posted 07-21-2015 01:01 AM            

Greetings All!

From the moment my (now) 92-year old mother handed me a box of vintage Mexican silver jewelry in the early 80s, I've been hooked on collecting silver. Lockets became a passion...from Birks to Burkhardt to Wightman & Hough, I also collect English Victorian lockets that feature stags, foxes and horses.

As of late, I've developed a crush on Unger pieces and I found a locket that I hope is a genuine Unger Brother's Love's Dream locket. The interior rims are each marked STERLING but there is no UB hallmark. The reverse side of the bezel frame has a cardboard disc held in place by 4 sharp metal 'spokes' (for lack of a better term). The celluloid covers appear to be original.

Is it possible UB lockets were not hallmarked? This does not appear to be a reproduction.

I have the 1904 catalog and the locket can be found on page 157, item #8396. The locket weighs about 17 grams.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can confirm this is indeed genuine!

[snip] Please properly post photos.

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Good job getting your photos into an SSF photo gallery... now just cut and paste the UBB code into your post for us to see a properly sized photo.

posted 08-05-2015 06:19 PM            

My best guess on wether or not this is original is yes it is. Small items can be difficult to mark for silversmiths so it is not uncommon to see them unmarked and just the sterling mark (which was the important mark!). Also I do not think there is a big market for lockets so I doubt someone would go to the trouble of faking one, even "Love's Dream".

posted 06-12-2016 04:15 PM            

Sometimes the UB mark is faint, and it is possible that it could have been polished away.

We bought a cigarette case several years ago even though it appeared to be unmarked. Looking at it later in dim, indirect light, there was the mark.