fafa
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2006
- Messages
- 277
Actually, it does. And so does silver, and wood. Patina in this context is simply the effect of multiple micro-scratches and dings that contributes to the feeling of age by taking off the highly polished mirror-like finish of new metal (for wood coupled together with the polishing and grime-forming effect of dusting and waxing). Platinum is typically softer than gold, so it gets it before gold does.Date: 3/3/2009 8:58:22 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Wow, that''s gorgeous. I''m not a huge YG fan, but I do love old YG that''s not highly polished. It takes on what I call a patina, but I don''t think gold gets a patina, right (only platinum?).
Date: 3/3/2009 7:13:33 AM
Author: oldmancoyote
That''s a watch chain, BTW. And if you can get a good picture of the hallmarks there''s probably quite a lot that can be told about its original length and weight - French hallmarks for chains are very very detailed.
Lovely fin de siecle design
Yes, it looks like a watch chain. The seller claimed the fittings are original but I have no idea what''s the original length. There are 3 stamps on this chain. I couldn''t get good shots but here they are. 2 of them look like the French Eagle Head stamps. I couldn''t make out what''s the 3rd one. I have a better shot of the hallmarks on my other French chain. Here''s the link if you''re interested.
1st stamp
Does the intials K C have any special meaning to them such as length, weight or other info? Yes, this chain is 39cm including the clasps and the eagle heads were marked as you mentioned. Do the marks look authentic? I tried to find a sample picture online but couldn''t find a good one. The other chain is 74.5cm. I can only find stamps on the rings on each end. No mark in between.Date: 3/4/2009 4:58:20 AM
Author: oldmancoyote
The last one is definitely the maker''s mark. Initials K C if I see it correctly. The chain is marked for length between 20 and 40 cm, if the two eagle heads on the second photo are stamped in opposite directions, beaks in (that''s what it seems to me, but the photo is slightly out of focus). The other chain is marked for longer than 60cm - there should be (but often there aren''t) eagle marks at 10 and 50 cm (and 60, 100, 110, 150...).
The initials are just that - initials. Unfortunately, I have never found a good source of info on French makers' marks (like Jackson's for British) despite searching high and low, and I don't know this one.Date: 3/5/2009 3:21:02 AM
Author: fafa
Does the intials K C have any special meaning to them such as length, weight or other info? Yes, this chain is 39cm including the clasps and the eagle heads were marked as you mentioned. Do the marks look authentic? I tried to find a sample picture online but couldn't find a good one. The other chain is 74.5cm. I can only find stamps on the rings on each end. No mark in between.Date: 3/4/2009 4:58:20 AM
Author: oldmancoyote
The last one is definitely the maker's mark. Initials K C if I see it correctly. The chain is marked for length between 20 and 40 cm, if the two eagle heads on the second photo are stamped in opposite directions, beaks in (that's what it seems to me, but the photo is slightly out of focus). The other chain is marked for longer than 60cm - there should be (but often there aren't) eagle marks at 10 and 50 cm (and 60, 100, 110, 150...).
Thanks for the explanation. I don''t know if you have already read this link. The eagle head on that site looks like the one on my chain.Date: 3/5/2009 7:44:49 AM
Author: oldmancoyote
The initials are just that - initials. Unfortunately, I have never found a good source of info on French makers'' marks (like Jackson''s for British) despite searching high and low, and I don''t know this one.Date: 3/5/2009 3:21:02 AM
Author: fafa
Does the intials K C have any special meaning to them such as length, weight or other info? Yes, this chain is 39cm including the clasps and the eagle heads were marked as you mentioned. Do the marks look authentic? I tried to find a sample picture online but couldn''t find a good one. The other chain is 74.5cm. I can only find stamps on the rings on each end. No mark in between.Date: 3/4/2009 4:58:20 AM
Author: oldmancoyote
The last one is definitely the maker''s mark. Initials K C if I see it correctly. The chain is marked for length between 20 and 40 cm, if the two eagle heads on the second photo are stamped in opposite directions, beaks in (that''s what it seems to me, but the photo is slightly out of focus). The other chain is marked for longer than 60cm - there should be (but often there aren''t) eagle marks at 10 and 50 cm (and 60, 100, 110, 150...).
The info on the length comes from the number of eagle heads and their position. Probably the assay office felt marking the links on the other chain would have been dangerous. The eagles look absolutely authentic to me; bear in mind that they only certify the metal to be 18k gold and to some extent the date (after 1895 - before the mark was a head of a Greek physician). I''ll try to scan the page from Tardy on chain marking, but the print is appalling quality - I''m not sure it''s going to help all that much to recognise authentic from false.