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Antique Chatelaine (Possibly French)

Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:01 pm
by owlstoo
I recently acquired an antique chatelaine from an elder family member. She thought it was of Scottish origins and many hours of cleaning and research went in that direction. Now however, I am beginning to wonder if it might be French.



There are 3 marks:



The first in a lozenge has three characters. Left to right they are "C" , a "flower" (stem with two leaves and a top that looks closed and bulbous) , and the letter M



The second mark appears to be a boars head. Creature looks to the left.



Third mark is on the reverse and also in a lozenge and reads OR/ARGENT



The chatelaine contains 5 chains and the belt clip (the marks are all on the belt clip). Some of the items are boxes with interior gold wash. Nothing else is marked.



Any and all information would be most appreciated. This has been an ongoing project for family research and we are all going blind! Lol I tried to post this once before and I believe I used the wrong Forum and therefore it was deleted. Most sorry and really appreciate any and all direction.

Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:21 pm
by 2209patrick
The boars head mark was introduced in 1838 and used instead of the Minerva mark on small items. Believe it indicates a fineness of .800.

Here's a previous thread from this site that might help you on the CM maker's mark.

http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10159" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards,
Pat.

Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 12:55 pm
by owlstoo
Patrick,
Thanks so much for the linformation and the link.
Best Regards
jfg