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ID my potentially Victorian stained glass pendant?

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Circe

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This is one of my very earliest treasures - I finagled it away from my mother when I was 7 years old. My father had given it to her some time prior to that, but she never wore it and thus my tiny little brain figured that it might as well go where it would be loved ... to me! But neither my mother or my father knows any more about it than I do: dad found it on 47th at an antiques dealer, thought it was pretty, and brought it home.

It''s a tear-drop shaped three-dimensional silver pendant formed of leaves that come down to meet a bezel holding a piece of stained glass patterned with green-centered, six-pointed white stars on a wine-red background. I''d say that it''s cast rather than fabricated, but aside from that, I''m stumped: the hallmarks appear to be three joined squares containing an anchor, a lion passant, and what''s either Roman numeral V, an upper-case V, or something else I''m just not making out (the stamp is a bit blurry).

Glitterata? JewelryMan? Help?

Mexico City 059.jpg
 
Different angle ....

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For proportion ....

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And again ....

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The glass pattern ....

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And, finally, a close-up of the hallmark, for those of you with better eyes than mine. Thanks in advance for any tips!

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It is likely a watch fob. When men used to wear pocket watches, they were attached to a chain. The watch went into one pocket in their vest while the chain went over a button. In order to balance the piece there was a weighty "fob" attached to the other end of the chain which went in the opposite vest pocket. That''s what this looks like! The glass could be what is referred to as millefiori, which stands for "million flowers." This is a type of glass made famous in Venice, Italy.
 
Date: 1/29/2009 1:23:55 PM
Author: Upgradable
It is likely a watch fob. When men used to wear pocket watches, they were attached to a chain. The watch went into one pocket in their vest while the chain went over a button. In order to balance the piece there was a weighty ''fob'' attached to the other end of the chain which went in the opposite vest pocket. That''s what this looks like! The glass could be what is referred to as millefiori, which stands for ''million flowers.'' This is a type of glass made famous in Venice, Italy.

Upgradable, what a great idea! I''m so used to monogrammed watch-fobs that it never occurred to me that this might be one. That would be nifty! The glass at the bottom looks millefiori-ish rather than like millefiori proper: there''s no "cell division" between the stars, and the pattern doesn''t go all the way through as it would with a cane. But maybe it''s like a millefiori doublet, with a half-dome of glass covering it? Hm ....
 
I''m no help with an ID of it, but I just wanted to say it is so pretty and very COOL looking... I like the metalwork on the sides. Would make a very, very cool pendant!
 
Yeah, that definitely looks like a watch fob to me. I''m afraid I can''t begin to guess at its provenance, but I just wanted to chime in and say I love the metalwork too!
 
Aw, thanks, Musey & Liane! I''ve been wearing it as a pendant for ... well, two thirds of my life now, I guess, and it just never occurred to me that it might be a fob. Now I might need to get a watch to go with it.
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Ditto on the watch fob, ditto on the millifiori. Nice fob!

Could one of the hallmarks be a G rather than a V? If so, it was probably made by Gorham, the great American silver manufacturer in Providence, RI.

If it really is a V, then it could be a date letter and the fob could have been manufactured in Birmingham, England. Compare the marks to those on this site and see if you can identify it:

http://www.silvercollection.it/englishsilverhallmarksBIR.html
 
Date: 1/29/2009 1:23:55 PM
Author: Upgradable
It is likely a watch fob. When men used to wear pocket watches, they were attached to a chain. The watch went into one pocket in their vest while the chain went over a button. In order to balance the piece there was a weighty ''fob'' attached to the other end of the chain which went in the opposite vest pocket. That''s what this looks like! The glass could be what is referred to as millefiori, which stands for ''million flowers.'' This is a type of glass made famous in Venice, Italy.


Ditto-it looks like a watch fob made out of millefiori to me.
 
Glitterata, you''re a genius (and that site is being bookmarked at the speed of light). It''s definitely not a G - I''d say a V or *maybe* a Y, which narrows it down to Birmingham in 1920 0r 1923. More info. than I ever had before - you guys are marvelous!

Now I''m wondering if that means there are more like this out there ... I''ll have to be on the hunt. As a pendant, it''s fabulous, and as a fob it''s - if I say fobulous, none of you will ever talk to me again - a definite possibility, but if I could find another, it would make for a lovely set of earrings ....
 
FOBulous! Ha! Love it!

Sounds plausible--I was actually going to guess 20s.

I hope you find a nice matching fob. Would you settle for a close-but-not-exact match, which will probably be much easier to find? I love that look, personally--I often wear mismatched watchfobs as earrings--but I''ve never seen anyone else do it. I guess I''m a weirdo.

It would be fobulous to know there was a fellow weirdo out there.
 
