Glossary
Hallmark (stamp)
A hallmark is a stamped mark indicating a precious metal item's fineness and often its maker.
A hallmark is a small stamped mark showing the fineness of jewellery or cutlery, such as 333, 585, 750, 800 or 925. It is often accompanied by a maker's mark and sometimes a national mark, such as the English lion or French owl.
Hallmarks are in hidden places: inside a ring's band, on a lobster clasp, a bracelet's clasp plate, the back of a cutlery handle or a tray's edge. A magnifying glass helps, as marks are often only half a millimetre high and worn with age.
A hallmark is an indication, not proof. It may be false, added later or simply worn away. Conversely, an unhallmarked piece is not automatically fake. Very old jewellery and remodelled pieces often have no mark at all.
The cost of an incorrect hallmark
For example, a 20 gram bracelet is marked 750 but tests at only 585. At a gold price of 120,00 € per gram of fine gold, its material value is 1.404,00 € rather than 1.800,00 €.
The difference of 396,00 € is precisely why we measure rather than just read. The payout is 90 to 95 % of actual material value, where actual means measured, not merely stamped.
Reading hallmarks when selling in Nordhorn
In Nordhorn, we examine each hallmark with you under a magnifying glass and explain it. Unclear, worn or missing marks are followed by a non-destructive test, free and before any discussion of money.
Old hallmarks often reveal more than fineness. A crescent and crown indicate German manufacture after 1888; maker's marks can identify workshops. If this gives a piece value above its material content, we tell you rather than melting it down.
We want you to be able to read along. We show you where the hallmark is and how to interpret it, so you can check the next inherited piece yourself. We provide this information whether or not you ultimately sell.