Tag: Hallmarks

Every Trinket File guide tagged hallmarks: fineness numbers, assay office marks, plating stamps and gold-filled claims.

A hand lifting a gold bracelet from a tray of price-tagged jewellery

Buying Secondhand Jewelry: What to Inspect, What to Ask

Secondhand is where a modest budget meets well-made jewelry, and it's also where you have the least protection. Estate sales, pawn shops, auction houses, vintage dealers and online marketplaces all se

read more
The sterling hallmark and maker's mark stamped on a silver fob

Solid, Filled, Vermeil or Plated: Reading Jewelry Marks

A stamp on jewelry is a declaration, not a guarantee. It's still the most useful information you have, and the difference between a piece that survives daily wear and one that looks tired in a year is

read more
Hands forming silver links over a bench with pliers and a blowtorch

Check Jewelry Construction Before You Pay

Most attention in a jewelry purchase goes to how a piece looks at arm's length, which is the part the maker designed for. What decides whether it still looks right in five years is construction, and n

read more