Baba Vision: Lithium

LITHIUM

A friend was experiencing much anxiety..and his family had repeatedly committed him.. poster was opposing the use of psychiatric medications for him..but had no power with the pharmaceutically dominated hospital staff.. then had a vision of a priest holding a communion wafer.. and breaking off a tiny sliver.. .. she heard the world 'lithium' Catholics believe that any sliver of the communion host is Christ.. as much as thewhole disc. Poster felt she was being told to advise friend to take a small fraction of what was prescribed..)***(Lithium.. from Greek lithos.. can turn the kidneys into stone)

Vision: Tree Planting

TREE PLANTING

Poster is planting a baby evergreen tree..and to her horror the tree turns into a dog and the planting becomes a suffocation

(Interpretation: well motivated actions can through ignorance be harmful... ask the Source.. ones favoriteindweller form of God before doing something)

FLASHLIGHT AND STORM

While it rains
a flashlight's beam
slightly downward streams
across a stormsired
little waterfall's steps..
an intersection of horizontal light
with downfalling water

(the falling water cannot trap
the light)
(the thought occurred that
the flashlight holder was looking
for an animal in a flash flood)
(in actuality, the storm's ions
reconnected someone to her life
current)

PLAYGROUND NOT MUSEUM

a sculptor hugs his mother
on a playground as he decides
to follow her suggestion to
put his sculpture in a playground
rather than a museum

Italian Etruscan Pendant

In keeping with our Questions and Answer format - here is the most recent question.

QUESTION?

Have just purchased a pendant which has a 5ct Onyx faceted jewel set into a square gold pendant of approx 3cm x 3cm with a "roman" pattern around the stone. It was advertised as gold 14k - the stamping on the rear of the pendant has 14Kt with the word ITALY written below that and beneath the small square raised area with the stamp is a marking similar to << >> underlined.

It is very light has a tiny "airhole" in the top of the square and is obviously hollow. As it was advertised made in Italy I was expecting something more substantial in weight - does this sound like an authentic item - with this type of marking/stamping on rear i.e. the bail has no markings at all.


ANSWER..!

G'day and many thanks for your query

Many items of jewelry made over the past few centuries have been made hollow to save weight (and reduce cost) so that is not a problem. In fact the Victorians were renown for filling hollow items with jeweller's wax to make them appear heavier.

Thankfully THAT practice has stopped..!

In Italy there is no restrictions to Hallmarking, so 14Kt and the word 'ITALY' is acceptable. Just because it doesn't have any markings on the bail doesn't make it suspect.

I assume you bought the item from a reputable company with some form of refund if you were not 100% delighted with your purchase? If you are not happy, then this may be the way to go. On the other hand, if you feel you paid a fair price for it - keep it and enjoy it.

Like most things in this world - you end up getting what you paid for.

Ring with markings not known

Another Question came through today which needs some thoughts?

QUESTION..?

I found a ring that looks like gold and has some gems on it. There are some stones that look like sapphires and some stones that look like diamonds.

The ring it has the following markings: K or a other letter or symbol that looks like that and then 25 and on the other side of the ring it has HC, also this is not clear. Is this real gold ?

MY ANSWER..!

G'day and many thanks for your query

However there is not a gemologist or valuer in the world who could give you a straight 'Yes or No' from just the description.

I would suggest you take it to your local friendly jeweler who should (even for a small fee) answer your question by testing it.

The Hallmarks you have described simply tell me that it is NOT of British Manufacture as
the Hallmarks sound just like Makers Marks.

You can find more about Hallmarks at this site:
Jewelry Antiques of the 20th Century where they have a free hallmarking course available which might help.

This is a great resource and one which I recommend - because I wrote it!

Have a Great Mother's Day everyone.

Unfortunately - a typical problem

I recently received an email from someone with an appraisal problem which I thought was well worth answering here, so I have added both the question, together with my answer in the hope that it helps.

QUESTION....?

I am an event concierge at the JW Marriott hotel. One of the meetings that I was caring for was a group called [BLANKED OUT]. Their website is [BLANKED OUT].

I bought a tennis bracelet for my mother from this guy there and he claimed it was a 14k gold, Class A man made sapphire and man made diamond bracelet. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought the bracelet without doing some research but I bought it for 211 dollars.

When I got the piece home, I looked it over and it is stamped 925 which is silver instead of gold. I was concerned that the piece was gold plated so I called the number listed on the website and spoke with this lady who told me that the bracelet was indeed 14k gold but it was reinforced with a silver wire thus the .925 stamp.

She said it was not considered goldplated b/c it was thick gold mostly solid gold over a reinforcing wire of silver. Does that make sense?
The piece is also stamped CZC. What does that mean?

I am concerned that I was taken for a fool and bought something that is nowhere near its worth. Can you tell me if I goofed up or not. The lady that I spoke with assured me that it would not tarnish and that it was not plated so it wouldn't peel or chip.

She said it had a lifetime warranty as long as I didn't wash my hands in acid. Im a bit worried. How much would you suspect my 50 stone (25 man made sapphire 25 man made diamond), 14k gold stamped 925 czc to be worth?


ANSWER....!

G'day and many thanks for your query

The first thing I would be doing is check to see if there was any form of guarantee or money back available for this item and get a refund - if possible.

Now don't get me wrong here. The item is priced quite fair for what you paid and is comparable with similar items in retail stores - but you certainly have purchased a silver bracelet plated with 14k gold and set with all synthetic gems.

Man made Sapphires are STILL real sapphires except they are made by man instead of coming out of the ground. In many cases they are almost too perfect because they still have the same optical, physical and chemical properties as the natural gem - so they are real - just not natural.

Sapphires like this are fairly cheap and Cubic Zirconias (CZ) are even cheaper. All in all you received what you paid for, so you are not a fool.

But if you are not happy - get a refund.

Hope this helps.

MORAL OF STORY - Buyer Beware....

Testing sterling silver

Recently had a question which I though would be worth sharing:

Hi, I have a question on how to test for silver. I don't know if after rubbing on touchstone and appling acid, does the mark turn a special color?

This was my reply which may help those with a similar problem....

Firstly it is important to realise that you do NOT use a touchstone for Silver.
You should test the article itself.

Lightly scratch or scuff a small spot which is not seen (like underneath a silver teapot or inside a ring band etc) and apply Nitric Acid to the spot.

If it turns a cloudy grey color it is Sterling Silver. If it turns black it is Coin Silver. What you don't want is for it to turn green which indicates it is plated.

You must ensure you make the scratch deep enough to go beneath any plating though, else it won't react as it has to reach any base metal underneath. This can be a little unsightly so make sure it is in an unobtrusive area.

Be very careful with Nitric Acid too...

Hope this helps. I am sure there is some useful information on the Antique Jewery of the 20th Century website.

Rachamim Jewellery - Google Maps in Europe

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