Many of us have seen the small numbers or letters engraved inside a ring band or near the clasp of a piece of jewelry that we own. But how many of us understand what information those stamps are actually giving us?
In this post, we’ll walk through the different stamps, what they mean, and what you need to know about stamping laws to ensure you’re getting the most accurate information about your jewelry. Let’s start with the basics:
- 10K, 14K, 18K, 24K, etc – if this is the ONLY stamp on the piece, it is telling you first and foremost that the piece is solid gold and secondly, the karat fineness of the gold. For example, let’s look at 14K. 14 out of 24 particles in the metal are pure gold. The others can be a mix of elements including palladium, copper, etc. These additional elements are what determine the specific color of the gold (we’ll talk about this in an upcoming post).
750 stamp on jewelry means 18k Gold - 417, 585, or 750 – this is just another way of telling us the gold content. However, instead of referring to how many parts out of 24 are pure gold, this number is now out of 1,000. So for 10K gold jewelry, 417 out of 1,000 parts are pure gold. For 14K gold jewelry, 585 parts out of 1,000 are pure gold. So when you see 750 that means 18K gold jewelry because the metal is made of 750 parts per 1,000 of pure gold.
- 900, 900PT, PT900, 950, 950PT, PT950 – all of these stamps designate that the piece is made of one of the two most common platinum alloys. 900, 900PT, or PT 900 all signify that the metal used is 900 parts per 1,000 pure platinum, while 950, 950PT, and PT950 denote 950 parts per 1,000 are pure platinum.
- 925 – a piece with this stamp is made of sterling silver. Legally, to be considered sterling silver a piece has to consist of 92.5% pure silver, with only 7.5% other elements mixed in.
- GP – pieces with this stamp have been plated with gold, but have another metal underneath. It almost always has the karat fineness of the plating listed, i.e. 18K GP.
- HGE – this is the abbreviation for high grade electroplate, which is another way of denoting that the jewelry you are looking at is not solid gold. These pieces also generally display the karat fineness of the gold.
- GF – this stands for gold-filled, which is a term that means a thin layer of gold was bonded to a base metal to make this piece.
So now that we have the basic stamp meanings down, let’s go through some of the most frequently asked questions that we hear from customers:
There’s another symbol next to the metal content stamp that isn’t on your list. What does that mean?
Most likely, the stamp you are seeing here is the manufacturer’s trademark or the trademark of the retailer selling the piece. This is legally required if the item is stamped and serves as a guarantee of sorts that the manufacturer/retailer vouches for the accuracy of the stamp on the metal.
My jewelry piece isn’t stamped at all. Does this mean it’s not made of precious metal?
Not necessarily. The legal guidelines on stamping don’t require all pieces made of precious metal to be stamped. However, they do require the manufacturer or retailer to disclose any precious metal content. This could be via discussion in the store upon purchase, on a tag attached to the piece, or on the receipt for the product itself.
The clasp/closure/earring backs on my piece are stamped, but the rest of the item is not. Does that mean the whole thing is made of precious metal?
Again, not necessarily. Sometimes the clasp of a piece is made of a different metal than the chain, so definitely confirm with the store clerk or jeweler that the entire item is made of the metal from the stamping. Likewise, earring backs may have been accidentally swapped and may not be made of the same metal as the rest of the earrings, especially the posts, so double checking is always best.
My piece has a name/date engraved on it. Is this the designer or year that the piece was made?
For well-known brands and designers, this can be the case, but it isn’t necessarily a correct assumption. For example, Tiffany & Co. has several Paloma Picasso designs that would be engraved as such and may include the date. However, it could also be that the piece is vintage or estate and was engraved with the previous owner’s name, anniversary, etc.
What other questions do you have about jewelry stamp meanings?
Community Discussion
Questions, experiences, and expert answers from the QJR community.
Hi I have a bracket stamped k75 wooundrring what it means
Hi! I have a ring that has 258 T stamp on it. I am not so sure about this since it was just given to me. There are also no other engravings on it. Can you tell me more about this?
I have a string of pearls, ad the clash had a symbol on it. No numbers or letters. What dose that means
Hi Margaret,
It’s the manufacturer/designer’s stamp.
I have a pendant (set with a small gem) with the following stamped on it: 925 HDIAM
I know that 925 means that it is sterling silver. Does the DIAM indicate that the gem is a diamond? If so, what does the “H” mean? Or is HDIAM a jeweler’s trademark?
I have a gold ring that has 18 mgl and nothing else
I am considering buying a ring that is stamped k18 0.43 and either WG or WB. I’m being told it is solid white gold 18 karat and that the 0.43 stands for the diamond carat weight. Does that seem correct?
Thanks!
That sounds correct sounds like 18kt white gold .43 ct weight
What does the letter G with a ring around the top mean in 10k white/ yellow
It’s the manufacturer/designer’s stamp.
I have a gold ring with diamonds inbedded in it. It has FTH and then 100VA on it? What could this mean?
Hi i have a ring stamped 10k 1k and tiny circled c. Can you tell me what that means?
Hi Heidi,
The circled c can mean several things depending on the age of this particular ring. If it’s from the 1950s and up, the circled c most likely indicates that it’s a copyrighted item. If it’s even older than that, it could be the trademark of the producer. Let me know if you have any additional questions!
Annabelle
Please 98.6% Stamp on ring ??? what mean 98.6% ???
I’ve never seen a % stamp on a ring like that. It might indicate the metal content, but that doesn’t seem legitimate.
It means you dont have a fever 😍
M.T.2 14k ?
I have what I believe to be a silver charm bracelet. The jump ring is stamped 976 and on the other side just the letter A (not A1 to indicate silver plated), what does the “A” indicate? Thanks!
Hi Jay,
The A is most likely a trademark stamp, since the 976 indicates the purity of the silver. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Annabelle
I found a ring that has a green stone and unique artistry around the stone. Looks very old and I had to clean and polish it several times to start seeing the Silver. I finally saw an engraving on the backside of the ring and it spells out “STERLING” all caps and a “S” with a line going thru it. Can you please help me out with some information….thank you
I have a stainless steel dog tag necklace.
On the back says TSD. Any help about this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I was given a bracelet with RM stamped on it i would love to know if anyone knows what it means
What is does stamp 10k TUR SR mean?
Sounds like it’s 10 kt gold made in Turkey & the SR could be the maker name .. look up Turkish jewelry marks with those initials ☺️
Hello, I have a bracelet with making 10k on one side of and JRW on the other, what does JRW mean? Thank you in advance
JRW is the Maker Mark and stand for John Woodlly from Woodlly Jeweller
I have a charm of mother Mary holding Jesus well I can’t barely see the engravings but it looks like u18or something Hong like it I have a pic close up but can’t seem to send it here can u possibly tell with it
I have earings stamped s.sil 380926 have no idea wat it means
sterling silver
Hey so I have a neckless stamped with the numbers 876 is that white gold and if so what karet is it
21k gold
What does the letters IC engraved mean
I have a pair of earrings that have a 45 stamped on the inside of them and I can’t find what It means. Can you please help me out?
I got a ring with the number 10 inside, but no other markings or letters… do you know what this is?
Most likely the size of there is no k after it
I have a 10k gold diamond engagement ring inside it had CG what does that mean?
hi Darlene, i have the same mark on my ring and with real diamonds they have been checked and the gold is real but also i do not know what CG Means
looks like yours is real like mine. as i had mine checked and all is good and real even the diamonds with natural mined sapphire
perhaps its the ahm maker or something the store or might mean clarity g or i honestly don’t know but i do know u have a real RING ur DIAMONDS are real
What does 14K FTH V means?
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