Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Source: MyClassicJewelry.com link below. |
I often get emails asking if finds might be old, and we try to identify and date finds all the time. When it comes to jewelry, it is very difficult to provide an age for many items. Many jewelry designs and functional features have been used or centuries. Nonetheless, there are some things you can look for that might help you narrow down the age of an item.
I found one very helpful web site on vintage and antique jewelry that presents some very useful information. One illustration from that web site can be seen above. You can see different clasp types from three different periods.
Here is the link for more of that web site.
https://www.myclassicjewelry.com/blog/vintage-jewelry-hardware/
There are other good web sites on the subject. The following list came from a good web site on necklace clasps.
There is more on that web site. The above is just a small sample.
Here is that link.
http://blogs.houseofgems.com/index.php/2014/10/dating-vintage-necklaces-by-their-clasps/
I"m sure you can find other good web sites that can help you date jewelry finds.
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In a previous post I referred to an article about Florida SB 804, which, according to the article, would allow beach-front property owners to restrict public access to the beach in front of their property.
See http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2018/3/11/residents_fighting_b.html.
After originally posting that article, I was told by a trusted source that the bill wouldn't do what the article claimed. Then I received more emails about the danger of the bill. Not wanting to become either a community organizer or legal analyst, and not being able to decisively unravel or provide a definitive conclusion to the matter, I'll provide just a few comments today and then get back to the normal business of this blog.
Among the things I was was told is that SB804 was “tabled, but that a similar bill, HB631, was on the Governor's desk. After looking at the text of HB631, and without being able to determine the legal meaning of many of the terms for myself, here is what I decided to do. I contacted the Florida representative for my district and sent him an email asking for clarification on HB631 and told him I was strongly opposed to any legislation that would restrict public access to the beaches. That seems to cover it for me regardless of what SB804 or HB631 says or doesn't say. I expect his interpretation, if received, will be skewed according to his political leaning, so that will be of limited value, but I did express my feelings. Now it is up to you.
This post will replace any previous comments I made on the subject and will most likely be my complete and final post on the bills.
Here is a link you can use to find your Florida government representatives.
MyFloridaHouse.gov.
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I've talked about my old detecting records before. I just noticed an interesting five day span in which I found five gold rings at four different locations. I must have had some time off.
On 5/26/89 on Lower Matecume Key I found 14K band marked 1988. Someone didn't have that one long. I was using a modified Nautilus 571 at the time. That was one of my all-time favorite detectors.
On 5/27 there was a 16 dwt 1970 U. M. class ring found at Crandon Park and a interlocking silver and gold rings. You could usually find some gold there but it wasn't usually of high quality.
On 5/28 the find was thin gold ring with the initial J at Bill Baggs park.
On 5//29 it was a gold ring with small diamond found at Jupiter Inlet Park.
On 5/30 the find was a 1967 class ring (didn't record the school). I find it strange that I made the hour long trip to Jupiter two days in a row. The conditions there must have looked OK.
None of those days was big, but each one produced a little gold. It looks like I was ranging farther than usual for some reason. The only day of the five that I remember the finds is 5//27. I remember exactly where those finds were made. The life guard stopped me after less than an hour of detecting. He said that detecting wasn't allowed in the park, so I put my detector back in the car and left.
However, the next day or so, I called the Dade County Parks Department, and they told me that they were going to lift the detecting ban at the park very shortly. And they did.
I also talked to them once about a beach club on Key Biscayne that was telling me I couldn't detect in front of the club. The county told me that I had every right to use the beach back to the erosion control markers. That sand is paid for by the tax-payers and the tax-payers should remember that.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
