What did I buy?

[kenny]

I got this bracelet for one dollar at a garage sale.
I suspect it's old and worth more than a buck.
Of course I can't wear it, but for a buck what the heck!

What can you tell me about it from these 7 pics I took?


I think those four "screws" are not really screws, just decorative.
Also the keyhole is just decorative.
There never was a key.

 

[kenny]

This top part has the following numbers stamped in: 9 375



Every other link in the bracelet has these designs stamped in.




Every link has the number 6 (or 9) stamped.

 

[Ninna]

European bracelet? 375 parts of 1,000= 9k gold. Have it polished, good job

 

[LGK]

Definitely hand engraved. Probably Victorian or a bit after, IMO... could be later but the style looks Victorian to me. The engraving isn't SUPER fine but it's very pretty. Yep those are european assay marks, possibly Birmingham England (anchor)... at least that would be true if it were sterling. I know less about the gold assay marks but the location hallmark is probably the same from sterlign to gold.

Oh and the lowercase i probably is a date hallmark. They used letters that correspond to dates... different fonts for different decades and upper vs. lowercase. You'll need a reference book to date it.

ETA: Good find BTW! One of my good friends would totally die over that- she adores hearts, locks and Victorian stuff, and would just freak over it.

ETA, the bonus round: My google-fu tells me that Walker & Hall is likely the maker.

 

[Clairitek]

Based on that anchor hallmark I think its from John Christian. My parents gave me a ring to commemorate my doctoral hooding ceremony last May and it has the same hallmark, or at least something very similar.

ETA: I take it back. The anchor is a different style than the John Christian hallmark. I also totally defer to LittleGreyKitten who knows LOADS more about this than me! Didn't see the remark on the anchor and what it might mean until after I posted. Neat find, Kenny!

 

[Tuckins1]

What a find for $1! I don't really know anything about it, but it looks nice!

 

[Jennifer W]

I don't know anything much about the bracelet itself, but I can say that Walker and Hall were silversmiths, and they specialised in and developed the process of electro plating. I don't think that is their mark, as it is W & H.S, rather than just W & H. I have a few Walker and Hall pieces, none of them have a makers or sponsors mark quite like that one. Their mark is usually stamped into a scalloped rectangular background.

It does look like a British Assay mark, though. The 375 part is the Standard Mark, denoting the precious metal content. The background shape that the mark is struck into denotes the type of precious metal, in this case gold (rectangle). The purity mark on the bracelet would suggest that it is 9 karat gold, commonly used in the UK. I don't know what the 9 denotes, unless it's an optional mark clarifying that the piece is 9 karat?

The anchor does indeed show that it was assayed at the Birmingham Assay Office, as LGK says. The location mark is the same regardless of the metal - it's the shape of the background that the purity mark is struck on that denotes the metal (silver is struck onto an oval background, platinum onto a hexagonal background).

The i is an optional stamp giving the date on which it was assayed (not made) by reading the number and the background shape together. If I've got this right, the piece was assayed in 1846, based on the rectangular background and the lower-case letter i (if I've got this wrong, the other possibility is 1951, but I think the background shape from 51 is wrong, so I'm pretty sure it's 1846). My chart is so tiny that it's hard to see small differences.

Is it rose gold, Kenny? It looks as though it may be, but it's hard to tell on my laptop screen. Enjoy it!

Jen

 

[kenny]

Thanks guys.
I have a confession.
I started a thread in two fora about this because there are smart people in both that do not go to both.
I wanted to reach more folks.

The thread on RT did get more answers faster.
Here's a summary: So in conclusion (so far) this 9-ct gold bracelet is 102 years old, made by (perhaps) Walker and Hall in Sheffield England in 1908, and assayed in Birmingham England (indicated by the anchor stamp).

Here's a link.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/what-did-i-buy.149805/

 

[LGK]

I'm pretty sure about the Walker & Hall attribution. I saw the same hallmark attributed to them elsewhere also on 9K- I believe the ".S" part of the mark is referring to Sheffield, England. Like most English maker's hallmarks, they changed it over the years though the W&H in a pennant is the most common, on silver.

Also it wouldn't be unusual for them to use a different mark on gold. I found a few pieces of 9K gold attributed to Walker & Hall with this mark around... I don't think there were too many other makers working out of Birmingham, with the same initials working around the same time in metal. So that is why I'm pretty sure about Walker & Hall... because the location is definitely Birmingham around 100 years ago, so that narrows it down.

Look is correct for the date. Good find Kenny!

 

[Jennifer W]

I could be wrong about W&H. The mark is different to all of the pieces I've owned, but they were all silver. I have a book about W&H somewhere, I'll dig it out. It would be cool if they were the maker, they're very well regarded. I did have I think 12 or 13 pieces by W&H and they all had slightly different marks on them, but none quite like the mark on Kenny's piece, from what I recall. They were stolen when our house was burgled, I only have two left.

I like to think we were burgled by someone with excellent taste.

 

[reader]

That is just beautiful. Very lovely find, and I wish it were mine! I adore those padlocked bracelets.

 

[sphenequeen]

Hi Kenny,

Little Grey Kitten hit the nail on the head with her analysis of the hallmarks. It looked like the hallmarks (the anchor, the makers marks, and the lower case "i") were on on the heart shaped lock, not on the bracelet. Nevertheless, if unattached (which often times they are) they would have been made from the same period.

The bracelet is called a "curb link" and they were usually hollow but ornately designed. Great find for a dollar! Victorian jewelry, especially in great condition, is quite collectable!