Answers to Solve the Mysteries

Case # 1 – “Case of the U.S.O.s”

These are mosaic brooches. They are made up of tiny pieces of glass.  The one that is inlaid into black glass is the finer of the two. The tiny pieces are so well done that it looks as if it is painted. It is also the older piece. The tube hinge, “c” clasp and extended pin stem are our clues.  The pin with the green background has a safety pin head and a ball hinge. These clues and its bright color background indicates it is circa 1900’s.

Case # 2 – “What’s Wrong?”

The earrings have been converted to clip backs, which were not popular until 70 to 80 years later. If you look carefully at the top of the earrings, you can see where other wire backs were once attached.

Case # 3 – “What’s In a Name?”

The Eisenburg piece is Sterling silver.  Its smooth back indicates the mold was made in the late 1930’s. Its stones are prong set. These factors plus the fact that Eisenburg is more collectable than Hattie Carnegie makes it the more valuable piece. The Carnegie pin is gold plated, spin cast white metal and the stones are glued in.

Case # 4 –  “The Bookchian Mystery”

The greenish reaction to the nitric acid is a clear indication that the piece is not gold.

Case # 5 – “The Case of the Missing Pin Stem.”

The “ct” after the 18 is a sure sign of its U.K. origin.  The fold down “c” clasp and the hole into which the pin stem was screwed is our clue to “fittings” not “findings”.

Case # 6 -  “All That Glitters”

Photo VIII-12 showing the back of the pieces, rules out the watchband and the brooch as being set with diamonds. Pieces from this time period would have open backs if the stones were diamonds.  The stones are also glued into place.

This leaves the 2 neckleses as possibilities. The stones are all prong set. Photo #VIII-13 shows large stones that are single cut. Diamonds this large would be brilliant cut. Photo #VIII-14 clearly shows how easy it is to see the fabric behind the stone.  A diamond would be refracting and reflecting the light and it would not be possible to see the fabric so clearly.

Case # 7 -  “Truth and Concequences”

The case solving clue to this mystery is found in illustration #-VIII-A. Because this mark was not used until 1973 as the British standard for Platium, the ring belongs to caller #2.

Case # 8 -  “The case of the Black Abby Ruins”

This brooch is made of Bog-Oak. The Irish ruins surrounded by shamrocks indicate that this is an Irish Bog-Oak souvenir piece.

Case # 9 – “The Case of the Red Necklace”

A jewelry detective with basic math skills could tell the client immediately that it was purchased as new by her grandmother.  In 1910-20’s her mother would have been too young to wear these pieces.  The “hot point” test provided the clue that the neckleses is made of celluloid.

Case # 10 -  “What’s in a Name II ?’

By looking in the maker’s mark section of the book (page 31), we could tell our client that the piece was made of horn by the French designer, Georges Pierre, who worked from the late 1800s through the mid-1930s.