Posted 11 years ago
lilybellek…
(1 item)
Hiiiii!!!
I'm totally new to this site so hello :-) I'm Silvia feom England and I have a passion for vintage costume jewellery.
This piece baffles me and I am desperate to know more about it.
It is a pin brooch and I guess the photos show it well?
The pearls are gritty on the teeth and shine flecks of green under uv light so I am sure they are genuine. Certainly not paste.
I believe the brooch is gold plated at the very least.
The black marks on the gold are due to stupid florist wire having been wrapped around them for 4 years - LONG story.
Then the signature. ... what does it say?
Any ideas anyone? Please help.
My email is lilybellekeepsakes@gmail.com xx
I cannot read the hallmark...it need to be cleaned....
Moreau? Monet? Its costume jewelry..looks to be goldfilled...or plated. Maybe real Pearls...
Lee
The pearls are real. I think it is gold plated. I think the hallmark is 'monet'. Monet's signatures started without the (C) before in the early days.
I have been told by a collector that it could be a rare fine Monet piece from when they released a small limited collection of finer jewellery pieces.
I need a Monet expert to verify what I've been told as true or false or possible :-)
Monet would be my vote.
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/modern-metallics-monet-costume-jewelry/
How is the best way to clean the brooch?
With a jewelers cleaning cloth....
Looks gold to me. Real pearls aren't usually set in costume jewelry.
The fact that it is tarnished like that makes me think gold as well. Regardless of what you've read about gold, it DOES tarnish, but gold plate doesn't.
You can also distinguish gold from costume by the construction of a piece. Its hard to explain, but this piece was cut out of a solid sheet of metal with a jeweler's saw, and usually you see that with gold. Costume jewelry is cheap and mass-produced, finer jewelry is handmade, from sheets of gold.
The tube-hinge is also indicative of finer jewelry, if it is not a replacement. And the "scratched" surface is indicative of gold.
Everything I see points to gold. If not, then rolled-gold or gold-filled (which are very hard to distinguish from solid gold).
Thanks for your imformative opinion!!
The black I am sure will come off ad it is the residue of florist stub wire.
I am not sure rubbing it with a cloth will quiye do it alone though?
Any suggestions?
I desperate to read the stamp properly and identify it.
I want to get to the bottom of it's background and vLue.
Is there Monet expert on here I cluld ask?
Stillwater, do you think thos could be one of the very early fine jewellery Monet pieces?
Monet is high end costume pieces only..never in solid gold. Usually plated ....and they would use real pearls...as Swaboda pieces are set in sterling or potmetal and real gemstones...also high end.
I don't think that says Monet, it appears to be signed the way a lot of gold jewelry is, where they take a sheet of gold, stamp it a million times with their mark, cut them individually out, and then solder the tiny rectangles onto the pieces. And I don't ever recall Monet using real pearls? I'd have to see this thing in person though.
And about the tarnish, its on the back isn't it? Doesn't really matter does it? Unless of course you're trying to list this on eBay...
Hi.
No 100% not listing on ebay. I love this brooch to bits.
The tarnish is to the back only.
Could the writing say Morat?
lilybelle, I also read Morat or Murat or Muras.
Great to learn so much with these comments!
I never saw monet jewelry with real pearls either, in the pieces I have seen they used real high end imitation pearls. It makes sence what Stillwater said.
I think I've made a break through!!
Has anyone heard of a French brand called Bijoux Murat?
I think this is a piece from 60/70 years a go.
I searched online and the signature stamp is the same... also huge similarities in make / design of pin.
Thoughts? Anyone who knows about this French brand, please reply. Xx
I did a quick Google and I found one with the same trombone closure, and if the solder-plate-signature is the same as you say, then it looks like you've nailed it.
I've never heard of them, so their output must have been small. It looks like they did make fine jewelry too
Nice detective work
Stillwater, who can I ask about this? Today I took it to an auctioneers and two jewellery shops. One jewellery dismissed it saying it was worthless. The other said real pearls, not gold (black staining makes it impossiblenfor itnto be gold he said) and the autioneers just said this sort of jewellery is never made with real gold or pearls or any substance of value.
I am none the wiser. Although the value does interest me, I am not motivated by it. I really just want to know about its history and if it is of value, should I insire it.
I am a stay at home momma who regularly visits boot sales and flea markets. I justblove all these bits. I would be so happy if I had found a treasure :-)
* insure
This is what I found on Murat: 'Murat was one of the largest employers of the French jewellery sector and industrially produced items of gold and silver, solid and plate. Murat had developed a process for rolled gold with a high gold content in 1847, which made them the market-leader among the mid-range jewellers.'
They still make jewelry today.
So if you want to know for sure if its gold or not, you can buy a cheap acid test on internet. Its really simple to do and it comes in handy for other jewelry finds too.
Hope this helps
Very funny, I already thought I knew that name. I just posted a brooch that is also made by Murat
Hey!!
Is it the bow brooch?
Did yoi find out anything about it?
Is it filled/rolled gold?
I still haven't sussed if mine is but I spoke to a French vintage jewellery dealer and she said it would be rolled gold of Murat.
Mine is 9ct gold, its the virgin Mary brooch I just posted.
Interesting. Does it have a hallmark 9ct?
The box brooch in your pins looks very like mine from behind.
(I love your selection btw!)
It has a small mark on the C-clasp that I can not read. But I tested it with acid.
Thanks for loving my jewelry!