Here at the Folk’s house, I have some stuff, including a silver pendant from somewhere in Asia (I don’t remember where - China maybe).
Anyhoo - on one side it has two dragons and on the other side it has a Chinese character (I don’t know which one - I know it isn’t love.)
I’m trying to figure out what it’s made of so I can clean it, but the only stamp on it says BAC9 - when I do a Google I keep winding up with confuter jargon, which I assume has nothing to do with my antique pendant.
There are a few asian characters as well, but of course I can’t read those.
So - any thoughts? I found a translator (sort of) that suggests that BAC9 represents a chinese character meaning something, but I don’t know what.
I work in a museum, and clean objects like this every day. If you can give me a little more information, I might be able to make some suggestions. Of course, without looking at the object, I can’t say what it’s made of with complete certainty, but I might be able to hazard a guess. Is there any chance you could post a picture?
What kind of cleaning does it need? Is it heavily tarnished? Encrusted? What color is the tarnish? Does the item feel light or heavy for its size? Is the metal shiny, or dull?
The letter code could just be the maker’s mark, and given the fact that they’re English characters, I doubt if it’s Asian-made, especially if it’s an antique.
No picture, but - it’s slightly tarnished, typical to what you see on sterling silver. Additionally, there are a few green tarnish spots.
The metal weighs what you you would expect a sterling peice to weigh (I’m kinda thinking it’s sterling.) The characters are shiney, the background of that side is brushed. The other side with the dragons is very intracately carved, but the dragons do have shiney bits on them - obviously the scales are somewhat more matte looking. Surrounding the middle section there is a ring of scaloped metal rings, surrounded by another solid ring of metal.
The piece is about 2" accross. I haven’t been able to find anything similar in any searches on the net.
My grandfather bought it in SIAM, I believe, so antique is overstating it a bit. I do know that it’s 50+ years old as my grandmother aquired it (either he bought it when he was touring there, or she bought it herself if they were together).
The stamp is on the clasp, as opposed to the actual peice, so that could be a later addition to the piece.
From only a description, it sounds like the piece is silver. The stamp on the clasp has no bearing on the pendant. Even if they were purchased together it doesn’t mean that they were produced together or even from the same metal.
I suggest buying a gentle silver polish and testing it on a small, inconspicuous spot. Use a washcloth or something else that is soft (nothing you wouldn’t use on your own face). Keep in mind that silver polish will do just that - polish - so go very slowly and gently if you’re concerned about losing any patina. Good luck and enjoy your pendant!
Exactly what I would suggest, ** msgotrocks. * I’ve used a product called “Nevr-Dull” at the musuem on jewelery. It’s extremely gentle. It’s basically just cotton batting with a special tarnish-cutting oil infused in it. Depending on how deep the tarnish is, you may have a lot of rubbing ahead of you. (Currently I’m working on a metal lamp. I’ve been rubbing on it for weeks now. If a genie doesn’t pop out soon, I’m going to be really upset.) It’s also a pretty messy job, so you may want to wear gloves.
Patina on metal isn’t important if it includes tarnish. Tarnish can eat pits into the metal. It’s better to clean it up than allow the piece to be damaged. The patina will return relatively quickly to a metal item like jewelery which has frequent contacts with skin oils.
Whatever you do, DO NOT be tempted to dump it in a soda bath with some aluminium foil (I’ve heard a lot of people recommend this as a method for cleaning silver - it cleans it all right, but it can leave it dull and pitted, also if the item is enamelled, it can lift the finish.
I know the feeling of wishing you could find out more about an item, and coming up with nothing. I have the same problem sometimes. It’s very frustrating. We often have the exact same situation on our hands, and sometimes, we never do find the answer. But hey, look on the bright side: if you can’t find anything like it, you may have a unique and possibly valuable piece on your hands.
It could be a silver-plated base metal. It could be platinum, but I doubt it. Heck, it could be stainless steel. Anything’s possible. You might take the piece to a jeweler, and see if they can determine what it’s made of. Try using a magnet on it, and see what happens. Look it over carefully with a magnifying glass in strong light. If it’s plated, you could find flaking somewhere.
In a situation like this, it’s always best to be as conservative as possible with any treatment or cleaning. I strongly suggest you stay away from any harsh chemicals.
Alice, you might find something similar by going to ebay.com, clicking on their jewelry section and doing a search with the word “Siam”. I did this about a year ago and found several pieces similar to my Siamese brooch. You might even find a dealer who knows about your type of pendant and would be willing to impart some information.
Though Siam became Burma (twice, due to politecal unrest) in the 1940’s, a great many pieces were made for the tourist trade before Burma won out. Since many pieces still exist, they don’t generally command a high price dispite their age.
My brooch is stamped STERLING and SIAM. Since it has the sterling designation and yours doesn’t, I’m wondering if yours might have two or more metals bonded together. But then, mine is only single sided and yours is double, so maybe they didn’t have room to stamp it.
There is actually very little tarnish or corrosion. I said that the tarnish that was there looked similar to that which appears on silver, but there is very, very little of it, given the age.
It certainly doesn’t look like stainless steel.
I don’t know much about the properties of platnum, so I couldn’t say if it was that.
I’ve snooped around e-bay and found nothing even remotely similar. Ditto for google.
You’re actually expecting people to identify a unique piece of metal jewelry without a picture of any kind? A good guess as to the material of your piece is next to impossible. Whatever you do, don’t use any sort of cleaner of polish on your item until you are positive what the metal is. You could destroy it or seriously affect the value by removing a patina.
Surely they have jewelers where you live. Take it in to one and ask them. They’ll probably tell you for free. They would likely charge to do an official appraisal but not to tell you if it’s silver or stainless.
Don’t expect the average jeweler to give you much expert help. I’m in the biz, and what they tell people about their treasures varies from ludicrous to adequate.
I have a maker’s mark catalogue at work. I’ll try to look and post tomorrow night.
In any event, you can probably dip it in a liquid silver cleaner without fear. If it’s silver, and all you have is tarnish, it will go away within seconds. Wash it well. Pat dry.
If some other metal, it almost certainily won’t hurt it.
Lissa or SamClem or anyone who knows – I have a pair of brass candlesticks that came from 1820’s England. Did I make a mistake in using brass polish twenty years ago? They look fine and I didn’t know about how sometimes cleaning reduces the value of items.
