Providing Education and Resources for a Better Understanding and Recognition of Precious Metal Hallmarks Worldwide
Web Links
The wonder of the web offers a gateway to many Internet resources
related to hallmarks via government and national agencies, educational
organizations, private study groups, corporate sites, and private
sites. This page is designed to offer links to the more useful sites
already established as well as promote them by noting their relevance.
- General Hallmarking Information and Forums
925-1000 Silver Marks and Forum - A great site packed with marks grouped by country. This site offers information on silver marks, and trademarks. The forum features discussions on all types of marks on silver and gold. This is quite an extensive internet resource for researching silver hallmarks & maker's marks. Thousands of images of silver marks and hallmarks.
Mystery Mark Forum - More like a running dialog on "name that mark" type makers marks and hallmarks than an actual forum. Definitely worth perusing.
Silver Forum - An email based forum of knowledgeable individuals on silver, silver designs and maker marks. Very helpful members can help research silver marks and items.
Silver Magazine - One of the few magazines that we can recommend as being unique and in-depth in its content. Every issue is a jewel of information that continues to amaze us. If you are looking for the Minerva of silver magazines, then this subscription is a must!
The Jewelry Loupe - Cathy McCarthy interviewed the Directors of HRI in this interview. The resulting blog may answer questions you might have as well.
- Governmental Assay Offices and Related Sites
Hallmarking Convention - Keep up on the regulations as they change for Common Control Marks (CCM) used throughout hallmarking countries. The best location for active links to each member country's websites.
Birmingham Assay Office Mark Search - Birmingham has added a database to their website that allows the public to search their sponsor, duty, and date marks.
Swiss Federal Customs Office - Scroll down to the 9th video. It is a very good over view of the fire assay process and the roll hallmarking plays in quality control.
Finnish Maker Mark Search -Developed in 2009 by the Leimatoimikunta (Mark Commission), who was founded by members of the Finnish precious metal industry, this search engine documents Finnish gold and silversmiths' responsibility marks for the years 1373-1950. Responsibility marks from 1950 to date can be found in the Responsibility Mark Register (nimileimarekisteri) on the Tukes web site.
- Foreign Assay Office's with Maker's Mark Search Engines (some in foreign languages)
Czech Republic Estonia Finland Netherlands Sweden United Kingdom Non-Assay Office Search Locations Denmark Norway or
David Andersen SpecificUK
- Appraiser Resources
Antique Jewelry University - The AJU, developed by Lang Antiques, provides a location to share and disseminated information about both modern and antique jewelry, and gem materials. This first link is an index of famous maker's marks. Here are maker marks by country. They offer a good variety of maker's marks here but don't stop just on this page, search through its volumes of information about jewelry and antique jewelry. This surely will be a new web location you will want to save.
Association of Small Collectors of Antique Silver - This is a great site for information on marks and trademarks. This particular link deals with Tiffany marks on silver. Click around to see other useful info. An alternate to this site is the ASCAS. Check both for useful information on silver and their marks.
Chicago Silver - Don't let the name fool you, here is an online plethora of trademarks. This link will serve as the opening to the 'rabbit hole' of links that will feed your need for searching for a long time! Master List of Links. Remember, just because it says silver, it does not mean your gold maker's mark could not be there too.
Signatures of Contemporary Jewelers - Lyn Peightal has been collecting images of signatures of contemporary jewelers through various sources and has listed with their maker.
Global Gemology - Scott Papper's website offers a selection of modern jewelry and their contemporary maker's marks. It is important to note that while he uses the word 'hallmark' for the mark examples, they are better qualified as maker marks, trademarks, and or logos. Hallmarks have a very specific definition as being the visual stamp marked onto a precious metal as a result of an independent assay testing.
American Silversmiths - William Eric Voss has created an excellent compilation of maker's marks on American Silver that is now archived in the Library of Congress.
Native American Marks - This nicely done resource has quite a few images to help you identify maker mark's of the American Southwest.
Antique-Horology Trademark Search - A resource to look up watch maker marks.
Mikrolisk Horological Trademark Index - In German but quite extensive in its coverage of horological maker's marks.
Heritage Auctions - (currently under reconstruction) Heritage Auctions began documenting the marks on silver items that have passed through their galleries for years. They have put the vast collection on line in a search engine that is quite useful.
French Maker's Marks - While there is no single complete source for discovering the identity of the jewelers initials found within the small lozenge shape that is so distinctively a French maker's mark, there are resources scattered about that can help. Silvercollection.it has quite a collection of French maker's mark initial reference. 925-1000, also offers references to search with more additional images. There is no accessible list of modern makers of gold and silver objects anywhere that we have found.
Morning Glory Antiques - Morning Glory has done a nice job in collecting images of costume jewelry maker marks.
UK Maker's Marks - A simple site with an extensive list of makers from the various UK Assay Office jurisdictions.
Center for Jewelry Studies - Christie Romero developed this site with numerous resources, links, jewelry timeliness and offers a wealth of information via links in her reference section. Though no longer with us, HRI has offered to host what she brought to the field of research. Since this is an inactive site, some reference links may have expired.
United States Patent and Trademark Office - Not to be overlooked is the USPTO. Using descriptive words will narrow your results. You will need time to go through this and all the links above. Good luck in your quest.
Link to Archived Featured Marks
This page adds links periodically.
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contact us on the questions page or send us an email from the same page.
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