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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Gold monocle....or not?

« on: September 06, 2010, 01:08:17 pm »

Just an update.
Not really too much further information from the chap over at the antique spectacles but this is what he says about the item. Only relevant parts quoted.

This is not a lorgnette but instead is a variety of a single lens.
It may either be a magnifier (positive lens).......or some form of quizzing glass which more typically has a minifying (minus lens).
 
That screw that people are speaking of is NOT the original because it sticks out way too far.
The original would not appear that way, for sure.
Try screwing it in.
 
This is likely from the second half of the 19th century, definitely not from the 18th century,
These are fairly common and only if it can be proven to be solid gold would it be relatively valuable.
If gold plated (likely) then it is not worth very much.
It probably originated in France.
Occasionally these are seen on Ebay and I have seen them sell for about $30 - $50 but only when decorative and in nice condition.

Managed to get a couple of more pictures without so much interference from the light although they`re still no David Baileys.  


EDIT: The last one better shows the layering of the gold(?)

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Gold monocle....or not?

« on: September 05, 2010, 03:26:42 pm »

I knew i should have just came here last week.
Thanks ever so much guys.
I`ve been in touch with the linked sites although just knowing exactly what it is has already made my day.
I just wouldn`t like to see it end up in a car boot sale for 50p after all these years in the family.

I`ll certainly report back any further details i get though........or indeed let you know how much a certain somebody sold it at the car boot sale for as tat. 
 


 

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Gold monocle....or not?

« on: September 05, 2010, 10:09:34 am »

It looks pretty ancient to me, even the screw does. Metal screws have been around for several hundred years so it's not a deal breaker that it is there. Definitely looks 1800's to me, could even be 1700's. I'm not an expert though, so let's see if we can find similar ones for ya.

Now that would certainly back my argument.....as well as shut a certain somebody up, once & for all :-)

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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Gold monocle....or not?

« on: September 05, 2010, 09:43:41 am »

Thanks for taking the time to reply Ironlord1963.
It is indeed gold coloured but it has 3 layers. gold, rose & white. There is a seam on it but other than that the detail is perfect.
The bogus looking screw has always been there as long as i can remember but i`ve not actually seen the object in person for quite a long time now as i live down here in London while the monocle(?) is back home in Scotland. The subject came up again during a chat though and the same old "it`s rare & ancient" Versus the "it`s old tat" debate began all over again so i had my family member post me a couple of images for on here.

It`s certainly nothing i`ve been able to find anything about as i`ve been saying "just you wait & see" while scouring the web this last week. I had hoped the 3 notches would have given me something to go on but alas no.

EDIT: Glass is quite strong(to family member), like a magnifying glass she says.

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Antique Questions Forum / Gold monocle....or not?

« on: September 05, 2010, 08:02:35 am »

Hello folks.
Hoping someone here can solve this mystery for us. We have what we believe to be an old monocle which has been in our family for well over 50 years now but nobody has ever really known very much about the thing other than it belonged to our grandfather, who apparently acquired it in some bric-a-brac shop. Plenty opinions over the years but no real facts me thinks.
It`s about 3" hich and a few mm thick around the handle etc.
The item in question has no hallmarks of any sort but upon removing the centre glass there are 3 notches on the inside rim of the metal, as shown in the 2nd image below
Our Grandmother used to joke that it came from a time before actual hallmarks, when all one did was "make your mark".