Any jewelry gurus out there?

[mandelyn]

We went to an auction last night, and husband bought this...

It's Sterling and Hematite, and I can't find anything similar with any kind of price range to see if we got a good deal. I mean, we paid about nothing for it, but I want to know!

I've been looking all morning, trying to figure out if it's special or not.

There is an E (<--- printed just like that) across from the sterling mark. I think it's plated since it doesn't say a silver content. But I'm not sure... I'm a furniture and glassware buyer!

Research got me all excited because the E mark I could find meant a brief early 1940's mark by Eisenberg. But this piece reflects nothing that they make! They're all about the bling costume stuff and this is not high shine bling. But they did make some weird stuff, nothing was a slave bracelet.

So, I'm trying to find out what this E mark means when not speaking of Eisenberg, since I highly doubt it is that. The auction has it out separate instead of with a lot, but they didn't say anything about it and we got it cheap.

 

[debilorrah]

Look for a 95 stamped somewhere on it.

Based on prices for hematite these days, I would put the value around $150.00, more if it is solid and not plated silver.

 

[mandelyn]

The first thing I did was look all over it for marks. Nothing about it's content, so how do you find out if it's plated or not? Everything at the auction marked with it's content sold high. This didn't, because it isn't marked and so it's not a sure bet.

If it's solid, I'll sell it. If it isn't, I'll save it for Ren-fest costume accessory. Or save it anyways since it was cheap.

 

[wegotchickens]

I've seen similar bracelets. I'd price it around $40. Most I've seen were silver plate.

If you have a quality antique dealer in your area, try taking it and asking them what they think.

Next time I see one in a catalog I'll let you know.

 

[mandelyn]

$40 is what I was thinking too, but I wanted to be sure in case it was something other than I thought it was.

 

[herefordlovinglady]

I had something very similar to this. I wish I remember more about it. I think it was Sarah Coventry. had to of been in the late 60's early 70's. But I don't think her jewelry had an E on it. I think we called them slave bracelets.

ETA: Google Slave Bracelet, maybe you can narrow your search.