posted 03-27-2009 02:28 PM            

I have an art nouveau hatpin head that I found in the bottom of a junk box at a flea market many years ago. It shows three ladies' faces, with poppies in their flowing hair. It's marked "STERLING," but I can't find any other marks. It's gilded, with the gilding worn off (or perhaps never applied) on the ladies' faces and high points. There's some kind of reddish waxy residue in the crevices. It's very light--so light that when I bought it I thought at first it was aluminum.

-Does anyone recognize the manufacturer?

-Does anyone know how I can replace the pin stem, or whether it's advisable to do so? Spring's coming, and I would like to wear it as a hat pin. I bought some pin stems in a jewelry findings store, but they're all a touch too wide to fit the hole. Is this something a jeweler could do for me? I can't quite tell for sure, but I think the hole has screw threads.

-Does anyone know about the construction of this thing? As I said, it feels too light to be solid. But it can't just be hollow, or it would have gotten crushed. Might it be filled with some sort of wax or resin? Would that affect whether the pin can be replaced and how I should clean it?

Okay, pictures:

posted 03-28-2009 01:05 AM            

Interesting about the wax. Do you think it's safe for me to try to remove it with very hot soapy water, then? I won't risk melting something inside the piece?

I can't seem to find any hatpin sites that say where to find replacement pin stems, just ones that warn against being taken in by hatpins whose pin stems have been replaced. I'll keep looking.

posted 03-28-2009 10:54 AM            

Not sure about the red substance, but sometimes I have seen residue of jeweler's rouge or polishing compound in crevices of intricate pieces.

I have seen a few pieces (more stickpins than hatpins) where the head screwed onto the stem. I am not 100% sure, but if the stem was originally soldered on your example, I think there should be a tiny hole somewhere on your piece to allow air expanded by the heat of soldering to escape without rupturing the silver. If there is no such hole, that might explain why the opening is threaded and the maker used a non-solder construction. This is something you would probably want to bring up with any jeweler you look to for a repair (I'm not completely knowledgeable about making/repairing silver, so one of our members who is will hopefully chime in about this).

posted 03-28-2009 11:31 AM            

As for cleaning - take a pin with cotton (swap?? is that the name - according to online translation, it is)

Gently remove the dirt after hawing had the head in water with a mild soap for at few minutes. If it don't work water with soap again and clean.

When in water - avoid getting the hole into the water - no need to get it wet inside.