Can anyone shed any light on this?

[sgat_555]

Hello All,

I landed on this page whilst looking for info about the attached. I think this might be a pearl but of what type I have no idea. I believe it came from my father's uncle died in the 1950's. I have very little info the brooch although it could have come from either Asia or Africa as he travelled extensively between 1890-1920 with the British army.

Originally I thought the piece was costume jewellery however on closer inspection it seems to be real gold and the could well be a pearl although it is not perfect by any means. The pearl is approximately 11mm in diameter and as I hope you can see from the photo the surface is not smooth.

I would be very grateful if anyone could provide any info on what this is and where it my have come from. Having read some of the posts on here, I'm very interested to learn more about these gems from the ocean.

Many thanks, Stuart

 

[GemGeek]

Welcome to Pearl Guide. It looks like an imitation pearl to me. Did you see a karat marking for gold? If not, it's probably a beautiful piece of costume jewelry. How about some close-ups? Is the maker name under the pin stem?

 

[Marianne]

I love the design.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I can't make any comment on the pearl or gold quality, however, i do agree that the design is lovely!

 

[pattye]

Welcome, Stuart,

How large is this brooch? It's a truly graceful design. Can you tell if the pearl is mounted on a post attached to either or both of the gold curving pieces that pass beneath the pearl? The pearl looks somewhat off round, which could indicate a genuine pearl. Do you live in an area where you could have a jeweler take a brief look at it? We enjoy family stories and seeing unusual pieces like this.