These tri-toned pierced earrings are quite large and look to be from the late eighties or early nineties. The etched signature on the back of each earring reads "Maresa." There is no 925 stamp on these earrings to denote that they are Sterling (Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, hence the 925 mark), but that is fairly common on jewelry made by smaller artists. Precious metals must be stamped with a quality mark in many foreign countries, but The National Gold and Silver Marketing Act in the USA does not require quality marks. If a quality mark is used, it must be accompanied by a trademarked manufacturer's hallmark. Since registering a trademark costs over $1000, many independent artists and Native American silversmiths rarely mark their work. I will be testing these earrings prior to selling them as Sterling Silver of course!
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing this piece. Questions, comments, and additional information are always appreciated. My online shop on http://www.etsy.com/ is coming soon.
Thank you to the following website(s) for the historical content of this blog post:
Many Horses. Retrieved 1/17/2011 from http://www.manyhorses.com/sterling_silver_quality.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment