WHAT IS A HALLMARK?
Did you recently purchase your first piece of antique jewelry? Would you like to know what the hallmarks stamped on your jewelry mean? We’re here to help!
There are a number of methods that are used to evaluate the age of a piece of jewelry, but in this guide we’ll focus on English and French vintage and antique jewelry. And while most of this guide is aimed at those new to the hallmarking system, I will bet that at least one nugget of information will be news to a few collectors and perhaps even a dealer or two, read on to find out.
In England, Hallmarks identify (and guarantee) the type of precious metal, the fineness or purity of that metal, which office assayed the piece, and the date it was assayed. Today a hallmark is a legal requirement in the U.K. If an article contains precious metals and is described as such, it must be hallmarked.
There are plenty of genuine antique pieces of jewelry that do not have hallmarks. Not every piece was hallmarked. It does not mean it is a fake, it just means that you have to rely on other methods to evaluate the period in which it was made.
In this Guide “Interpreting Hallmarks on Jewelry,” we’ll take a look at British Hallmarks. In our next Guide, we'll take a look at French Hallmarks.
WHEN DID HALLMARKING IN ENGLAND BEGIN?
Hallmarking in England dates back to 1300 when King Edward I passed legislation to prevent fraud by goldsmiths. Silver had to be a minimum of .925 (the same as the standard for Sterling Silver today) and gold was required to be a minimum of 19.2 carats. (Source: Assay Office, London)
As the years passed, the standards required for silver and gold purity changed and various Assay Offices were established. Some opened and closed more than once over their long history. See the list of Assay Offices and their dates below.
THE ANATOMY OF A HALLMARK: CURRENT STANDARDS
This first image is from the U.K. Assay Office. It is a modern hallmark and reflects current standards, but it is still a useful reference image for vintage and antique jewelry.
From left to right, 1) The Sponsor’s Mark or more commonly referred to as the Maker’s Mark, 2) Labeled the Standard Mark in the image (also called the Millesimal Fineness Mark or referred to as the Metal Purity) guarantees the metal fineness per 1000, 3) Traditional Fineness Mark (according to the Hallmark office this one is optional) indicates what metal and what standard (e.g. Sterling Silver, Britannia Silver, Gold), 4) Assay Office Mark indicates the location of Office that assayed the piece, 5) the Date Letter.
Assay Office, Birmingham
THE ANATOMY OF A HALLMARK: A HISTORICAL EXAMPLE
Below is an image from an antique gold mourning ring from our shop. Not every set of hallmarks looks this way. But it is helpful to walk through a historic example. So let’s identify the marks from left to right.
The first mark "IS" is the maker's mark. Not all historic examples have the registered mark of the maker. The maker's mark is in the form of initials set within a lozenge or a rectangle. With some research, sometimes it is possible to find out who made the piece. The second mark is the duty mark (seen much less frequently). The third mark is a crown indicating the object is gold.
The last four marks on this ring are the ones to focus on: the purity mark (the 18 in the rectangle with clipped corners), the city mark (the leopard's head in the diamond shaped cartouche), and the date (the box with the "i"). These are the ones you will see most frequently.
THE PURITY MARK
The ring above is from the Georgian period, more specifically George IV: 1820-1830. The ring is available for purchase in our boutique Sugar et Cie. It is 18ct, 750 parts gold per 1000 or 75% gold and 25% alloy metal. The 18ct gold is represented by the 18 seen in the hallmarks above.
ENGLISH GOLD HALLMARKS, FINENESS
22 = 91.6% or 22ct gold
18 = 75.0% or 18ct gold, “750”
15 = 62.5% or 15ct gold, "625"
14 = 58.5% or 14ct gold, "585"
12 = 50% or 12ct gold
9 = 37.5% or 9ct gold, “375”
ENGLISH SILVER HALLMARKS, FINENESS
Sterling Silver "925" = 92.5%
Britannia Silver = 95.84%
THE ASSAY OFFICE MARK, THE CITY MARK
You need to look up the Assay office mark first. This mark is also referred to as the City Mark or the Town Mark. Each Assay Office has its own date chart. That is why you need look up the city/office first and then look for the letter (date) on that city’s reference table.
As you may have guessed, the City mark tells you where the piece was assayed (tested and marked). The one on this ring has the Leopard head (following) the 18. The Leopard Head in this set of hallmarks represents the London Office.
