Hallmark issue question

[WildRose]

wonder if anyone knows anything about this issue and can help:
I have just received a ring from QVC which is advertized as Sterling Silver and from the Or paz range. However on closer inspection I have found that it has no markings inside it at all, no makers identifying mark, no 925 and certainly no hallmark marking it as Sterling silver.
Is that allowed? How do I know it is actually Or Paz or silver?. I know this can happen on earrings if they are very light or too small to stamp them, but a ring?

Any help appreciated, thank you

 

[SparklyBarbs]

I personally don't like the sound of that WR. I thought all silver had to be hall marked. Why don't you ring customer
service and get it straight from them, so at least then you can be sure

 

[Sazza]

wonder if anyone knows anything about this issue and can help:
I have just received a ring from QVC which is advertized as Sterling Silver and from the Or paz range. However on closer inspection I have found that it has no markings inside it at all, no makers identifying mark, no 925 and certainly no hallmark marking it as Sterling silver.
Is that allowed? How do I know it is actually Or Paz or silver?. I know this can happen on earrings if they are very light or too small to stamp them, but a ring?

Any help appreciated, thank you

Under a certain weight of sterling silver it does not have to be hallmarked

http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/current_legislation.html

 

[Tinkerbelle]

It depends on where it was made as to the hallmark it should receive but wherever it was made it should have a hallmark. Very rarely these days does anything get much more than a 925 on silver.

Get a replacement if you like the ring and explain why.

I had a ring made to match a bangle a few years ago. It was a bespoke piece and I noticed after a few weeks that there wasn't a hallmark on that. Took it back and in my case they had to send it away to be hallmarked. It was just an oversight.

If you don't want or can't be arsed to send it back ask your local jeweller to test it. I'm sure it will be silver.

 

[WildRose]

thank you Sazza, perfect information, no idea why I did not think of googeling it.
Have decided to send it back but had to argue with CS for a return label as only items over 7 grams have to be hallmarked apparently.
Still they say sterling silver, I want a stamp! Have looked at the feedback for the ring and another person mentioned that it only has a 925 stamp, I would have been happy with that lol

 

[SparklyBarbs]

You think they would mention something like that on air, to save the confusion. I thought, wrongly, it seems that all silver had

to be hallmarked. They should say it when discussing the item, as i'm sure a lot of other customers will be returning it also.

 

[stratobuddy]

I bought a 9ct gold ring from Q, it weighed a fraction of a gram as it was hollowed out and wafer thin, and just looking at it is almost enough to dent it.

 

[Snarly]

Interesting thread, WildRose. Barkly, another thing I didn't hear ... RomanGlass shouldn't get wet, or come in contact with lotions, perfumes or hairspray. I had ordered a ring with RomanGlass/RomanCoin which I cancelled, after googling RomanGlass. I want jewellery I can wear everyday, not LookButDon'tTouch.

 

[Weathergirl]

I have a solid gold pendant and matching solid gold earings that were made bespoke for me out of my own scrap gold. The original gold was hallmarked but not the bespoke pieces made from it. I wondered whether I should have asked for a hallmark but because I knew it was gold I didn't ask.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tinkerbelle]

Weathergirl you know they're gold and you're never going to sell them so it doesn't really matter. Actually it doesn't matter if you do sell them because jewellers can test pieces if they want to.

In my case it was a ring made to order and I wasn't worried as such. I just thought it was odd but when I took it back they were adamant it needed to be hallmarked and were very apologetic. That has a proper hallmark now. Not just the 925.

I've always believed that expensive jeweller has a proper hallmark rather than just the 925 stamp but I could easily be talking out of my hat!

 

[WildRose]

Snarly I got caught out like that too. My husband bought me a roman glass ring, and it has lost the patina because of that, but its stil a nice bluey stone (glass) so not bothered, but would not buy again because of that. They really should make that a lot clearer.

 

[Bea Frugal]

A hallmark is always a good thing. If you watch any of the 'bargain hunt' type programmes, they can't specify that an item is silver or gold, or whether it is English or continental if there's no hallmark. It is classed as white or yellow metal and the value will be affected. If it's a small piece that you love then that's fine but if you are looking to the future then hallmarks are important.

 

[stratobuddy]

According to the article Sazza put up, the hallmarks have changed and the "proper" hallmarks are now just numbers, like 925 and 375.

Also, they no longer have to use a date letter, which seems a very retrograde step as you will no longer be able to date items from the hallmark. If I read it correctly, even the icons like the lion will be phased out.

 

[WildRose]

seems a shame really, I love looking at old jewellery and you can get so much infor from where made, by whom when, all that will be a thing of the past

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I've got quite a few antique pieces I've inherited but actually its not as easy to date a piece by the hallmark as it appears. Because most antique pieces are 18 or 22ct the hallmarks are often worn away. Some are so similar that even an expert can't tell them apart. Often you need to look at the hallmark, the metal, the settings and the cut of any stones to get a grip on the date of a piece.

For instance I've got one piece that could be 1834 or 1884. I've got another that was made by Smith & Gamble in Dublin, its 18ct gold with round cut diamonds but the date hallmark is barely there. It's probably Edwardian but that's a guess based on the design and cut of the stones.

It's interesting but more difficult than I imagined it would be.

 

[Claudie]

I would suggest this SHOULD be hallmarked. I had a gold ring from QVC once that wasn't hallmarked; they apologised and fully refunded me on the item.

 

[Claudie]

I would suggest this SHOULD be hallmarked. I had a gold ring from QVC once that wasn't hallmarked; they apologised and fully refunded me on the item.

Sorry - should have added - and they let me keep the ring!