Antique jewelry glossary

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Forgery

An article made in order to be falsely represented and sold as a genuine ancient work, being dependent for its value mainly on the workmanship that it imitates.

The making of such pieces is a development of relatively modern times when the demand for old jewelry, as with other antiques, has made their production profitable. Among the articles that have been forged are gold Greek jewelry (especially intaglio gems) and Etruscan jewelry, medieval finger rings, enamelled Renaissance pendants, and Pilgrim badges.

One insidious forgery practice is to reset a genuine old mount with modern stones or paste; another is to sell a forged parure in an old shagreen case or a new case made to fit it and 'aged'.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson