Old Ring with Marks

[antiquerose123]

Hello, I am a Newbie here. First post...

I have this old ring which I believe is Jadelite. There are two marks inside. One says CHINA and the other Says SILVER. I have been told this is old (Art Deco period) and also CHINESE EXPORT item. It is silver as stamped on it with filigree design. Has a adjustable band. Was well loved as it had a repair done on it.

Can anyone tell me more info on this?

(admin edit - see Posting Requirements )

So not sure on this item. I assume it is not just the Silver or the stone......but being older.

Any info most Welcomed. Thanks so Much!!

Hope I did right with pics....

[Francais]

I am not sure what you are asking. The ring is not deco, it is old, it is exported from china, but the term Chinese Export is usually reserved for silver, and other things, made in a western style in China and meant to be exported to the west.
Your ring is not in a style meant for the west, but it was exported.
I doubt it is jade, from the image of the back, more likely it is Peking glass.
As to the exact age I would guess late 19th c. About 20 years ago the Chinese started flooding the market with later filigree work usually enameled too.
Maurice

[davidross]

Welcome to the Forum.

In my experience, jade can only be positively identified through close examination and especially handling, as it is quite tactile. Photographs are really not of much use, but whether it is stone or glass should be fairly obvious from touch.

Like the majority of things made in the Art Deco era, this ring is not Art Deco. It probably does date to the 1920s or 1930s, possibly even the 1940s, when Warner Oland, Luise Rainer, and Katherine Hepburn appeared on the silver screen in full yellowface. Mao Zedong's decisive victory in 1949 and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 spelled the end of the fad for things in Chinese taste, at least for some decades.

I've probably written something to this ilk in older posts---a "SILVER" mark on a Chinese product of this period (eg 1920-1950s) may only mean that the metal content includes some silver. I often see pieces marked this way that are mostly copper. The "SILVER" mark is also commonly found on jewelry that is goldplating over mixed metal or white metal (particularly true of filigree). If you want to definitely know the content of the ring, it will need to be tested.

Regards
DR

[Francais]

I love a good argument. I don't know what you mean by "tactile", but jade is colder to the touch. I don't think this is jade because the back appears to be rough like molded glass, not like jade which is usually smooth even on the back on pieces like this.
I think it is silly to discuss whether something is from the Deco era, when the style has nothing to do with the era. Does someone say a coin designed in 1880 but stamped in 1930 is from the "art deco era", I think not. The ring is not Deco.
As far as "silver" goes, I would say that most pieces of Mexican jewelry marked "silver" are in fact not solid silver but at best a low grade alloy. But on this piece I would suggest one would have to choose between Jade with silver, or glass and possibly not silver.
Maurice

[Francais]

By the way, I let the dating pass. The Chinese have been making filigree silver for centuries. Any book on Chines Export Silver will show examples from at least the first half of the 19th c.
Maurice.

[davidross]

Maurice:

How odd, I thought that what I first wrote was primarily in agreement with you: " this ring is not Art Deco" (emphasis added).

As for the dating: yes, filigree has been around for centuries, but the general consensus seems to be that most export products were not marked with country of origin until well after the McKinley tariff act came into force.

You must really love arguments to see them where they don't exist. Please enjoy this one by yourself as I have nothing further to add to the topic.

David R

[Francais]

By the way, I was tired last night, so if the owner wants to find out if it is jade or not there are a few easy methods to be sure. The first is a hardness test, but most people don't have the stone pencils to do this, in fact I would imagine few jewelers do. The easiest requires a bit of a judgement call, I learned it when I was about 14. Jade feels colder than glass. So if you have a glass bead, pick it up quickly and before your hand warms it, put it up against your cheek. It will feel cold, but if you do the same thing with jade, it will feel much colder. The reverse is true, if you warm a piece of glass in your hand, and put it down for maybe a minute, it stays warm, jade becomes cool much faster. It is basically a test for conductivity.
The other is more certain and less subjective. Glass has small air bubbles in it, jade might have imperfections but not bubbles. So if you have a strong loupe, or even a child's microscope look for round or oval bubbles.
Maurice