Yes, it happens, under-stamping high carat gold! I was told a story once from a Russian lady of 83 years old, that came to Australia 15 years ago. I would like to share it with the Antique Jewelry Investor community, if I may...
She told me that she had some antique gold jewelry from the 1900s and older that her parents had passed down to her from mother to daughter and had been doing this for a few generations.
She was afraid of "loosing" them and so asked a jerweller to put low stamp of gold instead of high (22ct to 9 ct) or take out clasp where there was a stamp, and he complied with her wishes. Have the gold tested by a specialist. This is my opinion.
with regards Charlie
Rating
Testing Metal by: Yvonne
Thank you for your contribution and you are doing very well with your detective work so far! How can we determine if the piece is solid gold when the markings seem to contradict the facts?
First using a Jewelers Loupe examine closely the ring and pay very close attention to the scratches and the areas receiving the most wear. (if you don't have a jeweler's loupe use a magnifying glass)
A change of color at the wear points will be evidence of vermeil (pronounced Vair-May) - silver gilt. Tiffany's jewelry revived and improved the process of coating sterling silver with gold in 1956.
If you still cannot see any visible layers, it should be gold tested. You can test gold yourself with gold testing equipment to determine the gold composition and these gold testers can now detect gold plating too. They can be pricey though and as this is a one-off investigation, I would advise you to take the ring to your local jeweler for testing. Metal testing shouldn't be much more than $25.
