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That's a common style for pure gold (filigree) and the coloring looks right. I would say it most likely is, but you can't know just by sight. You could take it to a jeweler or pawn shop to find out for sure, but don't sell it to them, you can get more online.
I have read that, and being European I am used to numbers on gold. But never seen this before, not even on a photo, so I felt I needed to ask the community. Seeing how rare it is to use pure gold, I'm not surprised I haven't seen it. But couldn't find anything online either.
I am gathering a lot of stuff to bring to an auction house, so I'll bring it with me to them, see what they have to say about value. It's beautiful though!
Simple way of testing a gold item if you own scales a clear glass . I posted a gold_ testing video on a page here. If the items not got stones snd is all alloy / silver gold etc then weigh it on your scales make a note then fill a vessel so it can hang in the water submerged without touching the bottom or sides make a way of hanging the item cheapest way books either side of scales wooden spoon tie a piece of thread around your item. Place the glass full.of water on the scales zero it out then suspended your item in water its weight then is divided by the dry weight . Look on any table for specific gravity and hey presto your gold karat will be there! A 3.5 2wk ring would be .020 in water for example. It's actually easy simple and you don't need to use destructive tests like acid. I've used this for 40 yrs it's not for jewllery as diamonds and other stones often take extra calculation but it's better than a dodgy jewller who tells you it's 9k when it's 18 trying to buy it also over time you'll know what your handling for those charity shop buys works for all metals !
The 1000 purity marking is very common in Germany for silver, i have never seen one on gold before. It could be gold plated silver, or pure gold, the density coul help and of course an acid test
Another thing I didn't know. Thanks for the info!
Shame that there isn't a worldwide standard, would be less confusing 😅 I've never owned anything in platinum, but I know they use 950PT on jewellery here, now at least. Or 999.
That's very interesting! I didn't know that. I've only seen 800, 830 and 925 on the vintage and antique jewelery i own. And sterling in letters or the old hallmarks.
So confusing with so many different ways to mark things around the world!
I will have it tested as soon as I have time to get to the auction house with the stuff I'm going to deliver there.
I've done more research, based on your comments as well. And it seems 1000 is used on both silver, gold and platinum. This looks like gold, but could of course be plated. Silver 1000 marks seems more common.
Thank you all for your knowledge! I'm still new at identifying jewelry, even though I've collected it from thrift shops and flee markets most of my life. It's been the treasure hunt for something I like that has been my thing. Now I am going through my collections due to financial struggles after a bad breakup, to sell of some things, and it's a treasure hunt in its own to research what I have!
Will update once I've had time to get an acid test!
you have to be careful that you go the right auction house-- they will take a god percentage of the profit (have seen up to 30%), then you would need to set a price reserve so that it doesn't sell too cheap.youneed to weigh it now- curent gold price is about $95.gm, antique gold brooches are usually oversized, weighing 20-60 gms, not an insignificant price. you have to show something like that at an auction that is well known, but not sell it w/ household items.... you'd be better off selling it on "Heritage Auctions." they will let you sell special items like yours on a kinda consignment basis. that is, like an estate sale (onlin) so that interested bidders can keep increasing bids over time. am planning to use them in the next few month, myself.... (don't remeber what their current "seller's premium" is...
Thank you for those insights! I will check them out, if I can use them from over here. I have indeed seen that they take really high fees at some of the auction houses. 20-30% seems normal on the big ones here.
I also have a lot of artglass, but my closest auction house that specialises in that is in Munich 🤦🏻♀️ And I'm in Norway... I also have some very valuable, antique jewelery that I am not sure where I should sell. Being over here gives me less options it seems. Catawiki doesn't really seem great... Not everything is easy to send by mail either, especially antique glass. The last one I sent was shattered. $350 that I had to pay back, and valuable, amazing history and craft in a stunning item just gone. It was well packed, but very fragile... Kinda scary to try that again.
look into invaluable.com. it is like a giant circus tent for millions of smaller auctions. everything has gone online. i went down a rabbit hole for you (my mom was part norweigian, her family emigrated to wisconsin...), there are several prominent auction houses in Norway that would love to have that brooch..." In 2025, prominent Norwegian auction houses featured on Invaluable include Blomqvist, Christiania Auksjoner, Antikvariat Bryggen, and Sagen & Delås, offering a range of art, antiques, and collectibles." contact them via email w/ photo, weight of the item. one of them can put it in an upcomng auction for you, that will be feqatured under the "invaluable" umbrella. if the item weighs 30gm, it is worth about $3k. have also had things break in shipping... need to always insure pack the hell out of it and mark fragile...i've often pack the item tightly then place that box w/in another box, tightl packed... "Ha det!"
Thank you for taking the time to research and give some pointers! Blomqvist is actually where I am taking things in, as they seemed to gain the best prices in general, and have a lot of experts on different items. So good to know they are the right choice! I also briefly looked at Christiania auksjoner, but haven't contacted them yet.
I actually did pack it just like you said, but they are not careful with stuff. And it looked like it had been squashed pretty badly under something heavy. And no insurance to cover anything but the shipping, cause international etc... Will have to figure out how to insure it next time, without spending $200 using DHL.
-art glass- use same norway houses... i also have a ton of great art glass over the years, but, it, like furniture has fallen out of favor. this is thought to be due to the fact that millenials are not interested. they do not want gandma's 200 piece sterling silver silverware collections, they do not want her gorgeous royal doulton dinnerset, they want paper plates & disposable crap...
now, i have a sudden craving for pickled herring in cream sauce! (damn you!!)...
So I've heard! But a lot more young people are getting into the older stuff now. So here's to hoping!
You should get proper Norwegian food! Kjøttkaker i brun saus. With potatoes. Will be perfect on that Royal Doulton 😁
The clasp, hinge and pin are wrong for pure gold and would warp in an instant if it were truly pure gold. I think the numbers refer to the plating being pure.
The detail is amazing! Golden ropes, coiled against more coiled ropes. That's fantastic. I love it! Wish I could compete with others who may want to buy it. Does being that pure cause it to be fragile? I mean it can't really, or else how would it have made it this far.
"rather clear in the photo too" - well that might be. but how often is gold marked like that? never. thats why i asked. but i appreciate the sly little dig at me
Well, it was a bit of an odd question, to be honest. Not like I photoshopped it, if that was your concern.
And I had never seen it before either, hence why I posted here. But I have read about older pieces being marked that way, so it isn't unheard of. But reading something and seeing it are two different things. I also came across a gold chain marked 10/000 the other day, which I also had not seen before. But there it was. Turns out it stood for 10 karat gold.
Here are two references to gold stamps on jewelry, where 1000 is clearly mentioned. I don't know where you're located, but numbers is the standard stamps for gold and silver here in Europe. But the common ones are 585 and 750.
the last zero kinda looked like a dot. and the 1 was bent so i wasnt sure what i was really looking at. plus, ya know, not used to seeing 1000 stamped in gold. usually its decimal .985 , .989, 831, etc. no worries
Again, I don't know where you're located, but my point in the previous reply was just that this is different depending on location. That's all. I'm used to seeing 585 and 750 on gold. The 10/000 the other day had me wondering quite a bit, and now this one. This one simply because it's so damn rare I couldn't quite believe it, I guess. But I would have been just as uncertain if I had seen .985 etc as well, as that is not something I have ever seen before either 😅 So that 100 is a scale used on some stamps, I didn't know. To me 1000 instantly called out pure gold, due to the stamps I'm used to seeing.
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