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A number in a shaped surround giving the metal's purity in parts per thousand.
Also known as: Purity mark, 925 mark, Numbers on jewellery
A three-digit number — 925, 750, 916 — inside an outline whose shape identifies the metal. The number is parts per thousand of pure metal, so 925 silver is 92.5% pure, which is what 'sterling' means.
A number giving the metal's purity in parts per thousand — millesimal fineness — struck inside a surround whose shape indicates which precious metal it is.
Contexts: Jewellery
925 is sterling silver, 92.5 per cent pure. 750 is 18 carat gold, 375 is 9 carat, 916 is 22 carat. 950 and 999 mark platinum grades, and 999 also marks fine silver.
The shape of the surround identifies the metal independently of the number: an oval for silver, a rectangle with cut corners for gold, and distinct shapes again for platinum and palladium.
A number stamped without an assay office mark beside it is not a hallmark. Many imported and unhallmarked articles carry a bare '925' as a manufacturer's claim, which has no independent testing behind it.
The single most useful thing a reader can learn here: a lone 925 is a claim, a 925 in a hallmark row is a tested fact.
United Kingdom
A three-digit number struck inside a small outlined shape — an oval for silver, a cut-cornered rectangle for gold.
The fineness mark is one of the three compulsory marks in the row.
A fineness number is only a hallmark when an assay office mark stands beside it.