tomwiii
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posted on June 15, 2003 10:42:36 AM new
These all are marked "Sterling" but what are the stones?
These earings have a greenish black stone -- not onyx:
This nifty earring has a green stone:
This bracelet looks like jade, but it can't be, right?
And this bracelet looks like opals???
I really appreciate all the help from yowse guys -- other than Ralphie, me only friends! 
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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toollady
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posted on June 15, 2003 10:46:20 AM new
Could the first stones be malachite?
Trying to think of the name of the green stone...
Bracelet DOES looke like jade and the last one is fire opals
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 10:48:40 AM new
green oynx??
they could all be synthetic??
i know the stones on bracelet is not jade.
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tomwiii
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posted on June 15, 2003 11:33:42 AM new
My memory recalls that ALL her Mexican stuff was from approx. 1955 or earlier.
Did they make synthetic stones back then??
THANKS!!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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sanmar
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posted on June 15, 2003 11:42:14 AM new
I am not a expert on jewelry, is there a green stone called tanzanite? I agree thelast bracelet has fire opals in it.
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 11:45:06 AM new
i bot a pair of earrings ss 925 silver with green oynx from a geminologist ,they are old and they are not even any kind of stone,they are plastic.
wait till fluffy the jewelry queen comes and render her opinion.
look at the cutting of the green 'stone' on the bracelet??
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ohmslucy
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posted on June 15, 2003 12:08:28 PM new
Hi,
I sold some similar earrings last month. My Mom bought them in Mexico in the mid-50s. She said she recalled that the stones were glass.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11314&item=2635669779
Hope this helps!
Lucy
Edited because I messed up the links...
[ edited by ohmslucy on Jun 15, 2003 12:09 PM ]
[ edited by ohmslucy on Jun 15, 2003 12:10 PM ]
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tomwiii
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posted on June 15, 2003 12:48:46 PM new
Whoops! Me make bobo! NOT DURACRAFT...DANECRAFT!!
After taking a loop to the top pair of earrings (??malachite) I've discovered the following on the screw-post top:
Sterling DANECRAFT
This good, bad, or indifferent????????
GRACIAS!! DANKE!! MERCI!!
Ralphie's a polyglot!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
[ edited by tomwiii on Jun 17, 2003 08:35 AM ]
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SkorpioGal
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posted on June 15, 2003 01:33:53 PM new
Tom,
I am SO glad that I can help you, after all the help you've freely given to me!
Duracraft is an American manufacturer of the middle of the 20th century. Normally nice quality (nothing super spectacular, but well made nonetheless). As to the stones, the scan makes it difficult to determine, but they could be hematite or obsidian.
The green stones in the Mexican pieces are most likely dyed green onyx. This was a commonly used stone.
The ones that look like opals are NOT opals! They are synthetic stones made to look like opals. I think they are bits of colored foil put into glass. Again, commonly used in Mexican jewelry.
Overall, they seem to be in quite good shape. As to the value, I really don't know right now...sometimes Mexican pieces without an important maker's mark do well, sometimes they don't.
However, I would certainly try!
Good luck with them!
---Skorpio
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tomwiii
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posted on June 15, 2003 01:44:20 PM new
As we say in ole Mexico: "Mucheooooos Gracias!"
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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Libra63
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posted on June 15, 2003 02:36:59 PM new
Why can't the stones in the bracelet be Jade? Is your bracelet heavy? I just sold a pin and the stone was Jade.
The stone in the bracelet is not an opal. Make sure they are glasss. There are some that are hard plastic.
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Libra63
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posted on June 15, 2003 02:41:32 PM new
Here is a website for you.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/jewel/glossary/indexd.shtml
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 02:52:37 PM new
no one has found any jade in mexico,but the incas used jade and they used it for medicinal purpose,what do they called it-stone of the loins??someone said the jade they used came from central america.
jade is hard and cold and translucent,never transparent or opaque.it is rather compact.these qualities apply to both nephrite jade and jadeite jade.
it is harder than stainless steel,thats why one way to test jade is to use a TRUE stainless steel knife,if it can be scratched,then it is softer than steel ,so it is not jade.
if it cannot be scratched ,it is harder than steel,which does not mean it is jade ,it could be aventurine,or better yet,ruby,saphire or diamond??wont it be nice ??
i will bet you anything the green stone on that bracelet is anything but mother nature stone,look at the cuts??
hold it to your cheeek and see if it is cold like glass?
scratch it with a knife ,you dont even need a stainless steel knife,just any knife,it scratches easily.
if it were jade,lunch is on me.
