QuestionOn the inside of this beautiful heart ring which looks like a blue topaz with small little diamond looking stones circling around the heart, on the inside of the band says 10KSR, could that possibly mean 10K gold and the SR mean simulated ruby?
AnswerDear Dahlia,
In the USA, the standard and legal way to stamp the metal quality on jewelry is to put the quality and right near it put the mark of the manufacturer. In essence, this is like the maker signing the ring next to the quality mark, attesting to that being true. If for some reason the quality is not as marked, the maker is liable.
In the case of your ring, the quality is 10k. The mark right near it is the SR. The SR should be the initials or recognition of the manufacturer, not an indication of a type of gemstone.
The quality mark can be either 10k or the numerical mark of 417 which means the same thing.
About the only time a mark is put inside a ring to tell about the stones is when the stones are CZ's and to prevent confusion with diamonds a CZ might be in the ring. This is a maker's choice and has nothing to do with legal requirements. Some makers of lower priced rings sold mostly on the total weight of diamonds in the item will sometimes put a tw or total weight in the mounting. An example would be 0.10tw, meaning the item has 1/10 carat or 10 points of stones when all are weighed. Since stones can and sometimes are changed over time by a the owner of a jewelry item, the stone marks do not have much value beyond the sales counter where these assist the salesperson in helping the customer. I have not yet seen a mark to show simulated or synthetic ruby.
There you go! God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