Some of the offices you will come to know, some are more obscure, and some have changed over time.
LOOKING UP THE DATE, WHEN WAS IT MADE?
The Date Letter or Date Mark is a good approximation for when a piece was made. Although, it is possible it could have been made in one year and hallmarked in the following year. Here's an easy to navigate online reference site you can use to look up a date mark: British Sterling.
This is where a sharp eye and experience comes in. Sometimes it can be challenging to identify the correct letter/year.
Believe it or not, one letter for example, a "J" from one year can look like an "L" from another.
You need to look for a match to the shape of the letter. Sometimes it is obvious and other times it is not quite as clear. Don't focus on the background shape/cartouche (read on for more on this lesser known tidbit). After I have identified the year/letter or at least or narrowed down the possibilities, I take a second look at my printout of the date charts directly from the Assay Office, Birmingham. They have historical date charts by City. I use my loupe to study both the mark itself and the version on the printed date chart.
If you are hunting for antiques in the field and are concerned you may not have WiFi or a cellular connection, you can take your printout or purchase a pocket guide on Amazon.
Going back to our antique gold ring, we know this is London. So we look up the date charts for London and search for the “i” that matches. This particular “i” represents the year 1824. And of course, we have a number of things that help us corroborate. The style of the ring, the inscription on the inside: Geo (George) Ranking Ob 12 Jan 1825.
OTHER MARKS YOU MAY SEE
You may also occasionally see other marks.
Commemorative marks: (20th c.) to celebrate an event e.g. Silver Jubilee.
Duty Marks: The Sovereign’s Head indicated that Duty had been paid on an item. They were used from December 2, 1784 to April 30, 1890. During this period a variable tax was levied on all silver and gold assayed in Great Britain. Duty marks are less common. Keep in mind the mark or symbol did not always change with the change of a Monarch.
A law was passed in 1842 to make it illegal to sell imported gold or silver in the UK unless it was assayed (tested) at a British office. However, the Foreign Mark was not added until 1867.
MORE ABOUT DATE MARKS - HERE'S A LESSER KNOWN FACT!
Here's an interesting fact about dating your piece of antique jewelry (or anything with an antique British Hallmark). The cartouche or background for the date letter is pertinent for silver. When it comes to looking up the hallmarks on gold, the most important thing to match is the letter (as mentioned) and the style of the letter. Is it capitalized or lower case? Look at every little curve and angle.
Here's what the Assay Office says "It is the letter font that will give you the correct date not the outline design." This may seem like a small detail, but I am guessing that it has led a couple of people astray.
MYTH OR FACT
Myth or Fact? (1): Everything in the 18th and 19th centuries was hallmarked. If it doesn't have a hallmark, it's a fake or a reproduction.
This is a MYTH. Many pieces from this period were not hallmarked. However, if it is not hallmarked you either need to develop the skills to assess the piece on your own or ask an expert. An expert will look at the style, the materials used, the gemstones, the findings, test the purity of the metal, in addition to other factors to asses its authenticity. Hallmarking gives you a bit more certainty (although even hallmarks can be faked). If it has a Date Letter it can also help you date it within a year (or two) rather than a broader range of time (circa).
Myth or Fact? (2): Date Letters ran consecutively and repeated every 26 years.
This is part MYTH and part FACT. Yes, they do run alphabetically and consecutively. However, the font can make it possible to confuse certain letters. Because of this, it is possible that the letter I, J or L is skipped. As a result, the date letter cycle is usually 25 as opposed to 26 years.
While it’s not possible to cover every facet of the history of English hallmarking in one blog post, I hope this helps you with the basics. With a little research and practice, you’ll be able to begin to identify the dates on the pieces of English antique jewelry you come across.
HERE IS A LIST OF ASSAY OFFICES
This is a complete list of Assay Offices.
U.K.
Birmingham Assay Office
Edinburgh Assay Office
London Assay Office
Sheffield Assay Office
Ireland
Dublin
Assay Offices Now Closed
Chester: 15th c. Opened 1700 - closed 1962
Exeter: Mid 16th c. Opened 1701 - closed 1883
Glasgow: Closed March 31, 1964
Newcastle: 17th c. - closed 1884
Norwich: Mid 16th c. - closed 1702. Note: The town marked changed over time.
York: Opened in the middle of the 16th c. closed in 1700, reopened 1701, closed in 1714 and closed permanently in 1858. The town mark for this location changed and evolved over time.