Gemstone ID help on two new jewelry pieces

ivycompany

ivycompany

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It's been AGES since I checked in here. Been super busy. Missed you all.

I'm processing some estate jewelry and need help IDing gemstones. I'm pretty good up to a point but there is still so much I don't know.

First piece - sterling art deco brooch dated 1895. Pretty sure it's jet, definitely one little piece of malachite, but the little chartreuse cabochons are stumping me.

DecoBrooch1.jpg

DecoBrooch6.jpg


Second, a bracelet with rounded rectangular links. Stone has turquoise & black flecks.

Turqbrass2.jpg

Turqbrass3.jpg
 
"Pebble jewelry?" Don't know that term. I know what you mean about the brooch. It looks like the Tara or one that is inspired by it, but I can't see anything that looks broken. To me it looks like an Art Deco interpretation. The pea green stones are more yellow than any moss agate I've seen but you may be right. It's engraved on the back "E.G.S. 28th Nov 1895"

On the bracelet, the clasp is folded-over metal that snaps into a chamber on the bezel opposite. Looking at it through the loupe, the stone looks like real variegated stone, not composite. I do love the webby patterns it makes with the black. Could it be a kind of turquoise?
 
Moss agate is most often a common term, and usually applied to a quartz mineral. From pale yellow/lime green such as yours, to the 'leafy' looking variegated variety.

If the second piece are actual stones, then it has some killer pieces of turquoise (be sure to include 'spider web turquoise' in your keywords if applicable). The stones look huge as well, so don't let it go cheap, lol.
 
That's it. See? I didn't know "spider web turquoise" was a thing. And I've been doing this for how long? Thanks so much. Now...about pricing....
 
The first brooch is really lovely...it is Scottish in origin...if you search the term Scottish pebble jewelry, you will find some lovely items and the early pieces do very well.
That bracelet is most intriguing...the brass work looks Arts & Crafts in origin.

Glad to see you back, Eileen!
 
The first piece is wonderful and I would call it Arts and Crafts rather than Art Deco which is about 15 years later than your piece is dated.

Linn
 
I LOVE pebble jewelry, and yours is such a wonderful example! Hooray for Laura for being able to ID those almost-chartreuse (!) stones for you...

The bracelet is phenomenal--are the links as large as they look, and is the raised motif (embossing? not sure if that's the correct term...) identical on the all-metal links or does it appear to have been done by hand? I agree with Mary Jane that it has an Arts & Crafts look...
 
Or maybe Iona marble for some of the smaller green stones?
http://www.alexander-ritchie.co.uk/marble.htm

Agate is likely, but I found this Iona marble info interesting, and it was used in Scottish pebble jewelry:
"IONA MARBLE from the Western Isles and SHETLAND SERPENTINE MARBLE are much sought after for jewellery making purposes.
The pale green Iona marble was used to make the font at historic Iona Abbey, however, smaller pieces can be beautifully polished, and have also proved popular, particularly in Scottish pebble jewellery.
Alistir said: “The Iona marble is very attractive and of course it has the most romantic connotations especially for people who want things made up which are truly Scottish.
“Iona has a special resonance because of its links with St Columba and the beginnings of Christianity when it was at the very edge of civilisation. For many people that makes anything from Iona more than a wee bit special – not to mention that Iona Marble is very scarce."
 
Joules - that's it!! That is the color and grain of the stone. Thanks so much! Now I'm trying to figure out if the black stones are jet or obsidian or something else. Here's another closeup.
DecoBrooch3.jpg


The bracelet links are 3" and yes, they do appear to be hand done as they are all different. Here's a photo that shows the backs of the links:

Turqbrass1.jpg


Here's another bracelet from the same estate. Looks like brass and red jasper.

RedJasper1.jpg

RedJasper3.jpg


These pieces came to me in a modern shoebox packed full of jewelry. It belongs to the husband of a long-time consignor - it was a great grandmother's or something and he's been hauling this box around for years during his bachelor life, moving from house to house. She found the shoebox in the garage a few years after they had moved in together. These pieces are the oldest, but there is also junky 80s earrings etc. Quite the varied group of bling. And obviously generations of women handed them down. But this guy had no sisters.
 
I only want to add that these pieces are right up my alley, and quite gorgeous. I especially love the chunky bracelet, which to me has an almost Aesthetic period feel to it, at least in the brass designs. If so, that makes it even older than Arts and Crafts era (in this country). The bracelet with the reddish stone looks a bit Art Nouveau to me. The paler green stones in that brooch are beautiful. I know I can't date them as accurately as some others, as I am not a jewelry authority. But I do get a strong Aesthetic vibe from that big one.

Great finds, and thanks for sharing them.
 
Wow, all of those are amazing!

Could the little green stones be green jasper? I'm not a professional in dealing with jewelry or stones, but I have a friend who knows what just about any stone is and they sell stones in the shop she works in as well. Anyhow, long story short; it looks like one of the stones she was showing me in a bracelet there at the shop not too long ago.
 
thespectrum said:
I have been following this thread with great interest & have learned a lot. All three pieces are stunning & right up my alley as well. I especially love the 2nd bracelet.
Click to expand...

echoing MS's sentiments EXACTly.

what a phenomenal acquisition!
 
After viewing this 3rd item, I am wondering if it is also Scottish in origin as it does have a Celtic cross symbol on it.

When we viewed Carrie's it was a solo piece but I think these may all be of English or Scottish origin. Very beautiful pieces, you should do very well with these.

I would call your 1st pin a Victorian Scottish Pebble Plaid Brooch. It would likely have been used a plaid pin. To keep the tartan scarf in place.
 
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