The number 925 stamped into a ring means that the ring is made of sterling silver. The hallmark indicates the fineness of the metal: 925 corresponds to 92.5% pure silver, while the remaining 7.5% is other metals, most often copper. So if you see 925 on the inside of a ring, you are holding a piece of jewellery made of genuine silver of the quality known internationally as sterling.

Pure silver is too soft for jewellery meant for daily wear. It bends and scratches too easily. By mixing in a smaller proportion of harder metals, the silver gains the strength it needs without compromising the colour or the characteristic lustre. That is why 92.5% is precisely the balance that has become the standard for silver jewellery.

Where is the hallmark located, and what else might be stamped?

The fineness hallmark is almost always located on the inside of the ring band, where it is not visible when the ring is worn. It is embossed as small numbers, and on a silver ring you will typically find exactly 925. Some rings also bear a separate maker's mark or a country stamp alongside the fineness number, but the three-digit number itself is what tells you which metal the ring is made of.

On very small or thin rings, the hallmark can be difficult to read with the naked eye. Here a magnifying glass helps, and the numbers will still follow the same system: three digits expressing the purity of the metal in parts per thousand.

Why are parts per thousand used instead of percentages?

925 is not a random number. The fineness of precious metals is given in parts per thousand, so 925 means 925 parts silver out of 1,000. This is the same way gold is indicated when it is stamped with a three-digit number. The system makes it possible to compare purity across metals and countries with a single number.

The great advantage of parts per thousand is precision. Instead of having to write 92.5%, the hallmark holds the information in three digits that are easy to emboss even on a small surface. That is why you more often see 925 than a percentage figure on a piece of jewellery.

925 compared to gold hallmarks

Silver and gold are hallmarked according to the same logic, but with different numbers. Where 925 belongs to silver, gold hallmarks indicate the gold content of the piece in question. 585 means 58.5% pure gold, which corresponds to 14 carat, and 750 means 75% pure gold, that is 18 carat. Lower numbers such as 333 cover 8 carat gold with a smaller gold content.

Note the difference between karat and carat here. Karat with a k describes the purity of gold, while carat with a c is a unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones. A gold hallmark is therefore about the metal, not the size of the stone.

Longvé's rings with gold are made in 14K gold and 14K white gold, and it is the same gold fineness that lies behind the hallmark 585. Silver is part of the range as sterling silver, among other things in the signet rings, where the broad, flat ring band perfectly suits the calm surface of the silver. A broad ring such as an oval signet ring is a classic example of a piece of jewellery where you will find 925 on the inside.

Sterling silver in Longvé's range

Sterling silver is used at Longvé primarily for signet rings and for a few necklaces and bracelets. The signet rings are available both without a stone and with a set black agate, which provides a dark contrast to the bright silver. If you want to see the various designs gathered together, you will find them under signet rings, and the entire selection in the metal can be found under silver.

Precisely because silver is a softer metal than gold, the 92.5% blend helps make a silver ring resilient enough for daily wear. Diamonds, which are often set in gold, lie at the other end of the hardness scale: a diamond is 10 on the Mohs scale and the hardest naturally occurring material, whether it is lab-grown or a natural diamond. Sterling silver and gold thus meet the need for a sustainable, durable metal for the ring itself, while the stone provides the hardness.

Is a ring with 925 genuine silver?

Yes. A 925 hallmark is a guarantee that the ring is made of sterling silver and not of silver-plated metal or another alloy that merely resembles silver. Silver-plated jewellery has only a thin layer of silver on top of another metal and does not bear the fineness hallmark, because the core is not silver.

If you want to be sure of what a ring is made of, the hallmark is therefore the first place to look. The number 925 tells you that you are holding genuine sterling silver, while a gold hallmark such as 585 or 750 tells you the equivalent about gold.