HI:

Fobulous for sure!
9.gif


cheers--Sharon
 
Date: 1/29/2009 1:17:23 PM
Author:Circe
This is one of my very earliest treasures - I finagled it away from my mother when I was 7 years old. My father had given it to her some time prior to that, but she never wore it and thus my tiny little brain figured that it might as well go where it would be loved ... to me! But neither my mother or my father knows any more about it than I do: dad found it on 47th at an antiques dealer, thought it was pretty, and brought it home.

It''s a tear-drop shaped three-dimensional silver pendant formed of leaves that come down to meet a bezel holding a piece of stained glass patterned with green-centered, six-pointed white stars on a wine-red background. I''d say that it''s cast rather than fabricated, but aside from that, I''m stumped: the hallmarks appear to be three joined squares containing an anchor, a lion passant, and what''s either Roman numeral V, an upper-case V, or something else I''m just not making out (the stamp is a bit blurry).

Glitterata? JewelryMan? Help?
I like everything thats been suggested and personally I think that it might be a tourist item or more likely made for an up scale speciality store...the glass and the quality silver are very chic for the period and might just be made as a fob for a mans watch or a trinket/charm for a womens bracelet....either way its a great piece and I am putting dibbs on the piece when Circe gets tired of it or wants to share!
 
Date: 1/29/2009 1:17:23 PM
Author:Circe
This is one of my very earliest treasures - I finagled it away from my mother when I was 7 years old. My father had given it to her some time prior to that, but she never wore it and thus my tiny little brain figured that it might as well go where it would be loved ... to me! But neither my mother or my father knows any more about it than I do: dad found it on 47th at an antiques dealer, thought it was pretty, and brought it home.

It's a tear-drop shaped three-dimensional silver pendant formed of leaves that come down to meet a bezel holding a piece of stained glass patterned with green-centered, six-pointed white stars on a wine-red background. I'd say that it's cast rather than fabricated, but aside from that, I'm stumped: the hallmarks appear to be three joined squares containing an anchor, a lion passant, and what's either Roman numeral V, an upper-case V, or something else I'm just not making out (the stamp is a bit blurry).

Glitterata? JewelryMan? Help?
It's English (lion passant denotes English), it's a watch fob, made in Birmingham (anchor) and the date is 1910. (1923 is an 'h' for Birmingham)

As others have said it's millefiori glass - famously from Venice, but was also made in England.

The something else will be either the purity of the silver - 925 for sterling - or it will most likely be the maker's mark.
 
Date: 1/29/2009 6:21:09 PM
Author: glitterata
FOBulous! Ha! Love it!


Sounds plausible--I was actually going to guess 20s.


I hope you find a nice matching fob. Would you settle for a close-but-not-exact match, which will probably be much easier to find? I love that look, personally--I often wear mismatched watchfobs as earrings--but I''ve never seen anyone else do it. I guess I''m a weirdo.


It would be fobulous to know there was a fellow weirdo out there.

It does have a vaguely Art Nouveau/Arts and Crafts feel to it, right?

I would totally settle for a close-but-not-exact-match! And I wouldn''t think it was settling, either - I love the slight incongruity of almost-mates. So if any of you spot a fraternal twin or even a distant cousin out there ... fobulous lovers of the world unite!
 
You know, I''ve been looking, but I haven''t found anything quite right yet. I''ll continue to keep my eye out for you, though.

Can you give us the dimensions?

I''ve found that the tricky part of mismatching earrings so that they look good is getting the apparent weight right. They have to be close enough in length, width, and what I think of as visual bulk, which has a component of color and a component of sparkliness as well as actual size.
 
Date: 1/31/2009 3:52:09 PM
Author: Circe

Date: 1/29/2009 6:21:09 PM
Author: glitterata
FOBulous! Ha! Love it!


Sounds plausible--I was actually going to guess 20s.


I hope you find a nice matching fob. Would you settle for a close-but-not-exact match, which will probably be much easier to find? I love that look, personally--I often wear mismatched watchfobs as earrings--but I''ve never seen anyone else do it. I guess I''m a weirdo.


It would be fobulous to know there was a fellow weirdo out there.

It does have a vaguely Art Nouveau/Arts and Crafts feel to it, right?

I would totally settle for a close-but-not-exact-match! And I wouldn''t think it was settling, either - I love the slight incongruity of almost-mates. So if any of you spot a fraternal twin or even a distant cousin out there ... fobulous lovers of the world unite!
I can see some Arts and Crafts movement... movement started earlier... about 1895-1900 ish...I am also seeing some Gothic Revival...the love of anything that looked like it came from midevil(sp)France or England was huge in furnature,art,building,jewelry, and novels....do you think this was a fob for a womans or a gents watch ?
 
