Hallmarks are tiny stamps, indented into metal that tell us a few things about the jewelry we are looking at. Some people call them 'punch marks' and there are a few specific names, which we will mention below.
Hallmarks came about for two main reasons: 1. to guarantee a standard of metal to the customer. When you buy something, you want to be assured that you get what you are paying for. If it's supposed to be gold, but it's really copper, is the value the same?
and 2. to prove that the King or government had been paid the necessary taxes on valuable items.
The place where hallmarks are stamped into the metal is called an 'assay office' and the verb of the process is 'to assay'.
Not all antique jewelry has hallmarks at all and some jewelry may only have one or two of the below kinds of hallmarks. Every country had its own rules and over the centuries, these rules have changed. Increasingly, countries adhere to a treaty of common hallmarks, but we are mainly interested in the past, where hallmarking is quite complex.
The most commonly used metals used to mount fine antique jewelry were silver and gold and then, from the early 20th century, platinum.
Most countries had very little hallmarking until the late 19th century and were often not consistent in their hallmarking habits, but two notable exceptions were France and then Great Britain. We will focus on them so that you get the idea.
Hallmarks may tell us one or more of the following:
1. the place where the item was made - which town or country.
2. who made the jewelry. This is called a 'maker's mark'.
3. most important of all, the so-called karat or purity of the metal.
4. date marks.
5. Other marks may include model numbers, but these would be specific to the manufacturer.
1. Place marks.
In the United Kingdom, there were a number of cities with assay offices. Each of these cities was represented by a little pictogram, like an emogi. The best known are London and Birmingham represented by a leopard head and an anchor respectively.
The French differentiated between Paris and 'all the rest'. The difference was represented by minute variations in the marks of metal purity.
2. Up until the late 19th century, maker's marks were quite uncommon except in silver, non-jewelry items. In France, maker's marks are always in the form of a lozenge - a diamond shape with a tiny symbol, the initials of the maker or a variation of these identifiers. In Britain, maker's marks are almost always found in a small rectangle.
3. Most important of all when considering a piece of jewelry, is the metal. Is it silver, gold and if so - what karat (9k or 18k etc) or something else? The answer will affect the intrinsic value of the item and many people still base their purchases on gold content.
In the USA, metal content was about the only mark used in most jewelry with some notable exceptions such as Tiffany & CO and other great houses. The only mark would spell out Sterling or 14k.
In the UK, the karat weight (spelled carat and abbreviated to ct) is shown as a number.
In France, most gold conforms to the 18k standard, indicated by the eagle head. Items of unknown origin are shown via an owl.
Platinum in France was indicated by a dog's head or a mask.
4. Date. In the UK, a letter system for each city indicated the exact year an item was made. In most other countries, small variations in a mark indicate different eras. Very old French jewelry post revolution until 1838 was hallmarked for 18k with a chicken or ram instead of the eagle head or owl.
Placement of the marks: While most hallmarks are to be found on the inside of a ring, in France, they were placed on the outside of the shank. Unsurprisingly, these marks are often worn and therefore, often re-assayed. The French are fastidious about their hallmarking and it is a simple matter for them to send the jewelry to the assay office to be re-assayed.
Place marks and karat marks are fairly self-evident and can easily be looked up on the internet.
Maker's marks are very difficult to identify and often worn and only partially legible. There are books that list pictures and names of makers in France. However, most books simply don't cover basic needs and others are extremely expensive or out of print.
Nobody out there knows every single hallmark in existance including maker's marks. However, a basic understanding of their use and familiarity with the most commonly used marks is essential to your understanding of antique jewelry and will help prevent you from making horrible purchasing errors.
NOTE: We have only touched on the main points of hallmarking. It is a vast subject with many exceptions and each case has to be taken individually.
Metals and their purity will be dealt with in another post. For your convenience, we will place a diagram with different standards of gold and silver.
Please ask if you have questions.
Finally, a few more examples, including from other countries such as Imperial Russia and the Netherlands.
Questions and comments: Please email antiques@brendaginsberg.com
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