Featured Vintage sterling pieces of questionable quality

Seems the only thing these pieces have going for them is that they are marked sterling. The clip is marked sterling and Germany. Has a stone or two missing. Not too sure that they're even stones. The necklace's only mark is 800 which is a lower quality sterling. The groups of grapes all seem to be exactly the same meaning a single mold was used. Also better wear this piece on the outside of clothes, looks like it's got some edges. Wondering if this stuff is antique and or if it's junk?

 

Certainly not junk. Clip is marcasite, 1920s or 30s. Necklace probably Scandinavian.

 

The grapes, with a simple '800' (silver, not sterling), is most likely Italian, though suppose German is a possiblility - it's nice...

~Cheryl

 

Very nice, dc. But not sterling, not questionable, not junk. These are perfectly fine pieces.
I think the lovely grape necklace is from southern Germany, where grape jewellery is popular. It has many fine wine growing regions, and annual wine festivals during which women often wear grape jewellery.
Italy and Portugal are also known for grape jewellery, but that is usually more detailed.
800 is one of the legal silver finenesses in Germany.

Sterling is the name for a silver fineness of 925. The name is based on Medieval German coins of reliable high fineness which Germans used to trade in the Low Countries. The Dutch called the German coin 'pond oosterling', pound easterner, because Germany is to the east of the Low Countries.
The Brits trading with the Dutch thought the two o's were two zeros, and dropped them. The term pound sterling was born, along with the term sterling silver.

Any other silver fineness is never called sterling. Some finenesses are higher than sterling, some are lower.
Sterling is just a name with a historic background, which includes a silly mistake.

 

I'd forgotten those German wine necklaces.

 

That reminds me of my friend Com, who used to deal exclusively in pewter stuff back in the old days. He was really bad at math and used to take off his socks if he needed to count above his ten fingers ...all the folks at the market would make fun of him and behind his back would whisper "look at that damn fool Com pewter"

 

Not familiar with the German wine necklaces, and personally doubt the origin really makes much difference here, but will say that I've seen a number of similar cast .800 silver grape or floral motif necklaces and bracelets that also bore the names of Italian makers...

~Cheryl

 

I rather like 800 /835 silver, it tends to be harder wearing than sterling, which is softer (higher silver % the softer it is). Colour of 800 depends on the mix, iv'e found some tending to 'grey' silver and others to a softer silver. Definately not junk, some of the best early (non British) silver is 800!

 

It was a stupid mistake on my part. I knew a 800 mark wasn't sterling. Meant to say just "silver" not sterling in the necklace portion of the post.

 

I'd cheerfully hoard ... wear ... either of them. Nice vintage to antique silver. My late dad bought me a grape necklace in the 1980s; it was new at the time, so they were still being made as of then and probably are now. It's a popular design motif.