QuestionI have a very old gold wedding ring left to me by my father some years ago with the hallmark Hw 1 a crown 18 a left facing arrow 1
Can you identify this
Many thanks
Fred
AnswerG'day Frederick and many thanks for your query.
I don't know where you live or where the ring came from, but the marks suggest they could be British.
Here lies the problem...
Not only are the Marks important but also the SHAPE of the Stamp and the font letters used (Uppercase - lowercase - old English etc).
The Hw would be the Maker's Mark or Store Identification Mark. Think H. Samuel (London Jewelry Stores for example). While this mark is different, you get the idea.
The Crown is the Quality Mark and shows Tax has been paid and is a guarantee of quality.
The left facing arrow sounds like a left facing anchor (easily mistaken) which is the Assay Office mark for Birmingham.
The last mark would be a date letter 'l' in lowercase (not a number 1) so this ties in with 1910, but that, as mentioned, depends on the SHAPE of the Stamp.
There is a Free British Hallmarking Course I can recommend at this address which explains things in an easy way: http://www.online-jewelry-appraisals.com/free-hallmark-course/
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...
