Fine Jewelry should mean Fine Jewelry

[madelaine]

Glad I do not look at Fine jewellery... what a mess it seems....why not just list as gold , silver or what it is....I would think that anyone who knows their stuff...would not even consider looking on an auction site and taking someone elses word for what it is or might be.....yes I know you might get lucky an odd time , but the odds are against you....go to a shop............!!!

I'm so glad everyone doesn't think like that - I've sold quite a lot of gold and silver jewellery for quite reasonable sums of money. Items donated for fundraising are taken to a jeweller for identification, described by the jeweller and then, I'm happy to say, people buy them!

[TiasTreasures]

Just out of interest what happens in the USA?

Are there Assay offices there? Do you have hallmarks or is a basic (eg 10k) stamp ok/ legal?

Trotted over to the cabinet and dug out some of the jewelry . . .

There's a 50-year-old platinum ring that has "S", a star, and "N" followed by the number "14" upside down. There's a set from 1965, engagement and wedding rings, also platinum, and they're stamped "PLAT" nothing else. The gold jewelry is all stamped "10K" or "14K". Some of them have a little symbol after that, but each one has a different symbol. Could these be what you call hallmarks?

Another winkle, I have an opal and diamond ring from Canada. Never looked inside before. It has two symbols (I'm guessing hallmarks) nothing else. Is it possible the standards are different in Canada from both the UK and the US? I'm not going to sell this one, I thought it was gold when I bought it and if it isn't, I don't want to know!

Another ring I won't sell was my grandmother's. It has a fairly large faceted red stone, I've always assumed garnet, and the band is stamped "14K". Even though garnet is not a "precious stone", would this qualify as "fine jewelry"?

[1840clb]

There is a big difference in the terms of what is gold and what isn't in the US and the UK. It looks like the lowest that the UK accepts is 9k in the US it is 10K. In the US it is required that all jewelry be stamped as to what it is, if it is not stamped the it is asumed that it is not real. Rolled gold is not fine jewelry, it is gold that has been rolled over some other type of metal. Precious gems are diamonds, emeralds, rubys and sapphires, all other stones are simi-precious. If you have a listing that says just GOLD, then you will have gold plated and gold vermeil, rolled gold, electro plated and everything else even gold colored. Type in gold jewelry now and see what you come up with. I think it might be easier to have US jewelry and UK jewelry separated.

[Gothicina]

Some of them have a little symbol after that, but each one has a different symbol. Could these be what you call hallmarks?

This website tells you about UK (& some European) Hallmarks,
with images.
http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/assay...thallmarks.htm

[TiasTreasures]

This website tells you about UK (& some European) Hallmarks,
with images.
http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/assay...thallmarks.htm

The symbols on my jewelry don't look anything like the ones in this site, so I did a search myself. Found two different websites that both said "The United States has never developed a method of assay for the hallmarking of precious metals items made in the U. S."

[1840clb]

The symbols on my jewelry don't look anything like the ones in this site, so I did a search myself. Found two different websites that both said "The United States has never developed a method of assay for the hallmarking of precious metals items made in the U. S."

The US requires that it have a fineness mark aka 10k 14k 18k and so on, if there is another mark on the item then it is the jewelers or makers mark unless it is something like this 14kt gp, 14k rd, 14k hgep, 14k gf, marks like those indicate that they are gold filled, rolled gold, heavy gold electroplating and not real, but costume jewelry. Anything less than 10kt is not available in the USA. What it boils down to is that there needs to be a universal standard on ebid or to have the USA and the UK jewelry separated.

[JudesNiceThings]

#36 - 1840clb - thanks for that very illuminating information!

I come across US pieces at antiques & collector's fairs, and up til now, had no idea what the 'extra' letters could mean!
(And I don't think some of the sellers know either!)

[Opis]

The symbols on my jewelry don't look anything like the ones in this site, so I did a search myself. Found two different websites that both said "The United States has never developed a method of assay for the hallmarking of precious metals items made in the U. S."

So how do you know that what you (ie any USA person) have is gold? Do you have consumer protection from fake precious metals (which is basically what UK/ European hallmarking is)?

9/10/18K stamps/ punches are easily available over the internet - what's to stop some nasty dodgy person/ or a foreign company buying these, stamping some naff metal themselves and selling it as gold in the States?

I genuinely interested in this, I know so little about USA gold practices

There's a 50-year-old platinum ring that has "S", a star, and "N" followed by the number "14" upside down. There's a set from 1965, engagement and wedding rings, also platinum, and they're stamped "PLAT" nothing else. The gold jewelry is all stamped "10K" or "14K". Some of them have a little symbol after that, but each one has a different symbol. Could these be what you call hallmarks?

