

    Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 9.49.28 PM.png
     
    Aquitaine likes this.
  7. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    Electroforming can be done over all sorts of bases, including resin models that some manufacturers use for inexpensive 'sterling' jewelry and other objects (I see a lot coming out of Israel) - the pendant looks more like a lost wax casting to me.

    Regarding the nude cocktail picks - 'ALP' on Swedish silver indicates 'Alpacca' (nickel silver, usually silverplated), if solid silver, sterling or otherwise, would be marked as such...

    ~Cheryl
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2016
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  8. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    I'd never have thought the term Alpacca wasn't related to Mexican or South American Alpaca! That's great to know.

    I found this list of all the "German Silver" or Alpacca Silver names used around the world:
    • Alpaca or Alpacca Silver
    • Aluminum Silver
    • Austrian Silver
    • Brazil or Brazilian Silver
    • Bristol Silver
    • Burmaroid Silver
    • England Silver
    • German Silver
    • Indian Silver
    • Japanese Silver
    • Laxey Silver
    • Mexican Silver
    • Nevada Silver
    • Nickel Silver
    • Paktong
    • Pearl Silver
    • Potosi Silver
    • Solid G Silver (aka German Silver)
    • Sonora Silver
    • Tyrol Silver
    • Venetian Silver
    • Yukon Silver
    And Italy uses some form of the word Argentum, right?
     
  9. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    It might also be that silver clay stuff.
     
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  10. johnnycb09

    johnnycb09 Well-Known Member

    Those toothpicks are awesome , Scouts ! I get a Japanesque feel from that pendant ,very organic .
     
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  11. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    I find the pendant to be erotic and very well thought out and made...
     
  12. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the info, guys - I'm on my way to work and will test, but ? what the heck it's made of.

    johnnycb and komokwa - thanks, I agree - I really am surprised at how much more beautiful that pendant is sidewise...

    Here's the test I did today - greige.

    2016-02-24 11.24.29.jpg
    2016-02-24 11.24.49.jpg
     
    komokwa likes this.
  13. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    According to stebgo.com, greige is not a bad test result:
    10KY Brown Color
    14KY Very Slight Brown Color
    18KY+ No Color Change
    10KW Dark Brown, After 20 Seconds The Acid Starts To Fizz
    14KW Slight Brown
    18KW Faint Brown
    Sterling Milky White/Gray
     
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