I have been to several yard sales last few months and I found a few treasures... here are a couple of keepers I found last weekend.
obviously they are silver paid $2 for both but the one on the left looks hand/home made and might have a copper bezel... I think the stone is porcelain the clasp says .925 so its not hand/home made but the bezel sure looks like it. a slight copper color is coming through the bezel in some places... but he scratch on the bottom in the picture does not show copper... so I'm confused.
Nothing to be confused about. It's silverplate over copper. The scratch on the bottom almost looks like a seam.
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason so few engage in it." - Henry Ford "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those that speak it." -George Orwell
It could have been replaced or it could have been to fool the original purchaser of the piece. Probably looked pretty good before all the plating wore off. You can clearly see the copper showing through on the bezel. The color alone on a streak test should give it away, without acid with all that color showing through. Blow your photo up and take a closer look.
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason so few engage in it." - Henry Ford "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those that speak it." -George Orwell
Necklaces' catches were changed and left the .925 chains
Originally Posted by chukers
then why is there a .925 on the clasp?
Chukers,
Just last week, a local retirement/assisted living home had a garage sale.
Laying out in plain sight was a Baggie with two silver necklaces, but the catches
had turned copper colored. Like many others who most likely picked up the bag, I almost put it back down, too, because at first glance, they looked like costume jewelry.
As I looked at them closer, the silver Snake chains had ends with .925 stamped on them.
As I looked at them longer, I realized that someone had changed catches that looped into the necklaces' factory ends. The catches that were on the ends were ones that contained strong magnets. Could have been someone in the family change out the catches so the past owner could wear the chains and not have to latch them together with weak or painful hands.
I was lucky to get the chains at the price of little-to-nothing, in a bundle buy. It was a good weekend of silver finds, and I learned something that morning that I'll use in the future.
Bill
I hit the chains with a small file and the tester said they were an honest .925.
Last edited by billjustbill; May 29, 2012 at 08:20 PM.
Just last week, a local retirement/assisted living home had a garage sale.
Laying out in plain sight was a Baggie with two silver necklaces, but the catches
had turned copper colored. Like many others who most likely picked up the bag, I almost put it back down, too, because at first glance, they looked like costume jewelry.
As I looked at them closer, the silver Snake chains had ends with .925 stamped on them.
As I looked at them longer, I realized that someone had changed catches that looped into the necklaces' factory ends. The catches that were on the ends were ones that contained strong magnets. Could have been someone in the family change out the catches so the past owner could wear the chains and not have to latch them together with weak or painful hands.
I was lucky to get the chains at the price of little-to-nothing, in a bundle buy. It was a good weekend of silver finds, and I learned something that morning that I'll use in the future.
Bill
I hit the chains with a small file and the tester said they were an honest .925.
good lesson... I never thought about people repairing jewelry... I have before so why not... its very likely that a lot of the stuff I find/buy have silver clasps and rest is junk... I see yours was the other way around nice!
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Originally Posted by diggummup
