A manufacturer’s mark is any mark that a jewelry maker uses to distinguish his or her pieces of jewelry from those of other manufacturers. A mark is not to be confused with a “hallmark” which actually describes the quality of the metal. The mark often consists of the manufacturing company’s name, or the initials of the designer. Sometimes a numeric symbol or picture is used. Marks appear on both costume jewelry and more expensive jewelry, as well as on both new jewelry and antique jewelry.

One common use of the manufacturer’s mark is to learn more about the history of an older piece of jewelry. Some marks were only used during a certain historical period, for instance. If you can identify one of these marks, you can date your jewelry to within a few years. There are many websites that can help you identify manufacturer’s marks. One of the most comprehensive is Illusion Jewels Presents: Researching Costume Jewelry. This site lists common marks from A to Z. It also features a few interesting pieces of jewelry and delves into their history and their distinguishing characteristics.

If the piece of jewelry you are interested in identifying was manufactured recently, you may be able to find its mark on ModBaubles which identifies modernist American, Mexican, and Scandinavian marks.

If you’re still not having any luck finding the origins or a mark, try typing the word or letters on the mark into a search engine and see what comes up. Online auction sites such as eBay are also excellent places to research the background of a mark.