Most authentic gold jewelry is stamped or etched with some sort of indicator. These jewelry inscriptions can be very hard for the lay person to decipher. In fact, many professionals are not sure what some of them mean because these marks are not as standardized as they should be. However, there are some common ones which make up the vast majority of the gold stamps.

Authentic gold jewelry should have a stamp to indicate the purity of the gold in the piece. This mark can be in several different formats. For example: 585, 14kt, 14kt & 14K all mean 14 karat gold. All of these formats are easy to understand, except possibly the 3 digit number format.

3 Digit Numbers
These numbers tell how pure the gold is. They are in the thousandth, so if you want to know the purity percentage, just move the decimal point in one space. For example: 750 is 75.0% pure gold (or 18 karat) Continue reading “Guide to Stamps and Inscriptions on Gold Jewelry” »