Craft
5 min read
What “750” inside your ring actually means
Hallmarks are the oldest consumer protection law there is. Here is how to read the tiny stamps inside your jewellery.
Look inside any gold ring we make and you will find a row of tiny stamps. They are not decoration. They are a legal guarantee, struck after an independent assay office has tested the metal.
The fineness mark
750 means 750 parts in 1,000 are pure gold, which is 18 carat. 585 is 14 carat, 925 is sterling silver and 950 is platinum. If the number is there, the metal has been tested and proved.
The maker's mark
Ours is AS in an oval. It tells you, and anyone who owns the piece after you, who made it. We register it with the assay office like a signature.
Next time you are buying second-hand, look for all three: the fineness, the maker and the office mark. Together they are a passport for the piece.
Written at the bench by the Aldersmith team
From the article
Pieces made the way we write about
Every piece in the shop is made at the same bench, from recycled metal, and hallmarked.
Keep reading
More from the journal
Craft
5 min read
What “750” inside your ring actually means
Hallmarks are the oldest consumer protection law there is. Here is how to read the tiny stamps inside your jewellery.
Materials
4 min read
Why we only use recycled gold
Mining a single wedding ring's worth of new gold moves around 20 tonnes of earth. Recycled gold is the same metal, without the hole in the ground.
Guides
3 min read
How to find your ring size at home
Three reliable ways to measure, and the one mistake almost everyone makes on a cold morning.
Custom orders
Have an idea of your own?
Tell us and we will draw it to scale within a week.