![]() An appraiser can help you decipher these marks, which are similar to a data letter, so you can determine where and when a watch or a piece of jewelry was made. While this is not typical for large or established brands, "under-karating" can be common with mass-market manufacturers. Germany does not have hallmarks Italy does not use hallmarks but has a different formal system.įine jewelry that is made in the United States typically will have a mark to denote the content of precious metal, but there is no set system in places so these are not always accurate. There are some countries in Europe that either don't have or don't require hallmarks. The convention helps to create the standards for jewelry testing so that a piece does not require testing every time it crosses into another country. The United Kingdom belongs to the Hallmarking Convention along with 18 other countries. Tiffany & Company sends its pieces to London to get these hallmarks. In countries where there is an assay system in place, fine jewelry and watches cannot be sold without a hallmark. What Can Hallmarks in Jewelries Tell You?Ī jewelry hallmark can also sometimes tell you when and where the jewelry was made. Since they've been used for hundreds of years, they vary by country and time period. Hallmarks identify the amounts of precious metals in fine jewelry, and they describe the way gold or silver was applied to another metal in costume jewelry. However, some countries don't have hallmarks, and others like Norway and Austria have optional hallmarking. This is similar to the way diamonds are certified by the Gemological Institute of America (or GIA) in the United States. In those countries, an assay office tests each piece and then adds their official stamp or hallmark. They're required for all the jewelry that's made in some countries.
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