AboutBarbara K. Acchino Expertise II CAN ONLY ANSWER QUESTIONS ON THIMBLES
AND ANTIQUE SEWING TOOLS. NO SEWING MACHINES. NO NON-SEWING ITEMS.
Experience I have been collecting for almost 20 years.
Organizations ThimbleCollectors@ONElist.com; Thimble Collectors International; Thimble Guild; Thimbletter II, Empire State Thimble Collectors
Publications "Sewing with Scotties" Scottie Sampler; various articles for the "Bulletin" - official newsletter of Thimble Collectors International (TCI)
Question Hello Barbara, I have a gold thimble with a star stamp on the inside. Is this a maker's mark? I bought this in an antique store in Colorado about 10 years ago. I have looked under gold marks and can't find anything. I was wanting to know the gold content. 10K, 12K, etc. Thank you for any help. :)
Answer Hello Laura. The star mark inside the top of the thimble would indicate it was made by Waite. Thresher Co., Providence, RI from 1886 - 1906. The US does not have an official hallmarking system for precious metal content, so many of the early gold thimbles did not bear a mark for gold content. There are two ways of testing for gold content and both should be done by a professional so as not to damage the thimble. The safer of the two is when the thimble is scraped over a stone type surface, leaving a bit of content on the stone. Then acids are applied to the stone surface and the reactions indicate whether the item is 10k, 12k ,etc. This test can be misleading, as gold filled or gold washed items can read as solid, when, in fact, they are not. I have seen where acid was applied directly to the thimble, but this method creates a black mark that is not repairable, thus affecting the value of the thimble. The other method is to take a cutting or piece out of the item and test it. This is destructive to the thimble. It will indicate whether or not the thimble is gold filled/gold washed, but this method devalues the thimble as it clearly damages the thimble. Someone who is well versed in gold jewelry may be able to look at your thimble and give you an idea as to gold content. As a collector for many years, I hope you won't do anything to the thimble that will damage it. Barbara
