Antique Garnet Cross

[stellamarina]

Hi all,

I have this garnet cross that my grandfather gave me years ago for my 8th grade graduation. He was stationed in Germany during WWII and acquired it there. We''re not sure how or where as he won''t talk about any of it - whether it be a house, a soldier, etc. He has some other German army articles that are pretty cool but we don''t know any of the background. In any case, I took some pictures of the cross - if anyone has any ideas about it, or could point me in the right direction, I''d really appreciate it. I don''t know if it was new during the 1940''s or if it was already older. Thanks!

Dana

 

[stellamarina]

A better pic....

 

[stellamarina]

A blurry close-up!

 

[yellowfan]

Hi Dana,

Your cross is very beautiful. I don''t know much on antiques though. Hopefully some of the experts here will comment on your piece. I have an antique garnet ring and when I figure out how to post photos, I will post it. That was sweet of your Grandfather to give you a piece like this. Is your birthstone garnet?

Best,

Lori

 

[glitterata]

Can you post a picture of the other side? That might help.

Also, can you describe the color? Is it a dark, purplish red, or a lighter red with a little honey color in it?

My guess is that it was made in the 1920s. This is totally a guess, though, based on other garnet jewelry I''ve seen. I could be off by a few decades either way. But it does look 20th century to me, not 19th.

It''s hard to say much about the history without knowing the story of how your grandfather got it. But since it''s a cross, at least you can be pretty confident that it wasn''t looted from a Jewish Holocaust victim.

Very pretty cross! Thank you for showing us.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

It's an antique Bohemian cross, circa about 1900-1910 (good guess, glitterata). The garnets are probably fine quality pyropes, and in all likelihood the metal is goldtone silver, although a minority of the pieces were made of 14 karat yellow gold.

Very popular pieces, quite liquid in auctions, antique shows and with antique/estate jewelers.

 

[stellamarina]

Hi all, I was out of town for a few days but just was able to read the responses. Thank you to all, especially Rich, for the information! There is a marking on the loop but even with a loupe I can''t read whether it''s gold or goldtone silver. I can post a pic of the back shortly but it seems like Rich cleared it up for me. Garnet IS my birthstone and yes, I am glad it''s a cross for obvious reasons! Otherwise, bad karma for sure. Thanks again for the input!

Dana