Help with P&RB Ring with Pearl

[anabanana]

Hello!

I really need help with this ring I am about to sell: it is a Birmingham 925 silver ring with an inset pearl. Problem is, I have no idea what price to put up since I have no idea whether the featured pearl is real or not..

Thank you,
Ana

 

[Caitlin]

What a pretty ring!.

Very hard to tell what the pearl is from just one photo- though it looks like a cultured pearl. I hope it is possible for you to take some more photos with the ring on a matte white surface- ie a paper towel. Try photos from different angles and maybe daylight and artificial light. It is hard to tell the shape of the pearl from that photo- is it a button pearl? Do you know what the script is? Maybe Japanese? Maybe photo that, too.. We have both Japanese speakers and Mandarin speakers here, so a good photo of that part would help a lot.

 

[GemGeek]

I agree. What a beautiful ring!

 

[pearlescence]

Caitlin, the 'script' is the Birmingham hallmark.

 

[Caitlin]

LOL. Looks Japanese.

So what does the actual stamp tell you, Wendy? What's Birmingham mean?

 

[pearlescence]

That the ring was checked for .925 standard at the Birmingham Assay office (the symbol is the anchor although Brum is inland). Other marks tellthat it is sterling silver, that it is silver, the year and who made it - http://assayofficebirmingham.com
Ultimate in consumer protection - since 1370
When any piece made of precious metal is offered for sale, if it is over a certain weight it must be assayed and either marked as up to proof, or it will be returned (or even destroyed)
My sponsor mark is registered with the London Assay Office at Goldsmith's Hall, near St Paul's Cathedral. It is WMG in an oval cartouche and that is where the saying making your mark comes from - a precious metal smith strikes their mark into their work so that all know who has made it.
I was at Goldsmith's Hall last year and posted a long account of how assay and hallmarking is done in the P blog.

 

[jshepherd]

It's so random that this conversation comes up the day after we received an email from the Birmingham Assay Office accusing us of using their mark fraudulently. They assumed these guys (http://www.pearls-paradise.co.uk/) were affiliated with us, which is not the case of course. It looks like they have been doing it for a very long time on Amazon too.

 

[pearlescence]

The guff on the home page of that site is total gibberish. An assay office would not look at pearls to assess them. and the assay office is totally independent and doesn't need anyone's permission. What is required by law is a copy of the Hallmarking Act notice which you can see on the P website
Odd if they have been trying to contact this company for ages since the address and phone number are right there on the website and their eBay listings.