Buying a ring with no hallmarks

[milla]

Hi all!

I'm thinking of buying a ring from one of the 'recommended' shops (Lang Antiques). This is my first time buying antique jewellery and I don't live nearby so can't see the ring in person.

The ring comes has no hallmarks. Is this normal? How would they know the ring is indeed Victorian? Also I understand Lang only provides their in-house certificates. I know they have a good reputation, but still in my mind it's only their word about it.

I suppose I'm looking for reassurance as a new buyer that all of these scrub up as ok signs and are not something that would put off more experienced buyers.

 

[Bron357]

Lang Antiques is reputable albeit overpriced in my opinion but they do have beautiful items.
Hallmarks can and do wear off and sometimes when rings are resized they get “lost”. Any reputable jeweller will test the ring for its gold content so if they say it is “14kt gold” it will be 14kt gold.
Just make sure you read the full description and don’t make assumptions based on “look” ie white metal back in Georgian / Victorian times was usually silver and not Platinium or White Gold as you might assume by just looking.

 

[Diamondless]

The ring comes has no hallmarks. Is this normal?

It's quite normal to find antique/vintage rings without hallmarks. 100 years rubbing against someones fingers, or likely resizings will remove many hallmarks.

How would they know the ring is indeed Victorian?

You don't date something by the hallmarks (unless it's literally English/EU jewelry that had the date stamps). There are various methods to date jewelry, including the stones, workmanship, style etc.