 | Jerry McAlpin
is President and owner of Annie's Antique Mall located at 1600 E. 61st Street North (61st street & Hydraulic) in Park City, Kansas. Annie's is the area's oldest mall, and is known by antique dealers and collectors nationwide for it's consistent high quality and selection. A dealer and avid collector, Jerry has been involved in antiques for 30 years. He can be reached by phone at Annie's Antique Mall (316)-744-1999. |
Antiques & Collectibles
2002-09-01 10:32:00
Markings on jewelry
Jerry McAlpin
Question: What does 585, 750, etc. mean as marking on jewelry?Answer: Fine jewelry and high-quality "artisan" hand crafted jewelry usually contains precious metals, either gold, silver or platinum. The numbers you are referring to indicate the content of the precious metal in the jewelry. Known as "Hallmarks", or "Fineness Marks", these three digit numbers are the recognized standard of fineness for each particular metal. They represent parts per thousand, and guarantee that the metal in the jewelry contains that amount of pure gold or silver. There are generally three levels of fineness for gold: 375, 585, 750 -and for silver: 800, 830, and 925 (Sterling). Platinum is usually graded at 950.The presence or absence of these marks can be a fairly reliable way to know what you're jewelry or family silverware really is. However, over the years many countries have used a variety of Hallmarks to identify gold and silver content. Great Britain, for example, has used a lion Sterling Silver Hallmark for over 450 years! The 1975 Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals was the first step taken towards a common International Hallmark to guarantee fineness of gold, silver and platinum.
