I’m trying to identify this hallmark there a three heads of this and says fine silver
1 Like
" Marks such as “Fine silver” without a fineness mark usually indicate a Swiss origin from before the federal law regarding the hallmarking of watch cases came into force in 1882.
Swiss watch cases are sometimes seen with fineness marks such as 56, 58 or 72 on gold cases, or 13, 14 or 84 on silver cases. The marks on gold cases, and the 84 on silver cases, are Russian “zolotnik number” fineness marks. The 13 and 14 refer to fineness based on 16 ounces to the pound, where pure silver would be 16. A fineness of 13 ounces of fine silver to the pound would be a fineness of 0.813, or approximately 0.800, 14 ounces of fine silver to the pound would be a fineness of 0.875."
Marks in watch cases - hallmarks, sponsor’s marks, etc.
Chaz, could you take a sharp picture of the dial and the inside of the mechanism?
I’ve asked two specialists for help, which may be my last resort. I’m waiting for their response.
"Hi Bartholomew,
The mark “Fine Silver” was used in Switzerland before 1882. It corresponds to a fineness of 0.900, sometimes called coin silver. See Swiss Hallmarks.
The three animal heads are there purely to look good to impress a potential customer. They have no legal meaning and are usually called pseudo-hallmarks. See Fake and pseudo hallmarks in watch cases.
Kind regards, David
Eur Ing David Boettcher CEng MIET FBHI MBWCG
https://www.VintageWatchstraps.com"
1 Like
The Precious Metals Control Act,1880. required all Swiss watch cases to be assayed in Government-run and licenced offices. Hallmarks were applied in addition to the fineness stamped by the manufacturer. So for instance the duck is used on 925 sterling silver, the wood grouse on 800 silver. and the chamois on 950 platinum.
I must confess to having zero certainty about which if any of these images appears on your watch case.If I had to choose I might opt for duck and .925 silver, but it would have to be one of those fancy crested ducks, in Switzerland probably a Red Crested Pochard. This doesn’t explain the ring around its neck.
CRWW
1 Like