THE geologist will argue that mother nature makes it in such a way that a piece of jade could have pockets of weakness where it can be scratched,meaning it has other minerals embedded in it,but generally,when the stoen is chosen for jewelry purpose,it is 100% of one composition.
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tomwiii
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posted on June 15, 2003 03:09:31 PM new
I just tried a SS steak knife on the stones in the bracelet (which, BTW, feel COLD on my lip), & I CANNOT SCRATCH ANY OF THE STONES!
Is this RIGHT? Good?
THANKS, Stopper!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 03:44:54 PM new
do you have a swiss pocket knife,thats true stainless steel,your steak knife has a lot of carbon content in it.
from your picture,the facet of the stones and the color made me believe this is plastic??
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kiara
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posted on June 15, 2003 03:47:11 PM new
The stone in the top earrings looks to be hematite which has a shiny mirror-like look to it.
I agree that the stones in the other earrings and the bracelet are green onyx and you can see similar here.
http://www.limogesbox.com/183.htm
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buyhigh
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posted on June 15, 2003 03:49:44 PM new
The stones that look like opals are actually glass made with little bits of colored incorporated. They were very common in the 1950's. The green stone is not jade but probably glass as well - also commonly used. They had and stll have a habit in Mexico of stamping jewelry 925 and sterling when the metal was actually plated copper or am alloy called alpaca. Look to see if there is a mark called a "spread eagle" with a 1 or 2 or 3 inside which is an assey mark required for sterling (925) or above after 1949. After about 1979 each smith was assigned initials and some numbers.
buyhigh
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tomwiii
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posted on June 15, 2003 03:50:02 PM new
Hi! THANKS again -- it is NOT plastic for sure, I can tell that much!
I just tried another SS blade -- a CHINESE version of the SWISS army knife & it just slides off the stone without a mar or scratch, no matter how HARD I scratch it against any of the stones!
I tested 3
That exhausts my wealth of SS
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
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kiara
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:02:51 PM new
From what I understand, green onyx is really dyed chalcedony.
Chalcedony decreases senility.
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:06:58 PM new
may be you have a great treasure on your hands.
oynx is hard,almost as hard as jade.but see,back in the 50s the tools are not that powerful to slice into natural hard stones and the facets of your stones on the bracelet is just too smooth ,looks like it cOMES out of mold.
if your mother has a lot of jewelry ,you can take it to a jewelry shop,some of them have resident geminologist with their machines and they are always anxious to see what you have.
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:13:25 PM new
green onyx is really dyed chalcedony.
you are correct,and it is not that reflective but it is hard 6.5 while jade is between 6-7 as well.
but chalcedony is a porous stone,hence it can be dyed while jade is almost non porous,it is impossible to dye jade.
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kiara
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:17:11 PM new
It looks smooth because it has been polished.
I just found a neat site. It mentions green onyx here.
http://www.cooljools.com/MisleadingGemNames.htm
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:25:26 PM new
kiara,
quite a list!!
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buyhigh
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:27:56 PM new
Forgot to mention that the "spread eagle" assey mark looks a bit like a shield - the kind hat was carried into battle. Hemetite is harder than onyx (which is in abdundance in Mexico) and usually has colored streaks either gold or silver running through it
buyhigh
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:39:44 PM new
not harder,same as oynx 6.5
bu more more refractive.mucho more
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 04:44:53 PM new
mexico is not the only country where they fake silver,thailand and indonesia do too.
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buyhigh
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posted on June 15, 2003 07:50:59 PM new
Sorry did not mean hemitite but obsidium. Hemitite may be the same hardness but I do know that it weighs a lot more. Probably due to the iron content Am I corrct?
buyhigh
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stopwhining
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posted on June 15, 2003 08:02:47 PM new
hermatite is a compact stone like jade,so it could weigh more.
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lurkyloo
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posted on June 15, 2003 08:06:50 PM new
Loop - a circle
Loupe - a magnifying device
Hematite
Obsidian
Not lurkyloo on eBay
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stopwhining
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posted on June 16, 2003 08:10:37 PM new
sanmar,
tanzanite is not a green stone,it is blue.
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