QuestionA few years ago I was given my great grandmothers wedding set and up until recently i hadn't thought about what it was made of. On the inside of both rings it says 14KT P on one side and a circle with a G on the opposite side of the ring. My question refers to what the P means next to the 14KT... My grandmother told me they were platinum but I'm not so sure, and the one jeweler i took it to told me that it meant "Plum" which didn't make any sense to me at all. Could you please tell me what it means?
AnswerLindsey, the jeweler who said "plumb" is correct but should have explained what that means. Prior to around 1982, Federal regulations for stamping precious metal articles were more tolerant to the manufacturers. In fact, the tolerance of karat gold was about 1/2 karat. This meant the manufacturer had a tolerance in mixing alloys for gold items allowing the actual mix to be off the mark by 1/2 karat. Manufacturers were quite adept at mixing gold jewelry metals to make various karats and colors of gold and had no problem meeting the tolerance, to their favor in many cases. It would not be surprising to find runs of jewelery which assayed right on 13 1/2 karat and was stamped 14k, all in accordance with the regulations.
The regulations tightened up to some few parts per thousand in tolerance and when the new revision of the stamping act came into force, manufacturers had no problem being pretty much on the mark for the stamp. For instance, a 14k item would be closer to 58.3 % pure gold in the recipe and not the 56.2% of 13 1/2 karat gold. With the new regulations, that 1/2 karat leeway was gone and the stamp had to reflect the content of the metal much, much more closely than in the past. Following European conventions, you will see most 14k gold today which is marked with a numeral is actually slightly higher than 14k. 14k is 585, referring to the gold content. Most you see today will be 585 in the stamp, slightly over 14k and better than the US regulations require. Items may be marked with numerals or the familiar k for karat but must meet the strict tolerances of present day regulations.
So, what is the "P"? Have you seen a carpenter or bricklayer use a plumb bob to get a straight line, vertical with the gound? When the plumb bob is on the mark, the wall is straight up and down: The wall is plumb. In that case the wall is "on the mark".
Using a similar thought for being "on the mark" and meeting the new regulations, gold was called PLUMB to distinguish it from previously manufactured items which were made under previous regulation and were likely 1/2 carat off. I believe J.C. Penney started the use of the P to let customers know which jewelry was to the higher standard. Once enough time had passed for older stock to be sold from inventory, the P was considered no longer necessary.
Lindsey, there you go...P for plumb for "on the mark" and a part of relatively recent jewelry history in the US.
Thanks for the question. The P is a confusing thing for lots of folks.
God Bless and Peace, Joyous Late Autumn wished. Thomas.
