Golden bomber clasp for review.

[Jelle M.]

Hello guys,

would like to show you this bomber clasp.
Can anyone provide me with a maker? Juncker?

Greetings

[Jelle M.]

[Jelle M.]

[Thomas Durante]

An original but looks refinished to me. The gold looks funky and the blackening on the bomb is also not what I would expect from an original.

Maker of these is unknown, but possibly Juncker IMO.

Tom

[Ludwig]

Very nice clasp! Refinished? Impossible to say. Maybe just cleaned. Better pictures would help.

[Jelle M.]

I personally don't think it's refinished although i'm not sure.
Agree the gold looks funky but maybe that's with the flash.
Will provide better pictures later.

[Ludwig]

[AFF96]

Nice bomber clasp and difficult to tell about the coloring, maybe a natural light photo?

[fdodge]

Real as heck IMO. Refinish, no, but probably cleaned, maybe?
Have I covered my bases?
Bottom line is I'd own it

Frank

[Christopher G.]

Really nice looking clasp and I would love to have it myself...but like Frank I would have to say its been cleaned...that was my first thought.

Regards,
Chris G.

[Rik]

The clasp looks fine to me and as stated above: probably cleaned. I don't think it's refinished.

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Here are a few compares to show that this clasp is refinished in my opinion.

First, the fact that the rivet is gold colored is very suspect and not consistent with originals. The rivets on this type of clasp are typically nickel silver (just like the bomb) and therefore silver in color. Normally there is a lot of black finish left on the rivet, but on the rubbed high points of the rivet you can usually see the silver-colored base metal. On the clasp in question, it looks very different. Its gold and matches the gold on the rest of the clasp which just looks un-natural IMO.

I don't think this clasp was cleaned, because you can see what looks like gold finish all over the catch, solder, hinge and rivet, etc. If it were cleaned, these areas would look different colors, not a consistent gold color like we are seeing.

And the gold color is dull compared with original gold clasps, here is another compare of the obverse central motif of an original gold clasp compared with the clasp in question. The gold on original clasps is frosted and brighter-yellow in appearance, not dull. The black finish on the bomb is also not consistent with originals IMO, it looks more like watered-down black paint rather than the high quality dark blueing we see on originals. You can also see traces of this paint all around the central motif (red arrows). For me this suggest the clasp was completely refinished in gold and then the bomb was re-blackened.

Tom

[Ludwig]

Guess you are right, Tom.

[Rik]

Guess you are right, Tom.

Indeed I didn't notice the colored rivet at all.

[Tim O.]

Looks like an original clasp to me but with regard to the finish I would never choose to disagree with Tom. Our Thomas has an eye like a hawk and always provides a very considered opinion. i think he makes his case for refinish convincingly (as always!).