Posted 4 years ago
highlander56
(82 items)
I don’t really collect brooches, unless they’re the ones my grandmother gave me or I find them fascinating.
This is the latter, and know I need a converter to wear as a pendant. Picture’s don't do it justice.
This brooch weighs 18.64g and measures 1-5/8” around. It is marked 925 STS Thailand. Using my Presidium gem tester, it appears the stones are Blue Spinel, Goshenite or clear Quartz, Peridot, and Citrine or Heliodor Garnet. Since I’m not a gemologist, it gives me a vague idea and I know the stones are not glass.
Each stone is a flower petal or flower stamen. There is a design on the front that looks like tiny raised dots. Stippling? The side is raised a bit and has a cutout so maybe more light can get through. I haven’t tried cleaning it so can’t tell whether the coloration on the front is a gold wash, or beginning of tarnish. The back is polished smooth with light tarnish.
Periodically I run into a truly stunning STS Thailand piece...not to be confused with STS Karis. Fortunately, one of our local jeweler’s is usually happy to help me narrow down the stone identification. May need to get help.
Thanks for looking everybody!
Terry
Hi Eileen: it reminds me of Italian mosaic brooches, only using stones rather than tiles. They make so many artistic designs of flower petals, stamen, leaves, etc. using micro mosaic. The intricacies of the Italian pieces are amazing...but so hard to find with all the pieces intact. That’s probably what really attracted me to this brooch, even though not Italian. It’s just so detailed.
Thank you everybody for looking at my brooch. Am going to try a really light buff on it today to see if front is tarnish or gold wash. Just don’t want to mess it up!