Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Nice Crystal On Drop Earring.
Clear stones are a bit of a problem for me. You always want to know what kind of stone you have, but it can be difficult to tell if you have a diamond, zircon, or any of a variety of other types of clear stones, unless you have a gem tester or take the item to a jewelry store or pawn shop to be tested.
This earring seems to me to be vintage. Other than its overall look, notice the screw type closure. Those were invented in the early 1900s and used a lot until the clip-ons were invented around 1930.
 |
| Closure For Same Earring. |
In the Renaissance era earrings were not popular because women's hairstyles obscured the ears, however they became more popular in the 17th century. According to Deagan's book, Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500 - 1800, earrings have been found at Spanish Colonial New World archaeological sites, especially 17th century sites. The long dangling type are more frequent from 18th century sites. Many of those were made of copper alloy or gold and featured faceted glass, or paste, while others featured pearls, turquoise or emeralds. Several gold drop-earrings have been found on 1715 Fleet wreck sites.
The closure can provide a clue to the age of an earring. In the early 20th century ear piercing was not in fashion, so screw and clipon earrings were heavily used until piercing once again became popular in the 1970s.
17th and 18th century earrings were usually attached by a simple curved wire. Similar wire hooks are still used today so that alone doesn't help much.
Here is an example I found on a Treasure Coast shipwreck beach, but there is no evidence that it is very old. It could be quite modern. There are no definitive marks, and the design is very basic and common.
I have found one almost exactly like one shown in the Deagan book on page 164 (figure 6.12).
When it comes to clear stones, there are a variety of methods or tests you can do yourself to see if you might have a diamond.
Of course the easiest thing is to take it to a jewelry store or pawn shop and have them test it.
Here is a link to a web site that lists 25 different clear gemstones that are used in jewelry. Of course, it includes diamonds, zircons, white sapphire, spinel and much more.
Simulated gemstones are not new. Paste, made from glass, goes back to Ancient Egypt.
The Rhine River was filled with quartz pebbles that were used in jewelry. That is why they are called Rhinestones. Eventually the natural glass pebbles were depleted.
In 1891 Swarovski invented a machine that could mechanically cut and facet glass. He began making rhinestones with a 32% high lead content with great refraction. He also came up with a new kind of plating that for plating silver and gold onto the backs of the crystals.
Still nothing of interest on the National Hurricane Center web site.ast.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
