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.
I have a pendant with the number 7970 on it with a C inside a circle and B any idea?
Hi Sharon,
This is pretty cool! If your pendant is old, the 7970 might be a patent number that corresponds to the year 1875. As for the C in a circle, that’s a copyright symbol.
Annabelle
425k TM is what it looks like but unsure what does it mean if it is
Hi Shayla,
If the item is gold that probably means 42.5% gold.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
Annabelle
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
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 ?
My ring is stamped 18Y does that mean 18 karot yellow gold or what
Hi Timothy,
Yes, that is correct! 18Y is one variation of the stamp that is used to represent 18k yellow gold; sometimes it’ll look like 18K, 18KT, or 18Kt.
I hope you find this useful; let me know if you have any additional questions!
Annabelle
I have a pair of ear rings with a D stamp on the back and also a ring that looks like it has a small heart on the inside of the band any clue as to what they mean?
Hi Becca!
So upon talking with our expert jewelers, neither of those embellishments are relating to your jewelry quality, instead it will most likely be a jewelers’ trademark stamp.
Please let me know if you have anymore questions!
Chiara
Do you know what the symbol that looks like the Chinese cancer zodiac symbol inside the band
Hi, we have had a ring handed down to us, and on the ring it says 10K and what looks like three letters TWD ( I think ).. Wonder if you could shed a little light on those three letters?… Also we are deciding whether to get the ring valued…many thanks ~ andy
Hi Andy!
It looks like TWD is a jewelers trademark stamp upon checking with our expert jewelers, and has no significance to the quality of the ring. However an appraisal is something I can help you with, a ring appraisal is beneficial as it is required for insurance purposes and to know the retail market value of your ring if you were to sell it. If you are still on the fence, here are some thoughts to consider about jewelry appraisals
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have anymore questions!
Chiara
My gold bracelet has 074 above the 14K stamp. I have search the web and can’t find out what 074 means.
Hi Jim,
I have consulted our expert jeweler about your stamp, and 074 doesn’t have any significance to the ring, instead it is most likely going to be a jewelers trademark stamp.
I hope this helps and if you have any more questions please let me know!
Chiara
Hi have a broach with the number 800k it’s very old and possibly made in Germany. What does this mean. Thank u regards Pepi
Hi Pepi!
With the help of our expert jewelers, we believe that the stamp on your brooch is a jewelers trademark which can be very difficult to trace especially if the piece is very old! If it is old then it might need to be polished to clearly see what the stamp is, as it might be something different.
Thanks
Chiara
What is the meaning of 3 and 4 dots
Inside the ring there is no other number or letters its only a dots it only realy like this ( …. )
Maybe someone knows about it thank in advance for the answer’s
Hi Mary,
They don’t indicate metal content, so it could be either a personal inscription (if this was a secondhand/pre-owned ring) or the manufacturer/designer’s stamp.
Following
I have a small diamond ring stamped 10k and. What looks like a c and a actual star can u tell me what the c start means ? Ty in a
What does 27 mean when stamped inside a ring band?
Hi Desiree,
Would you be able to provide some more information for me to help identify the stamp? I.e. what material is it, and is there anything stamped on the inside of the ring band?
Chiara
I also have a 27 stamp inside my ring. It’s a 14k gold diamond ring. And also has a stamp that says Keepsake (which is the jewelry line it’s from)… but I too don’t know what the 27 means?
0.27 is the diamond carat
Hi, I have a piece marked TCPA/IC. That is the only marking. Would you be able to tell us what this means? Thanks!
Hi Linda,
The TCPA/IC is the hallmarked signature of a particular designer for vintage sterling silver.
What does w302 14k mean on my Jewellery
Hi Mel,
W302 refers to the manufacturer’s trademark and the 14K means that the piece is 14 karat gold.
I hope this helps you!
Chiara
I have a ring that is stamped 15C TH. What does that mean?
Hi Christine,
The 15C could indicate 15 karat gold, or 62.5% gold content. This particular gold content value is often seen in older British jewelry.
Yes I have a ring that says 14k CG do you know what that means thank you
I have a wedding ring from a grandmother and it has the 14k but after that it says “customized”. What does that mean?
Hi Hope,
“Customized” could mean a few things:
Every jeweler likes to put their own twist on their work, so we don’t know for sure!
I hope this helps!
Chiara 🙂
On the inside of my ring it says 742,what does that mean?
Hi Joan,
We need a bit more of information to give you a better answer:
Does your ring happen to platinum?
Are there any other inscriptions next to the numbers?
It is dull yellow gold with what looks like white gold setting for the diamond this is an old ring found among my gmothers jewerly I know nothing about it
Hi I also have 742 c and has 5 1 Roman numeral engraved
What is 925 rt
Hi Anthony,
925 indicates sterling silver. RT is probably the manufacturer/designer’s stamp.
742c 18k gold 1950
750 ⭐️ 389 VA stamped on the earrings, let me know what that means? Thanks
May I ask if you have checked with jeweller if 389 is real gold? Thanks
Hi there,
This doesn’t seem to be a known gold stamp.
I’m with all those just above here with a “10”. I have an eagle ring with just a10 behind one of its wings. But the ring appears to be silver. What do you make of it,?
Italian stamp for 18K Gold, star 389 VA is the registration number for the goldsmith in Varese.
What does 750 star16 mean? I know 750 is 18k gold but any idea about star#?
I saw a post in another discussion & they had a 14k gold with star8.
Could it be that star8, star16, star24 would correspond to 14k,18k,24k respectively?
Just what came to mind after reading that.
Thanks for your time!
It’s probably the manufacturer’s stamp. It’s redundant to stamp it twice with the metal content.
I have a 10k gold dome ring made in turkey that has a RL in front of the 10k what does that mean?
Does it mean Ralph Loren
I also have a 10K gold ring (made where? idk) that also has RL stamped inside of it, beside the 10K stamp. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Please answer.
Clearly not Ralph Lauren, mine is a low end ring…
I have ring have stamp SS 55 ehat dies it mean
May mean Sterling Silver 55%
Hello, I have a ring inside stamp says 14K18K and I think 1k, any idea what this means?
It could be referring to the stone quality and also the types of gold or silver used if it’s is a multiple part ring. For example a gold band twisted around a silver band.
What if it just has a k stamped in the inside of the ring
The number before the k probably wore away from being worn. Friction from rubbing on a finger enough can actually polish away a Hallmark sometimes. You can have it tested for cheap
I found a ring in a purse I found at goodwill.. was in a small rip in the lining of it .. says 14k and what appears to be a small diamond symbol… anyone?
Nice find! That’s 14 karat gold and a small diamond. What do the letters in the circle say? On the front of the ring. Jostens? Jostens was a yearbook publisher here in Visalia CA that used to Also make class rings, I don’t know if ours was the only jostens or if they made real jewelry but that might be a lead to follow to more information.
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