I found these lovely mid-century screwback earrings in a charity shop just before Christmas. They’re signed “STERLING” on the back, and there’s also a set of initials (“SB”) in an oval. A couple of minutes’ internet research later, I came up with a company name, namely Silverman Brothers. This company was started by Archibald and Charles Silverman in Providence, Rhode Island in 1897 and depending on where you look online, ceased trading in either the 1950s or 1960s.
There’s also a matching pendant, this time made by a different company – Lang Sterling, which also operated out of Providence. Their hallmark contains the word “STERLING”, where the letter “S” is in the shape of a swan.
I’d had these two pendants for a while, having bought them in a charity shop for £1.50 each. The big one is unsigned but the smaller enhancer pendant (bottom pic) is stamped for sterling silver and has a maker’s mark – WK for Whitney Kelly.
I was a bit mystified as to the identity of the rather attractive green stone. I managed to find some pics online of something called green zebra jasper, which I learned consisted of green serpentine interspersed with layers of chrysotile. These stones I saw online looked identical to the stones on my pendants. Bingo, I thought. The word “chrysotile” did sound vaguely familiar but having found a name for the stone, I pressed ahead and listed one of them on Etsy with a title that started “Green zebra jasper pendant chrysotile”.
I was taken aback when Etsy took down my listing a day or so later, informing me that chrysotile was a banned substance. So I looked it up and lo and behold, it turns out that chrysotile is a type of asbestos that can cause asbestosis (inflammation and scarring of the lungs), as well as lung cancer.
I honestly don’t know if these pendants pose a real threat to human life or health, but I’m not going to list them anywhere else. However, Etsy does have a ton of listings for green zebra jasper gemstones and beads. Either these sellers know about the chrysotile connection and have omitted the keyword from their titles to avoid getting their listings taken down, or they’re just totally unaware. It’s an interesting one – I would love to know more about green zebra jasper and just how safe (or unsafe) it is.
A while back I found a round post earring in a charity shop. It was a single earring so therefore not the most easy thing to sell on. Also, I don’t wear earrings so if I wanted to actually wear this, I’d have to convert it to something else. So I hit on the idea of turning it into a pendant, like this:
All I had to do was gently bend the post at the back using a pair of chain nose pliers, to form a bale (see below for pic showing the back of the earring). The great thing about this particular pendant is its hidden bale, which means that the pendant doesn’t hang far below the level of the necklace/chain; you can therefore wear it with high-necked tops without worrying whether it’s going to disappear below your neckline. Winner.
This isn’t the only earring to pendant conversion I’ve done in this way – I will dig out the other one and put it on here some time.
Although I don’t actively collect buttons and buckles any more, I still buy them when I come across examples that I really like (assuming that the price is right, of course). A while back, I found half a glass belt buckle. It was this fantastic shade of zingy lemon yellow, with contrasting silver-coated bars. What on earth do you do with half a Deco belt buckle though? Answer: find a suitable chain, and turn it into a necklace. This beauty is on sale in my shop:
It actually makes a rather nice pairing with a ring of a similar vintage:
The band and setting are made from brass and the ring would have been the cheapest of the cheap when bought new. But it still looks great.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Scrolling counts as using the site, as does going to a different page. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
