A 375 Gold stamp visible within an item of jewellery indicates the items is made from 9 carat gold. To explain, the number represents the (37.5%) percentage of gold contained within the item. Jewellers alloy the gold with other metals to form the other 62.5% of metal. In contrast, a 750 stamp refers to 75% gold content as we have already discussed in more detail elsewhere. In between, rare and unusual stamps occasionally appear within a gold ring. For example, the rarer variety of 625 Gold, representative of 15-Carat Gold, was recently featured in a post we created about Antique jewellery. However, modern alternatives favour 14-carat Gold as the next alternative with a higher Gold content.
Design from our showroom pre-loved jewellery designs available to view on our Isle-of-Wight jewellery website.
Should you trust the 375 gold stamp?
Some items of jewellery feature a “9ct” stamp instead of an official hallmark. This can be due to the country where the item was first made, or due to the age of the item. Exercise caution when relying on simple stamps and not the official hallmark.
A simple online search shows a 9ct stamp can be purchased from many online stores very easily. As a result, fraudsters sometimes mark an item of “other” metal with “9ct” or “9k”. For this reason, bogus items with false stamps fraudulently masquerade as gold through illicit trade. As a result, we recommend buying from a reputable jeweller with experience in looking at precious metal hallmarks to ensure authenticity.
Many items of antique or vintage jewellery feature 9ct gold inscriptions or plates with raised letters without modern-day hallmarks. If you are unsure, many jewellery can test items or send items away for detailed analysis to confirm the fineness of any particular metal.
Additional marks to denote 375 gold
Other giveaway marks often feature within 9ct gold jewellery. Such marks typically appear within the hallmark. For example, a crown represents gold.
Additional markings within the hallmark.
Additional markings alongside gold stamps include the original sponsor mark. Sponsors typically represent jewellers or manufacturing jewellers identified by abbreviations for their name. For example, at Serendipity Diamonds, most of our items feature the letters “SD” within the hallmark.
In addition, an anchor, lion’s head, castle or rose represent the Assay Office applying the stamp. In order, these stand for Birmingham, London, Edinburgh and Sheffield.
