If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Jockeying for Position: How Boxers and Briefs Got Into Men's Pants
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords
'The Great Gatsby' Still Gets Flappers Wrong
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
Forget TV Pickers, Meet the Real Mavericks of the Antiques World
Coveting The Craziest Cat-People Collectibles
Posted 2 years ago
Furee65
(14 items)
This was a neat pendant picked up last week at a local garage sale at the end of the day for $1.00. I had a gut feeling this was well worth the dollar price tag just by the way it was constructed even if it was not real. We are trying to figure out how old this piece could be and what the center stone is. The lady at the local jewelry store said they are very good quality diamonds and that is why most people did not even think they were real and just over looked this piece as just costume jewelry. There are no makers marks that i can see so identifying it is kind of hard. If anyone knows any makers who used the backing like this i would be very interested. We also found many other pieces of neat jewelry from this sale but this one really stood out.
Diamond JewelryAccording to James Bond author Ian Fleming, diamonds are forever. For Maril…
Fine Jewelry NecklacesNecklaces are among the oldest forms of fine jewelry, in no small part beca…
Looks like it was made by Asian jeweler. I've seen my mom's jewelry and it resembles the style on the backing (she's from Thailand). It looks like a custom made piece for someone. You should have it appraise. It is beautiful.
I believe the large center stone is a moonstone by the way that it changes color when it is moved in the light. The blue/green stones are usually from Sri Lanka. You can go to the website: gemstone.org and look under the section "gem by gem" to see the stones and their history. I find your necklace interesting because I have a ring with 9 similar stones and similar cut-out designs in the gold on the back. I purchased it a few years ago at a thrift store in the costume jewelry showcase for $4.98 . I believed it to be gold, which it is. It has no markings on it that I can find. I have been trying to discover the maker/origin and have not had any luck locating a similar piece until I saw your necklace. I am going to upload pictures of my ring on the show and tell page so that you can see the design on the back. I believe that it could be Asian as was stated in a previous comment on this webpage.
Thank you for the info I have been told it could be anything from amethyst,purple sapphire, ruby but the moonstone does sound interesting and makes sense. I would love to see your ring it sounds beautiful. Thanks again for your info. If I find anything out about the center stone I will let you guys know.
So i finally took it in to the shop that deals with vintage estate jewelry and he valued its replacement value at $11,756 and said it was a very good quality. The stone is a 23 carat amethyst and there is a little over 2 carats of brilliant diamonds set in platinum and 18kt gold. That was great news but now my wife and older daughter are trying to stake their claim on it :)
Hello Furee65. Just confirms that when one has an "eye" it should be trusted. Congratulations on your "eye". DD@Phila
Gee, why don't I ever find anything wonderful at garage sales. Must get ou and about some more! Happy for your beautiful, valuable find!
Congratulations Furee!! That is one great find!!!
I'll give you twice what you paid for it...lol just kidding!
Congrats and, uh, just my two cents on your dilemma between wife and daughter:
Your lovely wife should have it and then she can pass it down to your daughter:)
AMAZING PIECE!!! CONGRATS ON SUCH A TREASURE
Yes I was going to say definatly cabachon amethyst, I saw one on a Russian site today with that same color and glow. You lucked and the people running the yard sale - woe to them...... hopefully they wont ever have to know what they gave away for 1.00!!