Help with mark on back of brooch

vivavintageclothing

vivavintageclothing

VFG Member
Thought I'd post this on the public forum, since it may help other folks in future...I'm only slightly embarrassed to say that I don't know enough about jewelry marks to be certain on this piece. My research was inconclusive, partly because I'd rather trust the experts here, than stuff found by googling. :)

Anyway, I bought this artist's palette brooch in a lot with other pieces of mid-century costume jewelry, and only afterwards did I notice the mark on the back, which is a tiny "750", stamped below an illegible (to me, even with a strong magnifier) set of numbers or letters in a flattened hexagon shape--probably the maker's stamp, but who knows.

When I Googled 750 marks on jewelry, it sounds like "750" can sometimes mean 18K gold. The brooch has a silver-colored edge and trim, which could I suppose be white gold? In any case, I'm not even completely certain that "750" does mean gold, since I usually only deal in costume jewelry, and haven't some across this mark before.

What do you all think? I wasn't able to get a better photo of the mark with my phone, but under magnification, it definitely is marked 750. I don't currently have any method of testing for gold, and I'm not sure it would be worth spending money on a testing kit, just for this one item. I can say that the brooch is relatively heavy, for its size and thickness, and the pin-back is a bit thicker than I am used to seeing on other/costume brooches.

Any thought or help would be much appreciated!

artists palette brooch 2.jpg


artists palette brooch 3.jpg


artists palette brooch 1950s.jpg
 
A 750 gold stamp indicates that the item is a gold alloy of 75% purity, or 18-carat. I have found 750 on pieces of jewelry made in Italy on numerous occasions. A tester is a good thing to have and they are not too expensive. Sometimes it's just the only way to tell what the metal is. And, the same with gemstones.....have to test them. Mine have paid for themselves over and over again by letting me know that something was gold and not just a gold plated piece. Some costume jewelry is so well made that it appears to be "real" jewelry, that is real gold metal and real gemstones. Testing tells the true tale. Some of the gemstones in your piece look like they could be genuine. This brooch reminds me of what I used to know as "Mother's" jewelry that was fairly popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. People would have the gemstone of each child's birth and sometimes both parents also put in rings, brooches and necklaces. I see what looks like a turquoise stone that would be for December, if I'm recalling correctly. Diamond for April, etc. The mark above the 750 could be the maker's mark. This could have been a custom made piece for someone.
 
Thank you, Janice and Bonnie!

Yes, Bonnie, I know what you mean about “mother’s” jewelry, with the gemstone representing children’s birthstones (or possibly other personal/sentimental stuff).

If it is in fact 18K gold, I will have to decide whether to buy a testing kit, and sell it as such, or take it to my “scrap” gold and sterling silver guy, who buys by weight. I’ve sold him sterling pieces before, that were too modern (or too ugly!) for me to sell easily. I’ll give it some thought, thanks to your input!
 
And, with silver and gold up, you can do pretty well with selling. If I were going to sell something with stones, I would try to get them out of the setting and use them for repair of other pieces. I have stripped stones out before getting rid of the pieces for scrap. And, of course, they could be genuine in your piece!
 
Vi tu publicación en Instagram, tienes la misma colección de un sitio web que vi en Google. Ver aquí: *** link removed by admin, please read the forum rules ***
 
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