Hallmarks Outside Britain

Britain’s four-part hallmark is only one of several marking systems, and much of the jewellery found in British and American families was made elsewhere. Some countries tested metal independently, as Britain did; others left marking to manufacturers. Recognising which system a mark belongs to is the first step to reading it. For the British system, see What Is a Hallmark?.

France

France has had a state guarantee system since the Revolution, and French marks are small, neat and often struck on tiny areas such as the tongue of a clasp or the edge of an earring hook.

• Maker’s mark in a lozenge. French makers’ marks are enclosed in a diamond-shaped outline (poinçon de maître), usually with the maker’s initials and a small symbol. A lozenge-shaped maker’s mark is one of the quickest signs of French work.
• Eagle’s head (tête d’aigle). An eagle’s head in profile has been the single French guarantee mark for 18 carat (750) gold since 1919. Between 1838 and 1919 it was the Paris mark for smaller gold articles; larger pieces, and small pieces assayed outside Paris, carried other marks.
• Minerva head. Since 1838, French silver has been marked with the head of Minerva in a helmet, with a “1” for the first standard (950) or a “2” for the second (800).
• Earlier marks. Between the Revolution and 1838, French gold and silver were marked with a series of other symbols, including cockerel marks in the early 19th century, so a French piece without an eagle’s head or Minerva may simply be older than 1838.

For most of the period from 1700 to 1950, French gold jewellery was 18 carat. A French mark on a piece therefore usually tells you the gold is 750 - a useful check against British “15ct” or “9ct” expectations.

The United States

The United States has never had a national assay office system. Gold and silver were marked by manufacturers, not by an independent authority.

• Karat and fineness stamps. American gold jewellery is typically stamped “10K”, “14K” or “18K”, and silver “STERLING”. Fourteen-karat and ten-karat gold are far more common in American jewellery than in British.
• The 1906 Stamping Act. The National Gold and Silver Stamping Act of 1906 made it an offence to stamp an article with a quality mark it didn’t meet, within set tolerances. It regulated the accuracy of marks rather than requiring independent testing.
• Coin silver. Before sterling became the norm in the second half of the 19th century, much American silver was “coin” silver of about 900 fineness, sometimes stamped “COIN”.
• Gold-filled and rolled gold. Marks such as “1/20 12K GF” or “RGP” mean a layer of gold bonded to base metal. They are extremely common on American jewellery from about 1880 to 1950, and they don’t indicate solid gold.

A manufacturer’s trademark often appears beside the quality stamp, and trademark directories can identify American makers in the same way that registers identify British sponsors.

Germany

From 1888, under a law of the German Empire, silver was marked with a crescent moon and an imperial crown alongside its fineness (usually 800 or 835), and gold with its fineness in thousandths, such as 585 or 333. Eight-carat gold (333) was legal in Germany and widely used for inexpensive jewellery, especially in Pforzheim, so a “333” mark is a strong indicator of German manufacture. Pforzheim manufacturers such as Theodor Fahrner also made large quantities of Jugendstil silver jewellery around 1900, some of it sold in Britain through Murrle, Bennett & Co., so German marks turn up on pieces bought in British shops.

Russia

Russian marks expressed fineness in zolotniks, parts out of 96. The common standards were 84 zolotniks for silver (875) and 56 (583, roughly 14ct) or 72 (750) zolotniks for gold. From 1896 (in general use from 1899) the national mark became a woman’s head in a traditional kokoshnik headdress. Russian marks are an important reference point for Fabergé and other Russian jewellery, which is frequently copied and faked.

International Convention Marks

From the 1970s, countries signing the International Hallmarking Convention - including the UK from 1976 - have recognised a Common Control Mark: a pair of scales with the fineness number between them. It belongs to the modern period, but it is useful to recognise on later pieces.

Applying This to a Piece

A mark that doesn’t match the British pattern should prompt the question “where was this made?” rather than “is it fake?”. Lozenge-shaped maker’s marks suggest France; “14K” or “GF” suggests America; “333” or a crescent and crown suggests Germany; a two-digit number such as 56 or 84 suggests Russia. Style, construction and any retailer’s name on a box all help confirm the answer. See How to Research an Inherited Piece of Jewellery.