Help needed with gemstones please !

[LovesVintage43]

Hello all,

I am hoping that someone with a knowledge on gemstones can help me if possible. I have some jewellery items from approximately the 1940's which are handmade from India . They are made from silver but are not hallmarked or stamped and contain what I was told are real gemstones. I am wary of putting these items up for sale just in case there is a possibility that they are made of glass ! Can someone help me with advice on how I can determine if they are indeed the genuine article? Thanks in advance :-)

[JDStamps]

Hi Indian silver is very different to UK standard- most of it is called Tibetan silver now and is used for charms, etc. As regards to the pieces you have, I would suggest taking them to an Asian jewellers for an appraisal; there are plenty in Southall (fairly close to you?). As to the stones themselves, it really does depend on the cut, grade and opacity as to their value, and if they are glass or crystal you could always sell the pieces as costume jewellery.
Hope that helps!
Cheers

[Oldandintheway]

Good advice above & I agree - take it to somebody who would know.
It's very difficult to give an opinion without seeing it in the flesh so to speak.

The so called Indian silver would most likely be pure silver & not an alloy like Sterling.
They use pure silver because it is soft & easy to work.
However, being soft results in more wear, & it also blackens quickly. (tarnish)

If you have a strong 10x magnifier, & the items are transparent, if you see perfectly spherical bubbles inside - they are definitely glass.

A local jeweller, lapidary club or jewellery school may be able to help.
Put up a photo here?
Cheers & hope this helps.:o

[LovesVintage43]

Thanks JD...yes , I did realise that the value would probably not be there and that Indian silver is usually a lower grade than sterling, but having said that, the metal quality on many of the pieces actually seems pretty good. They are fairly simple artisan pieces and the cut on the stones is very basic. I do know that in India semiprecious stones are incredibly cheap to buy (and especially would have been I suppose from a local seller back in the 40's, I think my great aunt may have had these made for her by someone whilst she was living out there) I think what I may try first is taking them with me to an antiques market and speaking to a vintage jewellery seller, as a lot of the Indian jewellers I have seen seem to specialise in new pieces, especially gold. Thanks very much for your response :-) I don't mind if they do turn out to be glass, as long as I know !

[LovesVintage43]

Good advice above & I agree - take it to somebody who would know.
It's very difficult to give an opinion without seeing it in the flesh so to speak.

The so called Indian silver would most likely be pure silver & not an alloy like Sterling.
They use pure silver because it is soft & easy to work.
However, being soft results in more wear, & it also blackens quickly. (tarnish)

If you have a strong 10x magnifier, & the items are transparent, if you see perfectly spherical bubbles inside - they are definitely glass.

A local jeweller, lapidary club or jewellery school may be able to help.
Put up a photo here?
Cheers & hope this helps.:o


Thanks , I am going off to check for bubbles. I am having trouble uploading the pics,it says the file is too large...need the other half to help,lol

[cheaver]

Thanks , I am going off to check for bubbles. I am having trouble uploading the pics,it says the file is too large...need the other half to help,lol

Resizing on picmonkey is free, quick & really easy :)

[LovesVintage43]

Resizing on picmonkey is free, quick & really easy :)


Thanks Cheaver, I will check it out.

Anyway...regarding my gemstone jewellery, I cannot see bubbles so I do think they are genuine rather than glass- some of them do have damage around the faceted edges but the colours glow and I have found a silvermark on one of them as well. Will attempt to get the pics resized and posted...

[Oldandintheway]

You can also do very basic photo editing (like re-sizing) at Photobucket if you host your pic's there.:)

Just because there are no bubbles, doesn't mean it's not glass, only that if you do see spherical bubbles, it definitely is.
The old TV screens don't have bubbles.

[LovesVintage43]

You can also do very basic photo editing (like re-sizing) at Photobucket if you host your pic's there.:)

Just because there are no bubbles, doesn't mean it's not glass, only that if you do see spherical bubbles, it definitely is.
The old TV screens don't have bubbles.


Oh poo. Well how do jewellers test gems, is it a chemical test or something ? I can't seem to find out.

