Gold monocle....or not?

[BigYin]

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".


 

[ironlord1963]

    Welcome BigYin and thanks for posting such a wonderful item.  In your header you mention it being gold.  From the pic it appears more Silver then gold.  Is this the Lighting, and it appears more golden in color?  Or maybe White gold?  Without hallmarks this could be quite the challange to pinpoint maker and Cir. Date.  For the most part Gold and Silver has been faithfully marked for centuries now.  It is possible it was hand wrought for personal use, or kind of Folk art.  Which leads to my next Question.  Is it molded any signs of mold lines along the edge, or does it more appear hand wrought?  The Hardware that Clamps the glass to the monocle appears a bit modern or Jerry rigged per say.  Is that screw always been there?  Then finally I assume the glass is magnifyed to some degree, would it be more like eyeglass or magnifying glass power?  Once again thanks for posting and Welcome

[BigYin]

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.

[hosman321]

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.

[BigYin]

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 :-)

[wendy177]

BigYin welcome I believe what you have is what was called a quizzing glass or quizzer This is the 18th century terminology and if you search using that you will find many very similar  pieces to yours!!! another term now archaic is perspective glass. A Beautiful piece!!!!

[fancypants]

Welcome to the forum , BigYin .

I'm with wendy177 .

Yours is a lorgnette .

The eyewire screw appears to be a replacement (a common repair when a screw is stripped or lost) & possibly could be replaced with a better one .

You can take your item to a local eyeglass shop/optician & have it's 'power' checked - usually very quickly & free - on their Lensometer .

If it's 'power' , in diopters , is not a standard power  (such as +2.00 , +3.00 etc.) & is instead something with 'fractional diopters' such as +2.25 , +3.50 etc. , you can be certain that the lens was custom-ground for the original owner .

[wendy177]

Big Yin I would try & contact these folks & see if they can help wonderful site full of great info. good luck & keep us posted on your findings!!!! http://www.antiquespectacles.com/   If you contact them & they are willing to help I think you will be telling family members I told you so 

[KC]

"An Englishman traditionally favours a gold-rimmed eyeglass with a gallery to hold it in place, attached to a black cord (my own practice). The degenerate French seducer will most likely sport his on a broad ribbon. Rimless eyeglasses are Prussian or Ruritanian." Gerald Warner

Would recommend contacting these folks...they most likely will help you!
http://www.antiquespectacles.com/history/ages/through_the_ages.htm#
http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/quizzing.html

Please let us know what you find out.

fancy....I thought a lorgnette had a LONG handle not a small circular one!  I believe the correct name for this one is a "quizzer" monocle.


This has a pretty accurate time line for English/French.  However, the monocle became popular in the US after WW! whereas it lost popularity in  Europe after the war with the Nazis and the relationship with Hitler and his monocle! http://blog.readingglasses.com/2010/05/27/history-of-eyeglasses/
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/51244

[KC]

Must add...that they did make magnifying glasses to resemble quizzers that were sold in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  This is also a possibility.

[BigYin]

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. 
 


 

[BigYin]

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(?)

[fancypants]

Yes , I am incorrect on the term 'lorgnette' .. I use it like slang .

As my GF said to me - "  !Maestro fancypants , las palabras de KC estan la verdad , y tu esta Tonto ! " .... I take this to mean we're going to get to play "Los Vaqueros y los Indios " ! Woo-woo-woo ! 

[waywardangler]

Fancypants, I have no idea what you said but I like slang.  Slang is good.  I have no idea what a lorgnette is let alone what a quizzer is.  I learn so much new stuff on here that it hurts my head sometimes. 

[KC]

Fancy you are funny!!!!!

Agree Wayward….still so much to learn…so little time!!!!