Hallmarks · By country
Norwegian hallmarks
Norway does not date-mark, so Norwegian silver is dated by maker and by style. The makers are well documented, which makes this easier than it sounds.
- Marking since
- nineteenth century
- Gives a year
- No
How the system works
A fineness figure followed by S, together with a maker's mark. There is no national assay office mark equivalent to the Swedish crowns or Danish towers.
The standards
| Figure or mark | Fineness and use |
|---|---|
| 830S | The common Norwegian silver standard. |
| 925S | Sterling, used for export and modern work. |
Dating a norwegian piece
By maker and model rather than by mark. The major houses, David-Andersen, J. Tostrup, Marius Hammer and Th. Marthinsen among them, are documented well enough that a maker's mark plus a known pattern will usually give a decade.
Where the marks will not give you a year, date the piece from its construction instead: the catch, the metal, the setting and the cut of the stones. That method is set out in how to date antique jewelry.
Where people go wrong
- 830S is Norwegian as often as it is Danish. The maker's mark decides which.
- Norwegian enamel work, particularly guilloche enamel spoons and butterfly brooches, is heavily reproduced and the reproductions copy the marks.
Other countries
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