Identifying Sterling Silver Rings & Stone Types: A Comprehensive Guide

Question
Hello..I was wondering about a ring i recently purchased. It has the word STERLING written inside of it with an arrow pointing towards an M on both sides of the letter M. (arrow pointing towards left on one side and right on the other side.) It has two large stones next to each other on the top of the ring and I was wondering if they are paste stones but i do not know how to tell if they are.the backs of the stones are all enclosed in silver and they are in a lobster type claw setting around the stones. Is there a way I can find out about the hallmark inside? Also..if the whole word sterling is written inside does this make it an older ring?  Thank you so much!

Answer
Hi Karen,

The 'M' with the arrows is the Makers Mark. The company that made it has a logo for this purpose. To find out who it is will take searching through the "marks" of thousands of companies to find the match. You can look them up online and maybe get licky, since all countries participate. If the backs of the stones are not exposed it is a good bet they are not real. However to tell for sure I or another gemologist would need to actually see them and maybe even test them. The fact that the whole word "STERLING" is written out does not mean it is an older piece. thanks nd Good Luck

Peter