Jewelry Basics for Novices and Others from Experts and Others

Every industry has it's own sub-language and perhaps even culture, and jewelry is no exception. 

I'm going to create a simple resource area on this thread for those who seek "continuing education".  You will be looking at a work in progress as it's created and modified.  Thank you for understanding how it goes.

The Materials Holding the Piece Together

Gold, Silver, Copper, Titanium, Brass, Stainless Steel, Pewter, 

--- Markings Indicating Content of Materials

Silver: Sterling Silver, Sterling, 925, 

Gold: __k 

Gold Plating: 

Signature a.k.a. Maker's Mark or Mark

If you Internet search the full, correct term, you'll find a lot of results up top for the liquor named after the term "Maker's Mark".  I presume that is why at the large resale platforms people tend to use the term "signed" for a stamped impression of the artist's creation.   

This can be a really interesting part of studying a particular jewelry artist's work, or group of artists, such as those who came to be well known in Mexico, as there will be an evolution of the signature.   From a fledgeling, unknown artist who didn't yet have a stamp and primitively got some form of their identification showing on the piece, a "maker's mark" begins and can evolve over time. 

There are websites with specific types of jewelry's identification marks, and books.  I turned to Facebook and learned some of the old timers in the group used to spend time at the library with resource books and still suggest it to people finding signatures that have stumped them.  I presently, as I write this, have a sterling silver earring pair that have a symbol stamp for the maker, not initials, which has, so far, stumped everyone.  So those can be fun to do the detective work on. 

Then there are what I think of as logos, but they're not distinguished in jewelry circles that way.  "Signed", "maker's marks" on the mass-produced jewelry, which I imagine could start out with a custom creator that grew big enough to mass produce but more typically was a big company getting into creating a line of jewelry from the start.  Creating a logo and "brand development" before anything is produced. 

These brands can be of pretty high quality (and price) and reputable stature (such as Silpada, for instance).  Other brands are moderate quality and price from the start (such as Avon, Monet, etc.) and earned a solid reputation at the time they were new with time bringing them "vintage" status and collectors desiring them. 

They often have a "hangtag" on necklaces and bracelets, and it's interesting to study the evolution over time of the "brand" and the way they identify their pieces. I intend to get an interview with a jewelry creator about their experience with this aspect.  

The piece that got me focused on this aspect of jewelry was a well-known and respected Mexican "artist" which was actually parts of two names of two people, a man and woman, who collaborated.  When I looked on the big resale platforms, I was shocked how many resellers thought it was one person's first and last name.  They only were looking at the brand, pricing it based on the value, which is of course more when it's a highly respected "brand".   Here's the piece on the "mandrel": 

Mixed metal.  Turquise.  Taxco.  925. Sterling. Signed = Cecilia. Toño. Numbered = 56. Modernist.  Vintage. 

Since I have the professional jeweler mentoring me, and seeing glimpses of a few jeweler's time creating pieces, including researching online recently, I felt the history of the piece I was holding in my hand had a creator, or collaboration of creators, that deserved proper recognition, if I was able to find reliable information.

So that's my overview about maker's marks / signatures, and why I wanted to provide information at Lumigrate for those who come here for jewelry -- or simply to look and learn.   I hope you've enjoyed reading this section as much as I have creating it! 

The Materials Providing the "Adornment" Features Seen 

Information