Hallmarks · By country
Portuguese hallmarks
Portugal marks by assay office with animal and head figures, and uses gold standards that are unusually high by European standards.
- Marking since
- 1887
- Gives a year
- No
How the system works
Assay office marks from Lisbon and Porto in the form of animal or head punches, struck with a fineness figure and a maker's mark. The system was reorganised in 1887 and again in the twentieth century.
The standards
| Figure or mark | Fineness and use |
|---|---|
| 833 | A common Portuguese gold standard, 20 carat. |
| 800 | Portuguese gold and silver. |
| 925 | Sterling silver. |
Dating a portuguese piece
By mark form against a Portuguese reference. There is no date letter.
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
- Portuguese gold is frequently 800 or 833 fineness, which is between the standards most other countries use and is easily misread.
- Portuguese filigree work is made continuously in the same traditional patterns, so style gives almost no dating information at all.
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