Date: 2/1/2009 9:59:04 PM
Author: jewelerman
Date: 1/31/2009 3:52:09 PM

Author: Circe


Date: 1/29/2009 6:21:09 PM

Author: glitterata

FOBulous! Ha! Love it!



Sounds plausible--I was actually going to guess 20s.



I hope you find a nice matching fob. Would you settle for a close-but-not-exact match, which will probably be much easier to find? I love that look, personally--I often wear mismatched watchfobs as earrings--but I''ve never seen anyone else do it. I guess I''m a weirdo.



It would be fobulous to know there was a fellow weirdo out there.


It does have a vaguely Art Nouveau/Arts and Crafts feel to it, right?


I would totally settle for a close-but-not-exact-match! And I wouldn''t think it was settling, either - I love the slight incongruity of almost-mates. So if any of you spot a fraternal twin or even a distant cousin out there ... fobulous lovers of the world unite!
I can see some Arts and Crafts movement... movement started earlier... about 1895-1900 ish...I am also seeing some Gothic Revival...the love of anything that looked like it came from midevil(sp)France or England was huge in furnature,art,building,jewelry, and novels....do you think this was a fob for a womans or a gents watch ?

Jewelerman, you''re giving me ideas! And dibs, if I ever give it up (though porcines may be flying tight formations over JFK before that day comes). Just looking at fobs on image searches, I was struck by how many of them seemed "feminine" by contemporary standards: ornate, engraved, filigreed. Our standards have certainly changed since the days when the men got to be the peacocks! And, given the Victorian uniform of men''s clothing, it seems like jewelry was the last holdout for decoration, from signet rings to fancy fobs. I''m pretty sure you guys are right that it *is* a fob (that explains the diameter of the loop, the weight), but as to who would have worn it ... I''m stumped! Any and all suggestions appreciated ....

P.S. - Glitterata, it''s 30 mm. in length, 20 mm. in diameter at the bottom of the bezel. If you spot anything even vaguely similar, say the word!
 
Date: 2/2/2009 1:24:51 PM
Author: Circe

Date: 2/1/2009 9:59:04 PM
Author: jewelerman

Date: 1/31/2009 3:52:09 PM

Author: Circe



Date: 1/29/2009 6:21:09 PM

Author: glitterata

FOBulous! Ha! Love it!



Sounds plausible--I was actually going to guess 20s.



I hope you find a nice matching fob. Would you settle for a close-but-not-exact match, which will probably be much easier to find? I love that look, personally--I often wear mismatched watchfobs as earrings--but I''ve never seen anyone else do it. I guess I''m a weirdo.



It would be fobulous to know there was a fellow weirdo out there.


It does have a vaguely Art Nouveau/Arts and Crafts feel to it, right?


I would totally settle for a close-but-not-exact-match! And I wouldn''t think it was settling, either - I love the slight incongruity of almost-mates. So if any of you spot a fraternal twin or even a distant cousin out there ... fobulous lovers of the world unite!
I can see some Arts and Crafts movement... movement started earlier... about 1895-1900 ish...I am also seeing some Gothic Revival...the love of anything that looked like it came from midevil(sp)France or England was huge in furnature,art,building,jewelry, and novels....do you think this was a fob for a womans or a gents watch ?

Jewelerman, you''re giving me ideas! And dibs, if I ever give it up (though porcines may be flying tight formations over JFK before that day comes). Just looking at fobs on image searches, I was struck by how many of them seemed ''feminine'' by contemporary standards: ornate, engraved, filigreed. Our standards have certainly changed since the days when the men got to be the peacocks! And, given the Victorian uniform of men''s clothing, it seems like jewelry was the last holdout for decoration, from signet rings to fancy fobs. I''m pretty sure you guys are right that it *is* a fob (that explains the diameter of the loop, the weight), but as to who would have worn it ... I''m stumped! Any and all suggestions appreciated ....

P.S. - Glitterata, it''s 30 mm. in length, 20 mm. in diameter at the bottom of the bezel. If you spot anything even vaguely similar, say the word!
You are right!Gents jewelry was ...by todays standard feminine in size,balance and design....this is why I believe that this could be either a gents or ladies fob.The bright glass against the conservative mens vest would be a great contrast and very stylish.
 
Definitely a man''s fob - women wore watches in a different way.

They tended to be worn more often by the ''worthy citizens'' of the middle classes than the upper classes - many signified membership of certain clubs/guilds/committees etc such as a Masonic Lodge, a philanthropic society etc. Others would have the wearer''s initials/crest for use with sealing wax in the way that a signet ring would be used.

Is there any way you can get a better look at the last mark - finding the maker will give you far more clues to the likely market for this piece. A number of the old companies are still trading - or their archives are still in existance over here.
 
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