14K+W hallmark

[skeeter629]

I picked up a batch of scrap rings yesterday. One of them has a hallmark I am not familiar with. It is marked 14K+W. Is anyone familiar with this mark? If so, please let me know what the mark means. I am getting ready to acid test the ring. Thank you.

 

[qst42know]

That's a new one on me.

There is a plus sign in the mark for certain?

 

[jimdoc]

Is it one solid color or two tone? Maybe it is part Tungsten.

Jim

 

[Anonymous]

I have not heard of it either.Are you able to upload a close-up pic for us to look at?

 

[skeeter629]

Here is a close-up picture of the hallmark. I tested the diamonds and all five are real. I tested the gold with an acid test and it tested the same as a known 14 karat ring. I have searched and searched, but still have not found exactly what it means.

 

[Anonymous]

Well that is a new one to me.Later on I'll see if I can't come up with something,that is unless someone else is already familiar with it.

 

[martyn111]

Well that is a new one to me.Later on I'll see if I can't come up with something,that is unless someone else is already familiar with it.

Good luck with that mic, I spent 2 to 3 hours researching it last night on the net, couldn't find anything like it, but I'm intrigued, I hope someone out there finds the answer

 

[jack_burton]

Typically any mark after the 14K stamp is a jeweler mark. But in this case I believe it is a mark denoting where the ring was made. The Austrian symbol is a "W" inside a crown that also looks like a rounded "W." Of course it doesn't quite fit, because it looks like the "crown" is next to the "W", perhaps the jeweler was drunk on some nice Austrian beer when he stamped it. :shock:

 

[qst42know]

I wonder if it's a play on the letters. I get several hits on K&W jewelers.

How did the test come out?

If it tests right maybe you don't care who made it. :mrgreen:

 

[Richarde13]

I found a nugget style gold charm that is marked 14k W, it came with gold/weight certificate from Montgomery Ward

 

[goldshark]

Maybe it is 14K + W ( for Wendy, or some name that starts with a W). Kind of like a vanity plate. Never heard of that before.

 

[macfixer01]

Looking back at the hallmark on the ring that started this thread, that really doesn’t look like a + sign to me? I suppose it could be a stylized star, but really to me it looks almost like a pawn shop symbol? Or maybe a stylized balance scale? In any case I would say it’s just part of the maker’s mark and likely to be more legitimate than something simply stamped (by just anybody?) with just the 14K.

 

[stella polaris]

Check the density. If tungsten it should be heavier than 14 k.

 

[coincard]

I have been buying gold and silver jewelry for 30+ years and I think that is a maker mark or designation mark depending on what country it has come from. I have seen gold plus sterling and sterling plus gold filled but never expressed with a + mark. I think you will find that it is just 14K

 

[Golddigger76]

Most likely the style referenced
Style W
I have had several different rings with a oddball letter in them and a jeweler friend told me on one that I took for him to give me a value estimate to see if it would be more valuable as a ring opposed to refining valuable, he told me the letter mark was a style. He bought that ring from me, and he has been a jeweler for 45 years.
I would test it further, in the picture I can't see for sure if it is a W

 

[goldshark]

I picked up a batch of scrap rings yesterday. One of them has a hallmark I am not familiar with. It is marked 14K+W. Is anyone familiar with this mark? If so, please let me know what the mark means. I am getting ready to acid test the ring. Thank you.

The only thing I have found in the US which has a W for a mint mark, is the West Point Mint in New York. They are a government mint that started as a Silver Fort Knox in the 1930's. They do produce collector coins, but couldn't find any jewelry production from them.

 

[darlene]

I also have a ring with similar markings. 10K +W+ ??

 

[Shark]

Is it stainless steel and tungsten that produce a gold tone? Much like the “gold” colored flatware that was popular for a while. Tungsten = W maybe?

 

[snoman701]

Just the makers mark. You can't legally stamp the 14k without also stamping your registered makers mark so that they know who to hang by their toenails if it doesn't assay 14k.

 

[darlene]

Makers Mark, yes, after soooo much research I was able to determine that my +W+ is the makers mark for Trayling Waters.