[willothewisp]

Hi, LV. think they use a Moissanite Tester - an electronic tester. The proper ones are quite expensive but you can buy cheaper ones from you know where (haven't checked to see if they are on this site) from hongkong/china. I have a mizar diamond tester - though it does tell me if a diamond, it doesn't tell what other stones I have. As far as I know if the range moves its a gem - if still then glass; might be wrong on this prognosis but that is what I thought.

No doubt someone will tell me I am wrong. Otherwise, I don't think there is any other way of being sure - glass, crystal or rock crystal are my bane.

Hope this helps. Willo

[Oldandintheway]

There are various instruments (used by Gemmologists) & some Jewellers, the Thermal probe mentioned above is one, plus others that measure light refraction, spectra, specific gravity & viewing by microscope, among them.
Naturally, one has to be trained in their use, & identifications in the gem world are a minefield for the novice.
New synthetics & processes are being developed all the time.
To be sure, you have to take it to an expert.

Here's 2 scenario's to consider.

1. It costs you money by taking it to an expert to find out it's glass. (the likely outcome)

2. You save money by not getting expert opinion & sell it as cheap glass, only to find out later that it was a Diamond! (less likely outcome)

Both rotten options I know, but if you can get at least some free semi expert opinion, that would be the way to go.

[LovesVintage43]

Thank you all very much for your help on this, that's brilliant. I was told they were real and have no reason to think they aren't, but as I will be selling them on I wanted as much info as possible just to be on the safe side :-) I will have a look at these thermal probe (sounds painful!) gadgets as it may be worth it if it isn't too costly .

[Oldandintheway]

Thank you all very much for your help on this, that's brilliant. I was told they were real and have no reason to think they aren't, but as I will be selling them on I wanted as much info as possible just to be on the safe side :-) I will have a look at these thermal probe (sounds painful!) gadgets as it may be worth it if it isn't too costly .

I'd still like to see a photo if possible.:o

[LovesVintage43]

I'll have to do it when I have more time...I just can't work out how to use the resizing thing at all and I'm getting very frustrated with it !!

[Oldandintheway]

I'll have to do it when I have more time...I just can't work out how to use the resizing thing at all and I'm getting very frustrated with it !!

If you have an option of resizing by pixel quantity in your photo edit software, then 600 x 600 is the comfortable maximum for the forum.

[EliteJewellery]

Hi,

if you took some good pictures i could likely tell you what the stones are :) and about what grade, Indian silver is 800 normally

[renscharms]

first of all look into the gem look for inclusions. a gas, liquid or solid in the gem pretty much tells you its natural now there are alot of big gems out there but if you can see with your naked eye through the gem and it is like your looking through colored glass this most likely is a lab created gem clarity of the gem also can help you know if its natural this has to do with inclusions foggy or unclear areas means natural the reason is lab gems is uniformed and the color is uniform meaning perfect spectrum of color looks to perfect now brilliance and brightness of the gem light refraction passing through the gem if it is not uniform this is a natural gemstone if the light is uniform all the way across then your dealing with a lab creation a good thing to remember carat weight ok most natural gems rubies sapphire emeralds are not cut very much above certain carat weight you can look up on google or yahoo search about stadard sizes of gems if they go above this most likely you have a synthetic because rubies above five carats and emeralds the price would be very high there are some that they do cut above this standard weight and the prices my friend per carat goes way up in value so remember if it sounds to good to be true then your right opaque gems will be cut in bigger sizes because of the clarity you can not see into the gem then its what it is

Found this info on the net, wondered if it would help?????

[Orangeorchid]

I travel a lot to India and on a couple of occasions have brought some silver back with me ( rings ) and some of their Gold and sent it up to the Assay office in Birmingham, they will test the Diamonds for you too although now I tend to do that myself with my own Diamond tester.
I studied and took an exam in gemology and both husband and I have been dealing in gems ever since so we could help a little on the gems but the Silver you need to have this done properly, the Assay office are efficient, friendly and will help with lots of advice.