As my posting re the former Jewel Factory seems to have generated questions as to what the marks on jewellery mean, I thought it would be helpful if I said something about English hallmarks etc.
The hallmarking of gold and silver is probably the oldest surviving example of customer protection in the world. It was introduced by Act of Parliament over 700 years ago in 1300, to ensure buyers were getting what they had paid for.
The recognised standards used for Gold have changed several times over the years, and the system has been updated at times, but the purpose of the system remains unaltered.
Since 1932 there have been four recognised standards for new gold items: 9; 14; 18; and 22 carat.
If the marks used are in a line, as on the shank of a ring, they will appear as follows
- Maker’s Mark: This was introduced in 1363 so that every item being hallmarked could be attributed to a specific maker, thus making it easy to identify anyone trying to pass off substandard items. These marks have to be registered with the assay office before they can be used.
- Standard Marks: There are two of these. Before 1975 these were, for 22ct a crown followed by 22, for 18ct a crown followed by 18, for 14ct a 14 followed by .585 and for 9ct a 9 followed by .375. After 1975 the 22 and 18 were replaced by 916 and 750 and the 14 and 9 were replaced by crowns.
- Assay Office Mark: This will tell you at which office the item was hallmarked, with each office using a different symbol. Birmingham uses an Anchor, London a Leopards Head, Sheffield a Tudor Rose and so on.
- Date Letter: This was introduced in 1478 to identify in which year the item was assayed, the case and font telling you the year. (n.b. before 1975 you will also need to know the assay office mark as before that each office used a different font etc.)
- Other Marks: You will often see items simply marked 9ct, 14ct etc. This means they have not been sent to be assayed and so do not have official hallmarks as their quality has not been verified. It is usually safe to assume that the mark is correct if there is also a maker’s mark as no maker would risk a large fine and loss of reputation by passing off inferior quality items as real. You may also see “plat” meaning Platinum, “sil set” meaning the setting is made of silver.
There could be any number of other makes that only mean something to the manufacturers or retailer. They are often the pattern or stock number used by them to identify the item.
Comments
Hi thanks for the info as i found a gent’s ring today out metal detecting and all it says is 9ct & silver and the letters H.G.& S
Is there any way i can date the ring
Cheers Nigel
Unfortunately, without the assay office makes you can not accurately date it. The style might give a clue but gent’s rings tended to affected less by fashion and remained the same for many years.
I have a gold thimble marked 17 HG&S 9.375 Anchor X. What do the symbols mean and what circa is it please. Thank you
Hi there…and thank you for the availability of this site. I have a piece of jewellery which is a silver charm being a Horseshoe. On this charm the makers H.G&S…Anchor symbol for Birmingham…Lion passant and year letter P…The writing it has on it says…GOOD LUCK REGD.No 761012 ENGLAND. Its in very good condition. Can you tell me anything about it please? As i collect these charms and would appreciate your help.
I inherited my Dad’s wedding signet ring. He married my Mom who was in the Royal A F during WW2. My Dad was in the US Army Air Corp The ring has the H.G&S 9 .375 anchor and a S. Is there any way to know the year it was made? They were married in 1944.
Hi I have my grandmothers engagement ring hall marked ( H.G&S 9ct set ) would it be a true diamond, did the factory only use real diamonds and any idea of age? It only says set not sil set.
Very interesting I have a gold signet ring stamped HG&S and is hallmarked for 1851 it’s a beautiful ring almost 7g and would have been made at the original business. Wonder why the ring is concaved where it we’d be engraved with initials
Hi Richard, my daughter has given me a ring which has the HG&S stamp which led me to your page. There is another stamp which has a crown followed by an 18 which I take means it is 18 carat. Then an anchor and a Q. Can you please tell me what these mean? Many thanks!
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