You're not going to believe what I found!!!

[DianneK]

I was looking through some jewelry at our local GW store.I found a really pretty chain with a pearl pendant attatched.It had a tag of $7.00,so I snatched it up.The chain has a couple of kinks in it,no big deal.When I took a closer look at it in the car, it was 14 karat gold and the pearl pendant part was a 1mm freshwater pearl.The chain itself is like 16" long.Not bad huh?

[mccoysnina]

Great find!  I hae a riend who had found several real pearly necklaces at ts and yard sales.  When no one is looking she rubs them against her teeth. If real they feel rough.  I've never figured out how no one had ever caught her putting tee thing in her mouth.  I once founf a turquoise adn silver necklace in a bag of junk jewelry marked $1.50.  Half price when I paid for it.  A great feeling to find something great for cheap.
Jeannie

[valleythriftshopper]

I had a co-worker who found a real pearl necklace at a yard sale.  Occasionally I see something I think might be bakelite and have to try to inconspicuously rub it & smell for bakelite- I always feel foolish! 

The best jewlery find I ever had was a NE From sterling & lapis necklace & earring set for 8 dollars, that I've mentioned before here.  I did get a pair of 10K & little garnet heart earrings for 10 cents once too, but those probably only sell for about 10 bucks at Walmart anyway.

Nice job on the necklace, sounds like it will be very pretty for the summer!

[anastasiabeaverhausen]

Ok I have to ask...I know what bakelite is...but why do you rub it and what does it smell like?

[SplashsMom]

You all are making very antsy for garage sale season to begin again.

[valleythriftshopper]

Ok I have to ask...I know what bakelite is...but why do you rub it and what does it smell like?

Real bakelite give off an odor like formaldehyde.  You can smell it best when the plastic is warm, either by rubbing it briskly or running under hot water.  The best test, I think though is to put a little Formula 409 on a Q-tip and rub the item, the q-tip will turn an unmistakable yellow color.  Too bad I can't carry around Formula 409 to all the yard sales & thrift stores, it would come in handy!

[nancydr2]

Why don't you bring Formula 409 to garage sales?  Soak a couple of q-tips in it, put them in a ziploc bag and you have a portable bakelite lab!  I think it's perfectly reasonable to know what you are buying.  If the test doesn't hurt the object, no one should object.

I didn't know about testing bakelite with Formula 409.  I knew about the rubbing test, but honestly, I've never been able to pick up on the formaldehyde smell. 

I've never found good jewelry at a thrift store, but I don't have the patience to paw through all those trays. There's one woman I see at a Goodwill every so often who will spend a couple of hours looking at the jewelry through a loop. 

My best jewelry find ever was a high quality mood ring from the 1970's.  I like to wear it at work and point out to my boss that it turns black every time she gives me a new project.  A pearl necklace would be much classy so I'm jealous of the find!

[anastasiabeaverhausen]

ohh..sounds like bakelite CSI..I could carry lil swabs around...in my lil fanny pack...heck Ive got everything else in there!
Ok this weekend, Im out to sniff some bakelite....cmon spring!

[valleythriftshopper]

Why don't you bring Formula 409 to garage sales?  Soak a couple of q-tips in it, put them in a ziploc bag and you have a portable bakelite lab!  I think it's perfectly reasonable to know what you are buying.  If the test doesn't hurt the object, no one should object.

I didn't know about testing bakelite with Formula 409.  I knew about the rubbing test, but honestly, I've never been able to pick up on the formaldehyde smell. 

I've never found good jewelry at a thrift store, but I don't have the patience to paw through all those trays. There's one woman I see at a Goodwill every so often who will spend a couple of hours looking at the jewelry through a loop. 

Wow, that must be alot of jewelry, it would take about 5-10 minutes to go through all the jewelry at my local thrifts.

One note about testing bakelite, black bakelite sometimes fails the 409 test as does laquered bakelite.  For black bakelite you might have to rely on the sniff test (I'm bad at that too).

I may try to bring some swabs with me.  I really rarely see anything at a thrift worth testing.  The only bakelite items I have found at a thrift are a radio & a rare 1930's Disney pencil sharpener with one of the Three Little Pigs. 

If I see anything bakelite at a yard sale that is within my price range, it is usually because the owner has no clue about bakelite.  I would not want to draw attention to it by testing it, but at a large crowded yard sale, this might be possible. 

[Thrift Envy]

What a deal! Congratulations. How did you know it was gold? Was it marked?

Anybody have any tips on identifying unmarked gold? or silver?

[daswitzer]

I bought a 19 cent Disney toy purse at GW.  Today when I opened it there was a Monet bracelet in it!  Wow, that's never happened to me before.

[valleythriftshopper]

What a deal! Congratulations. How did you know it was gold? Was it marked?

Anybody have any tips on identifying unmarked gold? or silver?

I think most gold or silver made in the 20th century through today is marked, sometimes just 925 for silver.  Victorian pieces can be lower karat gold like 9k and unmarked.  You can buy gold/silver testing kits very inexpensively, I'm sure they are on Ebay.  

[valleythriftshopper]

I bought a 19 cent Disney toy purse at GW.  Today when I opened it there was a Monet bracelet in it!  Wow, that's never happened to me before.

Nice bonus!  Probably the little girl who owned the purse was playing with one of mommy's bracelets & it was left in there. 

[daswitzer]

Unfortunately, I won't be getting any more Disney anything, except maybe some clothing. I am so hoping that this whole lead issue will change.

[SplashsMom]

Unfortunately, I won't be getting any more Disney anything, except maybe some clothing. I am so hoping that this whole lead issue will change.

I doubt we've seen the final version of the lead issue yet.
I too am curious how it will affect pricing of both new and pre-owned items.