Antique Ring Markings: Understanding 'WR' and '35'
Question
ring
Hi, my friend gave me a ring and I think it is just costume jewelery although it has the markings WR and 35, in a cirlce on it. It is a silver ring with a pearl and 2 diamonds/CZ on each side of the pearl. Do these marking mean anything?
Thankyou for your time.
AnswerGood morning Nerida,
The WR is most probably the manufacturers initials or logo. The 35 (it could also be 835 which is 83 1/2% pure silver) may designate a number of things. ie: carat weight of the diamonds/cz's, numerical designation of one of the numbers (quantity) of the ring as it is produced. or the year it was produced, 1935. This last example is unlikely however due to the fact that cz was not invented yet. White Sapphire, synthetic corrundum, or stontium titanate were used as a diamond simulant if in fact the diamonds are not genuine. Usually, genuine diamonds were not used either in silver rings due to the softness of the metal with respect to securely holding the diamonds in place during normal wear. The simulants wer used of course to also hold the price down yet produce an attractive ring. Enjoy your ring. Good luck.
Steve Kretser
