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 Unger Bros. "Sea Goddess" Pendant? Or Fake?
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| Author | Topic: Unger Bros. "Sea Goddess" Pendant? Or Fake? |
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MINNIETONKA Posts: 7 |
posted 02-08-2017 03:26 PM
  
 I'm new to collecting Unger and recently purchased this piece. After researching the pattern (I believe it's called "Sea Goddess"??), I came across a number of posts concerning Unger fakes. It made me question whether this piece is authentic based on the mark...which isn't especially crisp. I also began to wonder if the front is as detailed as it should be for Unger. Lastly, under magnification I noticed a fine seam line on both sides near the loop. I was uncertain whether that was normal given it's age, or if this might be a sign of a fake. Ultimately, I like this piece and I'm really hoping that it IS authentic. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!! ***Measures 1 inch in diameter and is approximately 1/16 inch thick. IP: Logged |
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MINNIETONKA Posts: 7 |
posted 02-10-2017 05:23 PM
Hey, a big THANK YOU to all who replied!!!! This is such a great site for newbies...VERY encouraging and VERY supportive!!!!!!!!!!!!! IP: Logged |
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MINNIETONKA Posts: 7 |
posted 02-10-2017 05:41 PM
I think I speak for those who are new to this site and just hoping that someone, anyone will post a reply. A simple thumbs up or thumbs down reply. A "yes" it's real or a "are you a moron" of course it's fake reply. Pretty much anything. Where are the truly knowledgeable silverphiles... polishing your pretty pieces? ;-) Seriously...I'm not a Trump supporter asking for Mexican Silversmith collectors to reply. I'm just someone who is new to this and hugely disappointed! IP: Logged |
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MINNIETONKA Posts: 7 |
posted 02-10-2017 06:21 PM
The moderators suggested that to garner interest, I tell a little more about myself, my interests and why I got into collecting. Ok...I'm the third oldest of seven children...a middle child, a fall between the cracks kinda kid. A lover of shiny things, namely sterling, not gold (too garish, too yellow, too much like jaundice flesh), of black and silver...of the contrast between dark and light. I'm a jeweler(ish) and proud of it...a creator of "something from nothing" in sterling sheet or wire. AND...as this site seems to SOOOO hate, a repurposer of gothic looking sterling flatware and hollowware who turns a dusty cabinet piece into a finely finished utilitarian piece. Who gives new life to something that might otherwise be discarded. Which should make those of you who LOVE your favorite spoon, fork or tongs, a little crazy...but yet, that much happier because there will be one less piece of that particular pattern and your pieces will be of even more value. Because if a 100+ year old piece of sterling can be useful and valued in the next hundred years, then it lives on. IP: Logged |
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MINNIETONKA Posts: 7 |
posted 02-10-2017 06:51 PM
I just read the "Guidelines for New Users". I'm afraid I might have violated those guidelines in some way. My apology to anyone who has taken offense to my comments. Hey...I think my post is nearly a "hot" post...yay me...sheer effort of will. Still lovin' this site! :-) IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 4121 |
posted 02-10-2017 07:26 PM
I will start by stating that I know next to nothing about Unger's work. That said, I would think it is a fake; the detail is soft and the surface has the porosity I would expect to see from a cast-off die, as does the mark. I am actually surprised, given the appeal of Unger pieces in the past, that the market has not been flooded by copies of even higher quality. The American numismatic community has been battling this for some time -- you can order wholesale from China any US coin of any date in any quantity you wish. They used to be pretty easily detected, but they are now so good that a number have made it through the major grading houses without detection and sold for large money before being discovered. This is illegal in the US, of course, but legal there. I would not buy anything of this sort, coin or jewelry, without a confirmed provenience or my own assumption that it was false and priced accordingly. As stated, this is simply my opinion of a piece I have not held in hand and have no additional knowledge of. IP: Logged |
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MINNIETONKA Posts: 7 |
posted 02-10-2017 08:21 PM
Thanks wev!! I REALLY appreciate your thoughts on this and the time you took to respond! I hate that it might be a fake, but I guess I'm not surprised. I was waiting on a thoughtful reply to decide if I should return it to the seller or keep it. I think I'm leaning toward the return.  IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 4121 |
posted 02-10-2017 09:46 PM
Small help, but you are welcome. As for replies, patience is demanded. It is not fashionable these days, but that does not negate the need. I have waited more than five years for a response to a query; I have dozens more that have never been answered. That is the nature of the beast, I'm afraid; the deeper you delve into the subject, the more likely you are to be confounded by mysteries. IP: Logged |
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MINNIETONKA Posts: 7 |
posted 02-10-2017 09:53 PM
Thanks wev...but could you please delete this entire post, the six pictures that I uploaded to your site, and my account? Thank you!! IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 02-11-2017 10:44 AM
Hi Minnietonka. As Wev mentioned, a bit of patience goes a long way on this forum, combined with first reading and following the forum guidelines to which you agreed when you signed up. Unlike some other forums, the members on this one do not typically check to see what is being posted on an hourly or daily basis. It can be days or longer for many members to stop by, and when someone new does not follow the simple guidelines most members will wait until the new person provides the small bit of additional information that the forum requires. Going off on what to most people here would perceive as an inexplicable rant only creates a lack of interest in helping that person since politeness is considered to be a hallmark of this forum. I agree with WEV that your medallion appears to be a clear forgery because of its lack of detail and the seeming porosity of the metal (though the image on my monitor is slightly fuzzy). There are several methods the criminals use to make forgeries. All start with an original wind up with slightly less crisp details. The one that provides the most detail and be closest to the original is called electro-plating. This method uses the kind of silicone that dentists use to make impressions of your teeth. A mold of the front and one of the back are made. The resulting molds are sprayed with a thin layer of graphite which then allows for the molds to be dipped into a copper electroplating solution and a thick layer of copper is deposited onto the graphite layer in each mold, The resulting copper sheets are trimmed and the two halves are then held together and a soft metal solder is poured in the middle to make it solid. The result is then electroplated with silver and can be a very convincing forgery with only slightly less detail. One giveaway of this technique is typically it has a slight seam around the edge where the two halves were soldered together. All of that aside, I think it is an attractive necklace and if you pay an amount appropriate for a modern reproduction I would not think than your average person would ever know or care that it is a reproduction. [This message has been edited by Kimo (edited 02-11-2017).] IP: Logged |
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June Martin Forum Master Posts: 1326 |
posted 02-11-2017 02:31 PM
Hello all, Minnietonka tried to delete all their posts.... We have restored the thread. Minnietonka has been blocked from making further posts. ---------------- Minnietonka, You may ask for your privileges to be restored, by emailing us a request. ---------------- Eventually we will close this thread so if anyone has anything to say, do it sooner than later. IP: Logged |
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ahwt Posts: 2334 |
posted 02-11-2017 07:01 PM
An article on an Unger Brooch shows that the design shown in this post has be copied. I think one may have to have the brooch in hand to determine if it is authentic. Fakes have always been a fascinating subject to me. It does seem that if the price of an object gets high enough someone out there will try to copy it. IP: Logged |
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