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Pot Metal Vintage Brooch

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terihanson's loves77 of 108Rare Benedikt von Poschinger Compote designed by Georg Carl von ReichenbachPaul Monet watch
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    Posted 7 years ago

    freiheit
    (1223 items)

    I got this brooch for about 50 cents. I wanted to say that because otherwise you might be wondering why I post such a poor item!
    I know it is in rather sad shape but I found it very interesting. When something is made of pot metal, the quality is usually not the greatest but in this case it is the worst pot metal I have ever seen. I don't know what they put into the pot and melted together!
    I would never wear this brooch, however, I still think that it is worth researching.

    Thanks for looking:)

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    Comments

    1. Celiene Celiene, 7 years ago
      I didn't even notice the age, since the flowers are so bright & cheery. Kyratango would just paint it with gold paint and be done! It was obviously well-loved.
    2. Virginia.vintage Virginia.vintage, 7 years ago
      Its adorable, very delicate, beautiful!
    3. freiheit freiheit, 7 years ago
      Celiene, thanks for your comment. I was thinking, too, to paint it gold. Maybe Kyratango has some suggestions. Because I am not going to wear it, but rather just add it to my little collection of costume jewelry from many decades, I was also considering to leave it as it is.
    4. bijoucaillouvintage bijoucaillouvintage, 7 years ago
      I don't find it poor at all. Its imperfections make it very charming.
    5. TassieDevil TassieDevil, 7 years ago
      Freiheit, it is funny how we think when we buy ......I tend to get either really sentimental and buy something that shows that it has really been loved, or find something so interesting and curious I have to take it home to study it!!

      The flowers on this brooch are lovely!! :-)
    6. kyratango kyratango, 7 years ago
      Freiheit, I easily understand your impulsive buy ;-) the brooch is charming, and the flowers so bright!

      Rather than paint, I'd use Gilders paste/wax, choosing the convenient gold color for you, in very little amount as shown there:
      https://youtu.be/aqvuYbR1MtU
    7. davyd286, 7 years ago
      Those flowers used to come from Czechoslovakia and several makers used them, even miriam Haskell, btw they are still being made. What I find interesting is how the floral centers are attached and that the pin hinge looks funny, hmm.. The gold on it already looks a bit like Gilders paste. I would have paid 50 cents for the pin, too, to be able to study it closely.
    8. freiheit freiheit, 7 years ago
      Davyd286, I agree with what you said. I found some brooches with the same little flowers, but they were of much better quality. The hinge is attached in a very unusual way: It is coming right out of the body of the brooch. It looks almost like homemade.

      Now I am not sure if my brooch falls into this category, but I read that during WWII many metals were scarce or even illegal to use because they were needed for the war effort. Women being women, they still wanted to look good, so there still was a demand for all things feminine. In this spirit, costume jewelry was made of silver, but also of any other suitable metal not needed for the war.

      The quality, or the lack thereof, of my brooch leads me to believe that it was made from a really poor and unsuitable mix of scrap metal.

      I found this on Wikipedia:
      Pot metal—also known as monkey metal, white metal, or die-cast zinc—is a colloquial term that refers to alloys of low-melting point metals that manufacturers use to make fast, inexpensive castings. The term "pot metal" came about due to the practice at automobile factories in the early 20th century of gathering up non-ferrous metal scraps from the manufacturing processes and melting them in one pot to form into cast products. A small amount of iron usually made it into the castings, but too much iron raised the melting point, so it was minimized.

      There is no metallurgical standard for pot metal. Common metals in pot metal include zinc, lead, copper, tin, magnesium, aluminium, iron, and toxic cadmium. The primary advantage of pot metal is that it is quick and easy to cast. Because of its low melting temperature, it requires no sophisticated foundry equipment or specialized molds. Manufacturers sometimes use it to experiment with molds and ideas (e.g., prototypes) before casting final products in a higher quality alloy. Items created from pot metal include toys,[1] furniture fittings, tool parts, electronics components, automotive parts, and improvised weaponry.


      I am only speculating here. It would be nice to find out more:)


    9. freiheit freiheit, 7 years ago
      kyratango, thanks so much for stopping by and providing me with the link!
    10. kyratango kyratango, 7 years ago
      You are very welcome! :-)
    11. katherinescollections katherinescollections, 7 years ago
      Not sure what you find objectionable about this brooch. It's darling, at least to my eye.
    12. lentilka11, 7 years ago
      I loved this type of jewelry as a kid..I still love it.
    13. freiheit freiheit, 7 years ago
      Thanks for your lovely comments, katherinescollections and lentilka11:)
    14. Skyflower, 7 years ago
      There is something adorable about your brooch. I love the period colour tones. It's homely and nostalgic x

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