Russian Cigarette Case?

[House of Charm Antiques Southinc]

Hi all, anyone good with Russian silver? This was from my mom's horde and it sure looks like a typical Russian silver/enamel ciggy case. '935' mark for the silver but the rest of the mark is indecipherable. Thought or places I can look? Will polish tomorow when my cloths arrive, no harsh polished for this one.

[vicki hufstetler]

Hmmm, So, have you got a light behind your first photo?

I don't think .925 is or was a Russian hallmark, unless this is a modern piece?

Russian Hallmarks have a different level of pureness standard, so .925 wouldn't be used. (See link at the bottom of this post)

Your second word in the marking does have Cyrillic type writing, far as I can see? Maybe Polish or Czech would be a better guess though?

Just from looks, I'd guess early 20th century up to the 1930's. What does the inside look like, and what size cigarettes would have been used here? That might be a further clue.

lt's lovely, but quite a mystery to me. :) Here's the links to Russian silver marks:

Ihttps://www.925-1000.com/Frussia.htm

[House of Charm Antiques Southinc]

I had a gander at the Russian marks earlier and nothing seems to fir. .935 is the silver content.  Here's a better shot of the mark, def 'sterling' 935 inverted and maybe 'FW' in the insignia...

[vicki hufstetler]

YES!!!  It's definitely the word STERLING - upside down, lol.

 I recognize that weird, Stylized NA or FW, you think? mark. I'm about 95% sure it's American. Probably a jewelry maker, but the idea of a lighter manufacturer or metal handbags or lipstick cases companies, also crossed my mind?

Can you make out the small mark on the left of the .925? And, on the hinge, do I see more writing? would be great if that were a pat.pending??

I'll see if I can find the odd NA/FW mark under jewelry makers, I know I've seen it before. Keep us posted if you find out anything else... 

[House of Charm Antiques Southinc]

Solid and precise hinge and tight closure, and a heavy little bugger as well. We'll have a better idea once it polished tomorrow late.

[House of Charm Antiques Southinc]

So further polishing revealed a 'made in austria' stamp in 2 places which explains the 935 silver. Post or between wars at least. Curious.

[vicki hufstetler]

I know that mark, and now I know it applies to Austria/Germany in the early to mid 20th century. BUT, I cannot remember the name - gahh!

It's not Weiner Workstat (spelling) and it's not Jugendstil or Bauhaus either - but it's very similar. They only did arts/Crafts, Nouveau and Deco, and they only worked in metals. I've spent 30 minutes online and still can't find it - lol it's gonna drive me crazy!

I'll try again fresh in AM and try to find it for you. But, maybe you know it? Brass, Copper, silver (mostly plated) and aluminum, no fine metals..... ?

[House of Charm Antiques Southinc]

It's 935 solid silver with guilloche enamel from Austria, likely 'tween the wars. I've seen lots all over the place but none with the clear resin top nor with the inset glass cameo. Sales range form 200-2400 with some crazy outliers close to 9000. It's amazingly tight hinged and precise, almost airtight. Cigarette or snuff case perhaps.

[vicki hufstetler]

Probably the ones in the 9K+ group are Berndorf? That stuff has always been hot! They are mainly cold painted bronze pieces though, far as I know. 

So I went looking again and found a really nice page of German/Austrian metal markings. Maybe something here fits better than the one I'm thinking of?

Link: https://oldcopper.org/special_topics/german_copper_brass.php

WMF - I'm pretty sure was the one that has a very similar marking. But, now I'm not so sure. Like I said most were just metals - not fine. Yours is fine silver, so it's more likely it's made by one in the first link? Let me know if you find a match. Curiosity always makes me crazy, LOL. 

Meanwhile here's info of the WMF anyways, in case you find something else that is by them. They have some cool pieces too! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMF_Group