Hi, some photos at last. Can anyone please give me some likely history on this brooch. I am assuming this is a paste stone as it is huge - 3.8cm accross and the brooch itself is 7 cm accross. <PICTURE ONE>The silver is very shiney, there are no silver marks and it almost looks as if it has been resurfaced as there are scuff marks around the stone which the 'silver' seems to have covered?? <PICTURE TWO> There is a mark on the back - the word 'MIZPAH' with two hearts side by side that have an arrow through them both. <PICTURE THREE> on the back the clasp could have been repaired as the metal on the 'pointy' end of the clasp is different to the rest, also the joining of the pieces on the hinge end is strangely rough <PICTURES FOUR AND FIVE> I bought it with two others from a family selling grandmothers things after her death. They said she had had them for many years and they were cherished.
With backlighting the stone is a much more purple colour than the first pics show <PICTURE SIX>
So - what do I have here? Appreciate any help, thankyou in advance. Jenny
(click on thumbnails to enlarge)
Cheers from down under - Aotearoa New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud.