A few more photos
Vintage Mexican sterling silver and gold 1911 grips.
I recently found these grips fitted to an old Colt M1911, 1918 manufacture. I collect military, and have located an original correct set of truncated diamond wood grips to restore this gun to it's proper military configuration.
I have a couple of questions about these intriguing Mexican grips.
(The photos are not the best, and the lighting makes the gold parts look faded and thin. They are not. The lighting also makes the silver look thin and tarnished. They are perfect)
The look of the silver is that of sterling, not plate, (My wife collects vintage sterling), and the markings .925 as well as "Sterling" indicate this content as well.
The gold appears to be applied, not plated or a wash.
My questions:
-What do the two 18k and 10k carot marks on the back signify?
-When would these grips have been made?
Thanks for any assistance.
I have a couple of questions about these intriguing Mexican grips.
(The photos are not the best, and the lighting makes the gold parts look faded and thin. They are not. The lighting also makes the silver look thin and tarnished. They are perfect)
The look of the silver is that of sterling, not plate, (My wife collects vintage sterling), and the markings .925 as well as "Sterling" indicate this content as well.
The gold appears to be applied, not plated or a wash.
My questions:
-What do the two 18k and 10k carot marks on the back signify?
-When would these grips have been made?
Thanks for any assistance.
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First, I think they are very cool. Normally I don't like embellished / enhanced-appearance stuff but those grips are pretty dang sweet. I would like to have those on a 1911 of the Mexico-Approved caliber of .38 Super.
Anyhow, on "fakeness" I've been in plenty of tourist shops in Tijuana loaded with questionable if not outright fake "silver" items and jewelry. .925 markings, Sterling stamps (sometimes misspelled Stirling) and once even a watch bracelet marked: 24K Silver. Whatever that's supposed to mean.
So on these grips some testing is needed. Pawnbrokers are very experienced at this. If you buy a small item there they will probably test for free.
For home purposes the easiest test is to rub a small area with your thumb then smell it. It should have the scent of silver. That's a good start. You'll know that it's at least silver plated. Also, they look tarnished on the backside ------- good! Tarnish is silver's reaction to light.
Anyhow, on "fakeness" I've been in plenty of tourist shops in Tijuana loaded with questionable if not outright fake "silver" items and jewelry. .925 markings, Sterling stamps (sometimes misspelled Stirling) and once even a watch bracelet marked: 24K Silver. Whatever that's supposed to mean.
So on these grips some testing is needed. Pawnbrokers are very experienced at this. If you buy a small item there they will probably test for free.
For home purposes the easiest test is to rub a small area with your thumb then smell it. It should have the scent of silver. That's a good start. You'll know that it's at least silver plated. Also, they look tarnished on the backside ------- good! Tarnish is silver's reaction to light.
Oxygen is your real problem with Silver...although other things play a part, body pH, the general environment, even the holster. Expect silver to eventually tarnish in some way unless well protected. Sterling silver (the .925 marking) is a copper alloy, with some other metals mixed in. It will tarnish, and the rich once employed people to polish their silver for a reason.
Gold tarnishing is more of an issue as it is much more resistant. There's no 24 karat there. Even 10K, 14K, or 18K marking may not mean they are "pure" 10, 14, or 18 K gold. Gold is also "Plated" or "Filled".
Gold plating is found commonly over a base metal, like sterling silver, which would make sense. Gold content must be at least 10 karat and two microns thick. Gold filled, must be must be 1/20th or 5% real gold. And there are specific markings that should come with each.
These don't have those markings but given your sourcing, Mexico, it's probably likely...there's less here than more. But, again I'm guessing. If these are actually 100 years old....it's a different conversation.
All that said, what you probably have is (from the pictures) Silver, plated over (I'm guessing, but sorry,) Copper, with Silver and Gold accents either plated or filled, and probably more likely filled than plated.
Either way, they are VERY cool. A careful cleaning and examination should be very interesting and look great. And even then, even if completely faked, they might be a very nice BBQ grip.
And, I hope I'm the most wrong guy who has ever lived. I hope these were made by Pancho Villa.
Gold tarnishing is more of an issue as it is much more resistant. There's no 24 karat there. Even 10K, 14K, or 18K marking may not mean they are "pure" 10, 14, or 18 K gold. Gold is also "Plated" or "Filled".
Gold plating is found commonly over a base metal, like sterling silver, which would make sense. Gold content must be at least 10 karat and two microns thick. Gold filled, must be must be 1/20th or 5% real gold. And there are specific markings that should come with each.
These don't have those markings but given your sourcing, Mexico, it's probably likely...there's less here than more. But, again I'm guessing. If these are actually 100 years old....it's a different conversation.
All that said, what you probably have is (from the pictures) Silver, plated over (I'm guessing, but sorry,) Copper, with Silver and Gold accents either plated or filled, and probably more likely filled than plated.
Either way, they are VERY cool. A careful cleaning and examination should be very interesting and look great. And even then, even if completely faked, they might be a very nice BBQ grip.
And, I hope I'm the most wrong guy who has ever lived. I hope these were made by Pancho Villa.
Drop them into a graduated cylinder and get their density.
www.angstromsciences.com
Density of Elements Chart – Angstrom Sciences Elements Density Table
Density of Elements Chart by Angstrom Science provides the density, name and symbol for your reference in sputtering or vapor deposition projects.
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