Hi! I inherited a few brooches from a Great Aunt in Italy and I was wondering if anyone out there knew anything of these. The rose one is stamped with 900, the rectangular Art Deco (I’m guessing) style is stamped with 274 and I think Ges and a few other letters I can’t make out. Thank you!
What pretty brooches, and how nice to receive them from you Great Aunt! I believe all of them are from around the 1930s, or perhaps a little earlier. They all appear to have a base of rough pot metal, but since the coral rose is marked "900", that one would be made with a silver (although less than sterling at 925) base. The second one, with the starburst effect, could be so easily made wearable by replacing the rhinestones. It's an easy fix--the clear rhinestones can be easily found online, and I prefer the G-S Hypo Cement for glue. Enjoy these little beauties!
I wasn't able to find out anything about the mark 274. I just edited this because I remembered what GES stands for : The term Ges. Gesch is an abbreviation for "Gesetzlich Geschutzt" and is the German equivalent of a trademark, copyright or patent, as seen in the United States. The translation of Gesetzlich Geschutzt literally means legally protected. GES was first used in Germany in 1899. (Thank you Google.) I think they are all earlier than 1930s. I agree that the piece marked 900 with the rose is low grade silver. The rose looks like it might be coral. That one strikes me as a collar pin - very early 20C. The one with the red stones and the oval shaped one look earlier to me, too. The one that you think looks Art Deco is the one that is marked GES - so it is probably German, I think it looks either late Edwardian or early Art Deco - maybe 1910- 1915 or so. The catches on all of them look early to me. I would enjoy them and if you have a jeweler that you trust perhaps asks for their opinion. I don't think they are "fine" jewelry but the red stones might be garnets not rhinestones and the one that looks like it might be moonstone - might be!
