Hello! I have several questions/wanted information about a mysterious locket I have, possibly from Italy, and I was wondering if anyone here could help me. I have researched this on my own before coming here and have discovered the (possible) following:
Possibly made in the 1950's, though it seems to be older than that.
Could be Italian
.925 Sterling Silver
The marking which labels it as being .925 is upside down in the locket.
Chain it is on is also .925 Sterling Silver
And from the lack of information about it, I would say that it could very well be rare.
I was wondering the following things:
Where it is from?
When it was made?
Whom was it made by?
Possible value?
Here is the information/background history on it and also images:
Backstory: When I was much younger, I was digging through a box of cheap, plastic beads my grandmother had given me to play with, and come across a very large item. After pulling it out from the other beads I noticed that it was very out of place, being very old looking and unique. I asked her about it and she (and her husband) said that they did not know where it came from or why it was there. I honestly have no idea why it was in the bead box, and these were just your regular craft store, cheap, colored, plastic beads.
I believe the chain of the necklace was attached to the pendant when I pulled it out, and from what I can tell they are about the same age and both are silver.
Research: After mulling around on the internet for a while I have only found about six very very similar pendants, most of which do not come with a chain, and have a different bale than mine. They also have the engravings of either "STERLING," "925" or "ND 925" (all of which are facing right side up inside the locket. Two of these very similar lockets are from Italy, and the others (who's owners I spoke to) said that they got theirs from either Florida or Queens. Someone also guessed that it was made in around the 1950's.
Images:
The outside of the locket:
The full inside of the locket in which you can see the upside down "925":
The "925" turned right side up:
Locket back:
Chain:
The tag on the chain and the 925 on the chain clasp.
On the tag there is what looks like a hallmark symbol? Maybe some help in identifying that?The backside of the chain tag which states its origin from Italy and again the number 925 for the .925 sterling silver. (The way the tag says Italy also leads me to believe that the locket is perhaps Italian?):
The most confusing part of these pictures is that the locket itself has no hallmark on it... the only hallmark I found was on the chain clasp, and it was that weird "K" or "I" or "H" looking symbol. Any help identifying what or who that means would be VERY much appreciated
Thank you SO MUCH to anyone who can help me decode this necklace!!
Callie Gray