585/14K Diamonds & Pearl Brooch w/Mystery Maker Mark | ||
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Posted 3 years ago
Efesgirl
(1017 items)
A recent local thrift shop buy for €1,00. Looks to have been made around the mid-century. I've never seen that maker mark before, so no idea in which country to look. My initial thought would be Germany since I'm literally minutes from the border. TY to anyone who may recognize that maker mark to the left of the 585/14K mark.
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What Does the Number 585 Mean on Jewelry?
The 585 jewelry code refers to an alloy’s percentage of pure gold content. In other words, an alloy that is 585 gold is made of 58.5% pure gold and 41.5% other metals.
585 is 14 carat gold, if you are familiar with carats for measuring fineness of gold. Or 585/1000 parts pure gold.
I don't think its German. I don't know what the other mark is, sorry.
mp.kunst, - I know what 585 means. I've been collecting jewelry since 1974 and live in The Netherlands. I was asking about the maker mark, TY
elanski - the mark to the left of the purity mark is what I'm researching. I live in The Netherlands and know all the numerical purity marks and US equivalents. TY
It's a beauty. I think you have a superior piece. I myself would email one of the high end auctioneers in Germany for what they could sell it for and that way get an appraisal for it. I still look at their salesroom as they always have a stunning inventory.
PhilDMorris - I use a world-wide auction house in Maastricht, about half an hour from my home. I've been pretty successful there. Going to hang onto it for now and admire it, LOL!
Looks like it came out of a treasure chest :)
It looks like a D to me...
It kind of does look like a "D" but I get nothing so far in any kind of search, even image searches.
The dual 585/14K stamp is a clue on its own. A purely domestic Dutch or German piece is often just 585. Seeing both millesimal and karat together usually means it was made for export, or for a shop that sold into the US as well as Europe. That would fit a mid-century brooch found near the border.
The punch to the left of 585 looking like a D — I would treat that as a maker’s mark in a cartouche, not an assay office. Small mid-century firms often used a single letter in a shield, and they do not always show up in the usual lists. A tighter shot of just that stamp, raking light from the side, sometimes turns a “D” into a poorly struck B or a diamond-shaped cartouche.
€1 for pearl and diamond 14K is the kind of thrift luck that keeps people looking. Glad you are keeping it rather than treating it as melt.
Nice find for €1 — before you decide whether to keep it for the design or eventually scrap the gold, it helps to separate the two numbers.
585 means 58.5% fine gold. Weigh the brooch in grams (minus any loose pearls if you remove them), then multiply by 0.585 × today's spot per gram for pure gold — that's your approximate melt baseline. A pawn shop or "we buy gold" counter will usually offer some fraction of that (often 50–85% depending on where you are), while a collector might pay more if the maker or design pans out.
For a quick USD melt check from weight + karat when you're comparing offers, I've used this free tool: https://mygoldcalc.com/scrap-gold-calculator
Not a substitute for a local assay if the mark is unclear — just a sanity check so you know when an offer is insulting. Good luck with the mystery mark research.