'Sterling' Hallmark

Hello, I recently was given two saint pendants for my confirmation and was told they were silver. I’ve tried polishing them as there is a bit of tarnish, despite being new, and it doesn’t quite shine like a sterling silver cross I own which I know to be silver. The chain for this cross, and incidentally the chain I am using for these pendants, also looks a lot shinier than these pendants, so I was wondering if the hallmark of “Sterling” denoted whether it actually was Sterling Silver? There is also more of a traditional hallmark above this - unfortunately the camera will not pick up on it and is too out of focus, so I cannot post a picture.

It almost looks as though there are two ‘C’ s entwined within a circle. I’m not sure whether they were British or American made.

Thanks for any help on this :smiley:

Hi there Alex and thanks for joining us. The word “sterling” means that it is solid silver of 92.5% silver and that it was probably made in the USA. British “sterling silver” is the same purity but has a set of legal hallmarks and almost never uses the word “sterling”. The mark above the word “sterling” would the the maker’s mark and we would need to see a close up photo of it to tell you who made it.

Keep polishing with a mild silver polish and it will shine up.

Regards,

Uncle Vic

Hi Uncle Vic, thanks for your help. The pendants came in a velvet case and the company is called ‘Jeweled Cross’. The spelling of ‘jeweled’ immediately suggests that it originated from the USA, and a quick google reveals a .com address rather than a .co.uk for their website.

I’ll do my best to take a picture where it picks up the hallmark. :smiley:

Alex