I have a ring that looks very similar to this one that has WH, DAWSON and 18K stamped inside of it. It belonged to my Great-Grandmother and according to my mother it was purchased in the Dawson, Yukon Territory area during the Gold Rush. The WH refers to Whitehorse, an important city during the Yukon Gold Rush that began in 1897. My Great Grandparents were there from 1899 until 1906. My Great-Grandfather was Thomas H Adair and he was married to Mary Adair whose ring this was. There is a Makers Mark after the WH that looks like the ~ symbol with another one under it going in the opposite direction. The ring I have has grapes, green grape leaves and flowers on it and the same squiggly line that divides the ring in half as the one in the picture. If anyone can provide more information on the ring I would love to hear it.
Rating
Cleaning Gold by: Toni
Hi Karen, what a Beautiful antique gold ring! I collect Antique Jewelry and the easiest way to clean gold , that I've found is to lower the jewelry (unless water or soap will damage it) into a small glassful of detergent or even shampoo solution. If there is stubborn dirt, a little bit of ammonia added to the water, like you've done usually does the trick. I use an eyebrow brush too and I've found it's perfect for cleaning gold.
Let the gold jewlery stand for a few minutes and rinse it off and wipe dry. A polishing cloth, that you get at jewelers supply stores will make the gold shine, but personally, I think antique pieces look better when they don't shine. Their soft patina is more beautiful than a glossy "new" gold look.
best wishes
Toni
Rating
Antique Gold Work by: Yvonne
Hi Karen, what a beautiful example of the antique gold work technique called - Repoussé that was introduced in the 1840's, in the Victorian era, when the taste for Cannetille, (which was another antique gold work technique) was waning.
By hammering the gold from the back, the design was raised in relief and often hand finished. Repoussé hammered by hand demonstrated the skill of the craftsman. The initials inside the band would most likely be those of the craftsman.
Notice the careful use of gold alloy here, in this case, green gold, which is an alloy of gold; gold being too soft to be used alone was often alloyed, in this case with zinc or cadmium. The gold alloy resulted in extra strength and produced the beautiful shade of green gold that you can see. Three shades of green gold were generally made. These were "meadow gold" "leaf gold" and "water gold". Thank you very much for your submission.
best regards Yvonne Hammouda-Eyre If you would like to join the Antique Jewelry Investor community and stay up to date with all the latest Antique jewelry news, click here....
