Help me with this ring please?

[Cubfan64]

I went to Hampton Beach N.H. very early Saturday morning in hopes that some higher than average waves and a little wind might leave some trinkets behind. It was REALLY CREEPY being there starting at 2am because there was so much fog you couldn't see much beyond 50 feet or so. Every time I turned my back to the ocean I had this image of the creature from the black lagoon or a bunch of undead pirates rising out of the depths to drag me to my death!!!

Although I found alot of "cuts" in the sand, I didn't have nearly the luck I had hoped with ~$5 in clad but about 20 minutes before leaving I came across this ring which I need some help identifying.

Here are the things I know about it:

1. It has weight to it - it's not aluminum or some lightweight metal.

2. It is NOT attracted to a magnet

3. In the hopes that it is silver and the "tarnish" is silver sulfide I did about a 2 minute electrolysis which basically did nothing to it so I stopped in order to not damage it

4. I don't know how best to describe the feel and texture of it, but it almost feels like lead - it has no "smoothness" to it like you would expect from a ring and it looks handmade because I don't even think it's uniform in thickness all the way around.

I'm taking it to work with me tomorrow to have someone check it under the scanning electron microscope to get an idea of the metalic components, but if anyone here has any ideas, I would really appreciate it!!

Thanks!

 

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[Cubfan64]

Wow! That electron microscope is good to have access to! 8) Silver will turn black in saltwater. The initials may be the maker or designer. There is a way to check. I will try to find in old posts. I think the link is in "What is it", "I Need Help" by Chagy a while back. Chagy identified the maker of his find and the years manufactured by the initials.

If you can find any information like that cypress, I would be thrilled!! You'll see what the ring looks like after I get home and take some more pics and I'll try to get a good picture of the identifying mark as well as what looks like .925 to me. It was definitely black when I first got it home and took the pics you see above, but after sonication, it looks much more like silver with the exception of all the white looking stuff (AgCl?).

I'm VERY lucky to be in a situation where I can get SEM/EDX run on anything I find. As long as I don't have a bucket of stuff, my co-worker is more than happy to help me out when she's not busy (or in today's case when she's away and her technician can help me out).

Thanks again for all the help and insight - and any information you can get on maker's initials would be super!!

 

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[Bigcypresshunter]

Here is the website for makers initials:
http://www.925-1000.com/index.html

 

[PBK]

I can see a grooved circle with the letters S U inside. To the left of that I could swear I see .925 which would indicate silver.

The letters "S U" within a circle are the mark of Sunstone Imports, Inc. of Illinois, a major firm which designs, manufactures, and imports jewelry, and specializes in silver jewelry. In 2003, a trade industry publication described it as, "...the nation's largest designer, importer and distributor of sterling silver jewelry, which posted more than $70 million in revenue last year."

 

[Cubfan64]

Here is the website for makers initials:
http://www.925-1000.com/index.html

Wow, another night link to add to my bookmarks and MORE reading for me to do!!!

Incidentally, the ring weighs 2.3 grams

 

[Cubfan64]

I can see a grooved circle with the letters S U inside. To the left of that I could swear I see .925 which would indicate silver.

The letters "S U" within a circle are the mark of Sunstone Imports, Inc. of Illinois, a major firm which designs, manufactures, and imports jewelry, and specializes in silver jewelry. In 2003, a trade industry publication described it as, "...the nation's largest designer, importer and distributor of sterling silver jewelry, which posted more than $70 million in revenue last year."

Ahhh - I've read of your skill at finding answers to "what is this" questions PBK - thank you so much for the answer!!! Another riddle solved!!

 

[PBK]

Glad I could help, Cubfan54!

The mark is listed in the JCK (Jewelers' Circular-Keystone) Brand Name & Trademark Guide.

BTW, here are three more jewelry mfgrs.' mark sites that you might like to check out sometime:

http://www.tace.com/vendors/bjarrett/OJBMAIN.html

http://www.illusionjewels.com/costumejewelrymarks.html

http://www.chicagosilver.com/marksindex.htm

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Cubfan,
What really threw me off in your description was where you said electrolysis didn't affect it. I guess if it had been left in a bit longer it would have showed its true nature

HH,
Rusted

 

[Cubfan64]

Cubfan,
What really threw me off in your description was where you said electrolysis didn't affect it. I guess if it had been left in a bit longer it would have showed its true nature

HH,
Rusted

Yah I suppose so, but since yesterday was the first time I've ever tried a home electrolysis kit, I was VERY hesitant to let it go for very long at all. I had read somewhere that silver sulfide should come off very quickly and after a few minutes I didn't see any change in color at all so I just took it out to avoid damaging it. I played around with some very corroded pennies afterwards and pretty much dissolved one after an hour or so :P. Not knowing anything about this ring, I just wanted to be cautious.

 

[Rusted_Iron]

I had read somewhere that silver sulfide should come off very quickly and after a few minutes I didn't see any change in color at all so I just took it out to avoid damaging it. I played around with some very corroded pennies afterwards and pretty much dissolved one after an hour or so :P. Not knowing anything about this ring, I just wanted to be cautious.

Caution is always a good track to take with a find.

With electrolysis, a proper setup (the object at the cathode!) does not technically eat away the coin or ring itself, it just causes corrosion to flake away and expose what's left of the metal. If there isn't much metal left underneath all that corrosion, you'll get a pitted-looking remnant of the object's former self. With a lot of dug coins, especially copper ones, much of the "coin" that you see is actually made of corrosion.

Silver objects buried under the sand in the ocean are in an oxygen-poor environment, but there is sulfur from decaying organic matter and seaweed, so it probably is silver sulfide.

The rate at which corrosion flakes away seems to increase with time from when you first put the object in the bath. A fully-coated object is a poor conductor of electricity, so the rate proceeds slowly. As more corrosion flakes off, the current draw starts to increase faster and faster up to the point it's at maximum surface exposure and current draw.

When I do rusted iron objects in electrolysis, they can take a very long time to get going.

 

[Cubfan64]

Here are 2 pics of the ring today. The first one is after sonication and a light buffing with a clean cloth. You'll see what I mean by it having a "lead" looking appearance. It just isn't the silver I'm used to seeing - perhaps alot has to do with it spending some time in the ocean - not sure.

The second picture (hopefully) shows the .925 and S U in a circle mark I was talking about earlier.

If these pics don't turn out I apologize - my wife is the camera and photoshop person in the family and she has to work late tonight - hopefully I did an ok job.

Thanks again and I look forward to getting back out there soon and finding more to write about.

 

[Michelle]

looks good nice find still....good luck on your next hunt