need help with brooches

[khanos]

I got a couple brooches signed har, bsk, Giovanni, made Austria, jj, tortolani, and a cameo. How can I tell if they are real gold? Or worth anything? I only brought them cause the lady threw them in for $20 with a vintage jewelry box. Are they worth anything?

 

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[gunsil]

Gotta look closely for a karat mark. That one looks fairly modern and pretty much all factory made jewelry of any precious metal will bear a mark, it's the law. Use a loupe to inspect for marks and if there aren't any it will be costume jewelry. If you still are in doubt most jewelers and pawn shops can test the metal.

 

[khanos]

The lady said they were vintage. Well I guess you win some, you lose some. Hopefully I can make my $20 back! Thanks a million!

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[koolaidsmile]

I'm sorry don't need to step on toes but no one can tell if that piece is modern or vintage just by that 1 picture! Can you take more pics especially of back of it? Also not all vintage precious metal pieces are marked. The previous poster is wrong!

Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

 

[koolaidsmile]

I'm sorry don't need to step on toes but no one can tell if that piece is modern or vintage just by that 1 picture! Can you take more pics especially of back of it? Also not all vintage precious metal pieces are marked. The previous poster is wrong! Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

Also like to add that it may be the law in the country of the other poster but not in every country to hallmark. That piece could have been made anywhere in the world. Many countries get a lot of imported pieces. I can tell that is a high quality piece because of the way the stones are set.

Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

 

[khanos]

I found the info I needed already. I sold them. Thank you

 

[koolaidsmile]

I found the info I needed already. I sold them. Thank you

Now I'm curious?? :-) what did you find?

Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

 

[gunsil]

Also like to add that it may be the law in the country of the other poster but not in every country to hallmark. That piece could have been made anywhere in the world. Many countries get a lot of imported pieces. I can tell that is a high quality piece because of the way the stones are set.

Kathy I make a lot of jewelry, and have for many years. Used to have my own store, now just take custom orders and make pieces to sell through other stores or galleries. Here in the U.S. it is required to mark the metal quality on pieces made for sale. It is not required on items made by jewelry students or hobbyists if it is not to be sold commercially. I think the only European country that doesn't have similar requirements is Germany. Another thing, Khanos' pieces are maker marked, and most maker marked jewelry no matter what country it comes from will have a metal purity mark, especially if they were made for export. Yes, there is a lot of jewelry from the far east and Africa that is unmarked, but little of it we see is made of quality metal anyways. The style of Khanos' brooches are pretty modern, well within the period of marking laws, and I did say when in doubt to get it tested. There is a lot more costume jewelry made than real jewelry throughout the world, sadly most of what we find is costume unless marked.