Hello everyone! Yesterday I had the chance of buying a vintage ring from an antique seller, and I don’t really know how old it is. The seller said it is an old ring and showed me it’s markings to prove that. (I attached a photo of the markings which, in order, are the “925”- silver; the manufacturer’s “stamp”, and a symbol to testify the gem’s authenticity- all, informations from the seller.) I’ve tried looking online to try to guess it’s age and found a few similar pieces ( Which I attached at the the end of this thread..) Do you think that my ring can be that old? I almost forgot to mention that the ring is made out of sterling silver and the center piece is an amethyst. ~ Many thanks, in advance, for helping me out! I wish everyone a wonderful day/night! Photos of the ring: Two similar rings that I’ve found online: https://www.etsy.com/listing/190034...how_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details https://www.mayvedajewellery.com/products/vintage-art-deco-amethyst-marcasite-silver-ring-4112
These can be difficult to date exactly as they are still making very similar rings of sterling with amethyst stones. There was a lot of this Deco reproduction jewelry made in the late 1980s, all of it was sterling silver with man made gems in purple, gold and reds, lots of marcasite, and also with black onyx. A lot of it is still out there being sold as 1920s Deco, but most of it is repro. Still, very nice jewelry and I have a lot of it in my stash. Your stone is man made, "real" but not a natural amethyst.
Thank you so much for your reply, Barbara! As you have pointed out, it’s really hard to date it and it may mean that I will never be able to know the period when it was made. I’ve tried yesterday to look out at the maker’s stamp- which is a “TM”- which leads me to two possible, or not so, jewellers- Theodor Malkin or Thomas Möller. (But, again, I am not sure about this too. I wasn’t able to find online any jewelry made by any of them..) I am not sure if they made it or if it is a reproduction from the 80’s, maybe there was jeweller from that time period with the same stamp. Anyway, even if it is not vintage, I will still love it as it is. I am sure that the person who had own it before me treasured it too PS: How did you know that the amethyst is “man made”? I am really curious to know more about how I can distinguish the real one from the other.
Hi, From what I see, I think they are cut into a shape. (Some sort of triangles united at the center.- I am really sorry, but gems are not my best domain. But, I can add that the shape differs from each stone- some tend to present a not so perfect cut than the others. From my online searches and from what @/Rue_de_la_Paix said, I think they marcasites.) ~Thank you so much for your reply! It means a lot! edit: I think that the maker’s mark could help, so I attached a picture of the ring’s engravings. I believe that the maker’s initials are “TM”.
Hi, I don't think it T.M., I'm going squint but I don't see it, I do see T.---something, I thought H. I looked at both T.M & T.H. and although there are a number of Silversmiths with those initials, none are in the right time frame or when active---well maybe one but marks do not represent his. I'm agreeing with Barbara and say its a relatively modern reproduction--but give it a few years.
Many thanks again for everything, to you and to Barbara. I think I should call this ring my “mystery jewel”. I’ve tried to find some new information and I found a ring on eBay that bears a striking resemblance with my ring, at markings. I don’t know for sure if it’s a good trail, but maybe this could mean something. From the description of the seller, the silversmith is called “Therese Hulwa”. I will attach a photo with the ring in cause markings: ~And with this reply, I want to wish to both you my biggest sympathies for helping me out! It really means a lot to be able to hear someone else’s thoughts on a matter that I care about. <3
Mos, if not all, of the 1980s sterling Deco reproduction jewelry was made in Asia, I think Thailand if my memory serves me correctly. The stones would be man made gems or glass. By man made I mean the stones were made (grown) in a lab, as are many reasonably priced semi precious (and precious) gems today. A true natural, that is, earth dug gem found in the earth would almost always be set in gold or platinum and never silver.
looks like marcasite and amethyst, I do remember in the very late 80's my stepmother bought one very similar to this for my grandmother. I'm pretty sure it was store bought new, but can't say exactly where from, possibly a high street jeweller like H Samuel.
In the later 1980s, 1990s and onward, this type of jewelry flooded the American market. It seemed that every antique shop and antiques market in the country, or at least on the East Coast, had tons of this in their display cases. Some dealers sold it as antique, but it was not. Some dealers were honest and just did not know better if they only had a few pieces. Some dealers bought it by the dozens from wholesale catalogues put out by the import companies. I had several of these catalogues and bought from them too. Still have one somewhere in my stash. There is till tons of it floating around out there. I still wear mine. It is/was nice quality jewelry and very attractive. But it would not be purchased in a high end jewelry store. Rings were particularly popular as they were small pieces and not as expensive as say, a bracelet or necklace. Now that I think about it, maybe the "TH" stands for Thailand. That is where most of this was imported from.
I have two rings of that type, silver, marcasites and small garnets (garnets were my thing then, not amethysts ), but similar in style. I think one I bought in Alsace at some kind of market and the other one... was probably from some kind of flea market too. Can't even remember where I got it, had it forever! Must have been in the late 90s. I remember seeing a lot of these type of rings around then.