Hi Tiastreasures

In the UK the terms stamp and hallmark are two completely different things. A stamp (ie 14K) on its own is not legally recognised, while a hallmark (eg Lions head (for london), finesse scales, crown, date letter etc) is legal.

The first ring sounds like it may be some kind of hallmark, but without seeing it I can't guarantee. The 1965 set that has PLAT on it is not hallmarked, but stamped, so in the UK to be properly legal it would either have to be described:

"as grey/ white metal with the letters P.L.A.T on"

Or sent to an assay office to be finesse checked/ UK hallmarked.

Any jewellery that is just stamped with the symbols 14K/ 18K (and maybe a little goldsmiths makers mark) is not legally recognised here in the UK. It would have to be described:

"as yellow metal stamped with the numbers 1.4.and k"

Or sent to an assay ofice for finesse testing/ Uk hallmarking.

For example, I've heard about someone who got a 22ct gold bracelet in India, taken it to be hallmarked, and the assay office found it to be between 19-21ct gold, so they hallmarked it for 18ct gold. It is now legal for that person to sell the bracelet as gold (ie 18ct). I've heard that 10k jewellery, when properly assayed is usually hallmarked as 9ct gold, then it can be sold legally as gold.

It's complicated I know, but at least I know that if I have a UK hallmarked 18ct gold ring, it IS 18ct gold and not less or even a fake. That's why UK and European Hallmarked gold/ silver etc is so respected worldwide.

BTW I'm not saying that your gold jewellery is fake Tia! I'm just saying what happens in my country .

[1840clb]

So how do you know that what you (ie any USA person) have is gold? Do you have consumer protection from fake precious metals (which is basically what UK/ European hallmarking is)?

9/10/18K stamps/ punches are easily available over the internet - what's to stop some nasty dodgy person/ or a foreign company buying these, stamping some naff metal themselves and selling it as gold in the States?

I genuinely interested in this, I know so little about USA gold practices



Hi Tiastreasures

In the UK the terms stamp and hallmark are two completely different things. A stamp (ie 14K) on its own is not legally recognised, while a hallmark (eg Lions head (for london), finesse scales, crown, date letter etc) is legal.

The first ring sounds like it may be some kind of hallmark, but without seeing it I can't guarantee. The 1965 set that has PLAT on it is not hallmarked, but stamped, so in the UK to be properly legal it would either have to be described:

"as grey/ white metal with the letters P.L.A.T on"

Or sent to an assay office to be finesse checked/ UK hallmarked.

Any jewellery that is just stamped with the symbols 14K/ 18K (and maybe a little goldsmiths makers mark) is not legally recognised here in the UK. It would have to be described:

"as yellow metal stamped with the numbers 1.4.and k"

Or sent to an assay ofice for finesse testing/ Uk hallmarking.

For example, I've heard about someone who got a 22ct gold bracelet in India, taken it to be hallmarked, and the assay office found it to be between 19-21ct gold, so they hallmarked it for 18ct gold. It is now legal for that person to sell the bracelet as gold (ie 18ct). I've heard that 10k jewellery, when properly assayed is usually hallmarked as 9ct gold, then it can be sold legally as gold.

It's complicated I know, but at least I know that if I have a UK hallmarked 18ct gold ring, it IS 18ct gold and not less or even a fake. That's why UK and European Hallmarked gold/ silver etc is so respected worldwide.

BTW I'm not saying that your gold jewellery is fake Tia! I'm just saying what happens in my country .

It almost sounds like you are trying to say UK gold is better that US gold, here are a few facts- UK 9ct is 36% gold, US 10kt is 41.7% gold. UK 12ct gold is 41.7% gold so it would seem that our 10kt is equal to UK's 12ct. type in this http://alexiagallery.com?index.cfm?f...lay&page_id=55 See if that helps you to understand and here is another one htt://www.modernsilver.com/basichallmarks.htm

[1840clb]

The US stamp of 14kt or 18kt or what ever is our assurance that it is real just like UK's mark is ya'lls. Yes any one can get a stamp and stamp something even in the UK, but it is illegal in the US to do so and if caught will go th jail for a very long time. Same is true for other countries, a thief in any country can forge a stamp that is why you should check out who you purchase from don't just trust any stamp. That is why in the US any jeweler or pawn shop have the things on site to test the gold with you standing there to prove that it is real. A quick acid test takes 30 seconds to do. I personally have never seen any fake marks, it is governed in the US very closely and is taken very seriously so unless you buy something from someone walking down the street the chances of you getting falsely mark gold in the US is very slim.