Hallmarks and fineness marks vintage jewellery

Hallmarks and fineness marks — a concise introduction

A hallmark is the passport of a jewel. It tells who made it, in which country it was assayed, what metal it is made of and — sometimes — in which year. This page provides the core information; for the complete reading guide per hallmarking system we refer to the hallmarks hub and the four in-depth guides.

Reading time · 3 minuten

Door de redactie · Vakinhoudelijk getoetst · Bijgewerkt juli 2026

The four components of a hallmark

A complete hallmark almost always consists of four components: the fineness mark (purity of the metal), the assay office mark (country and institution), the date letter (in systems that use one) and the maker's mark of the goldsmith. Anyone who sees these four marks together on a jewel can determine the metal, origin, and often the period, within a few seconds.

Each hallmarking tradition has its own emphasis. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom work with date letters, France does not. Germany has used a crescent moon and crown for silver since 1888; the United States has no compulsory hallmarking system.

A complete hallmark almost always consists of four components: the fineness mark (purity of the metal), the assay office mark (country and institution), the date letter (in systems that use one) and the maker's mark of the goldsmith.

Hallmarks and fineness marks — a concise introduction

Detail of hallmarks on the inside of a gold ring on bottle green velvet — atmospheric image, not an example for identification. — Sfeerbeeld — hallmarks and fineness marks — a concise introduction

Full reading guide per country: the hub

To prevent different pages from competing on the same topic, the complete reading guide, including tables, explanations per mark, and references to the official registers, is housed in the hallmarks hub at /keurmerken and the four in-depth guides: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany/Austria. Click through using the links at the bottom of this page.

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2 answered questions

What if there is no hallmark at all?

Small or thin pieces were often not hallmarked. The absence of a hallmark does not prove that a piece is false. See the hallmarks hub for a full explanation of the legal weight threshold.

Where can I find the full reading guide?

At /keurmerken and the four in-depth guides beneath it. Each country has its own page with tables, explanations per mark, and references to the official assay office or hallmarking institution.