Identifying Gold Purity: Understanding 800 & European Jewelry Marks

Question
I have a mosiac pendant it looks gold like but back is marked 800 and than tiny marks that look like a star, 28 and FL or an R can't quite make them out they are so tiny even with a loupe 5x. Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you

Answer
Hello,

I get this same question a lot about the marks on jewelry.  Karart gold is normally marked 10k 12k 14k 18k 22k etc.  except for Europe, they mark theirs with a number like yours, 800 or 875 etc. this tells you the purity of the gold 800 means 80% gold. As for the star and other markings they can only be related to who make the jewelry their symbol or logo.

I hope this helps you.

Regards,

Steven D.Covey