QuestionI just purchased two rings from Ebay. They were both marked 14kt in the inside of the shank. All of my other rings are marked 14k. The seller states that they are genuine gold. There are no other markings in the shank showing a manufacturer. Do other countries use this type of stamp? Do I need to find someone to test them?
Thank you,
Diana
AnswerG'day Diana and many thanks for your query.
Rest easy - the marks are correct. It all depends on where and who made the jewelry in the first place.
In Britain - for example - they don't stamp jewelry with the 'k' or 'K' or 'KT' but use 'c' 'ct' or 'Ct' which is really correct because it stands for 'carat'. In the States they use the 'K' for 'Karat' which is the same thing.
Consider 'Jewelry' and 'Jewellery' or 'Appraisal' to 'Valuation'
Like the old song says - You say Tomato - and I say Tomato...
The largest manufacturing base for jewelry in the world today is South East Asia and China. Do you thing the jewelers there really care if the stamp is up to USA standards? We have seen Modern and even New Jewelry from there stamped with one quality (ie: 18K) yet are tested to be no more than 10K - it happens...
There is nothing wrong with you getting your local FRIENDLY jewelry doing a test for you. They will charge a small fee (worth it) because then you can sleep easy knowing it is what they say it is.
You might also like to add this query to my blog at http://how2valuejewelry.com/ as other may have had a similar problem. Can't hurt anyway and who knows what answers you may get.
Hope this helps...
