www.925-1000.com

Recently bought this with two others from a family selling grandmothers things following her death. They said she had had them for 'ages' and they were greatly cherished by her.

The silver in this brooch is not that shiney blue toned silver - its soft and buttery looking with a vaguely yellow tinge. The stones are bright and very attractive.

The hallmarks are hard to read - with my eyesight dying even with a magnifying glass I cant get a clear image of the date stamp.

I have a picture here but my camera isnt the best for closeups Im sorry.

What I am sure is that the first mark is a diamond with WBS in it - the S could be a small s.

The second mark is a thistle in a shield.

The third mark is also in a shield and looks like a very simple stylised castle without embellishments visible and with three turrets, the middle being slightly taller.

Now this last mark is the one that kisses Polly - it is definitely in a square with no chopped corners although all corners are not perfect geometrically square right angles, Everyone I thrust the magnifying glass at agrees this is a letter 'f' - the trouble is, it looks just like the 1760 eff!

Could this possibly be this old, or has wear disguised a much younger piece of jewellery?

Is it very rare?

I would greatly appreciate if anyone could identify the makers mark - and therefore perhaps clarify the age of this very delicate and attractive brooch. Many thanks for your time. Kiwi jen




(click on thumbnails for a huge image)

A BETTER PIC OF THE HALLMARKS - especially if you have a laptop and can move the screen to darken it - any ideas on date folks? Thks

The thistle and castle marks are for Edinborough, Scotland. It is too difficult from your photo to see the date mark (the last mark), so I cannot tell you the date of the piece without a better photo.

Many thanx for that - I have posted a clearer pic, the best my camera will do. Jen

Could be 1961

Yes, you are right, it could be. It resembles a 1841 more though with the heavier centre and the exagerated flick at the bottom. The last pick is pretty much what you see under a magifying glass - Im hoping someone will recogise the work and the softer shade of silver and be able to say 'hey that cant possible be that young/old' and solve the mystery! Thank you

Hi,

You can rule out 1760 and 1841 on stylistic grounds and workmanship.

I can't tell you exactly what it is, just what it isn't

Thank you,

I was hoping to find someone that recognised more than just the marks. Here iin NZ there are quite a lot of brooches that are obviously very old, (much older than this) but unmarked - do you know of any books out I could get my hands on to learn about pin and clasp styles so I can get more knowledgable and enjoy the 'hunt' for origin more? Thanks Jen

Jen,

This style of pin/clasp has been patented in the early 20th century.
I can't think of any book that describes those in particular. Many of the info is scattered around.

You could start with "understanding jewellery" published by the antique collecters club. (Daniel Bennet)

The maker was WB Small, produced plenty like this in the 1960s.

Richard