Jewelry Marks From The Past You Need To Know

Markings on jewelry can be hard to decipher. Markings include facts about your item you need to know like gold content, who made it or whether or not its plated.  I think most people are familiar with the traditional 14 K means 14 karat gold. This format for gold content is easily recognized by most of the world. Marks that are forged on either side of the 14 K are not so easy to decipher. Oh no! I was thinking the P L stood for plated. Or was it platinum? Somebody is going to re-examine her jewelry inventory.

14 K P L  = 14 karat gold plumb (full) originated from a system that accepted 13.5 karat weight as 14 karat weight. Many jewelers would add the "P L"to inform customers the quality of their product.

While searching for information pertaining to "filled" verses "plated" I found this post on Specialty Metal's blog.  Even if Barry Lenson wrote the post in 2014, the information is timeless. I have never seen an expiration date forged into a piece of jewelry. I have not conducted any business with this company, but I can tell you the site is user friendly and professional looking. Nothing flashes, pops or talks which is a huge plus in my book.

Click on the link above to read about vintage items (over 20 years ago) and their gold content. Things like trophies or commemorative items, eyeglass frames, cutlery, candlesticks or gold filled dishes among other items have a bigger gold content compared to the gold plated items of today. Who knew? The following are examples of the markings found on gold filled items from the past and what it means.

1/10 10 K means one tenth of the weight is 10 K or 10 karat gold.

1/10 12 K means one tenth of the weight is 12 K or 12 karat gold.

In my notes I found a few more markings and their meanings. Plus very useful tips for deciphering those marks. For instance, any 3 digit number stamped on a piece of jewelry is referring to purity of the metal that your piece is made of. 

Fineness	Karat	Gold Percentage
333	8 K Gold	33.3%
375	9 K Gold	37.5%
416 or 417	10 K Gold	41.6% +
583 or 585	14 K Gold	58.3% +
750	18 K Gold	75.0%
916 or 917	22 K Gold	91.6% +
999	24 K Gold	99.9%

Table of corresponding gold markings, and the gold purity they signify.

This chart was copied from Bellatory I just discovered this site too. It is a forum type of site with post written by the experts. The overall theme is beauty. If you decide to check out the entire site, let the rest of us know what you think about it in a comment.

A few more from my notes:  

AK 14 K  - "AK" is Turkish for "altin kaplama" which means "gold-plated" in the Turkey language.

From 1838 - 1919 a horse's head struck in solid 18 K gold jewelry and watches represents France.

14 K S means 14 K gold-plated over silver.

14 K C H usually means 14 K gold plating over copper.