What Does 926 Mean On Jewelry? [Explained]

If you have ever looked at your gold jewelry keenly, you must have noticed it has a code or a hallmark somewhere on the inside.

Hallmarks and codes are common, and they could be talking about the purity of the precious metal or the jewelry’s origin and manufacturer – in our case, we have the ‘926’ hallmark on a gold jewelry.

What does 926 mean on jewelry? Is it common to have it on your gold jewelry? To know the answers to these questions, all you have to do is continue reading. 

What Does 926 Mean On Jewelry?

If you have the 926 hallmark on your gold jewelry, then the first thing to learn about it is that the 926 mark is not a standard hallmark for gold in the majority of the markets.

The standard gold hallmarks are 24k, 18k, 14k, and 10, with their millesimal equivalent being 999, 750, 585, and 417.

Now, there are certain reports on the internet stating that the 926 mark could be equivalent to 22 karat gold jewelry, but 22 karat has the number 916, not 926.  

Possible Reasons Why Your Gold Jewelry Has A 926 Mark

Error

The 926 mark on your gold jewelry could be a typographical error or misstamping. It could be a mistake for the common number 925, which is sterling silver, or 916, which is for 22 karat gold.

Local Or Custom Stamp

Some small jewellers or local markets can have non-standard markings, and if yours is from the same, then that can explain everything. 

The ‘926’ mark can define a special meaning instead of the purity of the gold of that specific jeweller or the shop, and it can very well be a custom-made piece too.

Note: This is uncommon for mass-produced goods or leading international brands, and is not present in the global market. 

Hallmark For Gold-Plated Or Gold-Filled Jewelry

If your gold jewelry is actually good-plated or gold-filled, the ‘926’ hallmark on the piece could be your manufacturer’s code or a batch number. 

Now, this also means that your jewelry is not made of solid gold, the real gold – and is gold-plated, which means it just has a gold name, or gold-filled, which means there is real gold inside only. 

Stamp For An Alloy

The number ‘926’ can also be associated with a specific alloy used in your jewelry piece, except for real gold. It could be a code for an invaluable metal, or could be misstamped as 925 for Sterling Silver. 

926 Stamp On A Silver Jewelry

The ‘926’ mark on a silver jewelry is, again, not a standard mark for silver, because Sterling Silver, which is pure silver, should have the mark of ‘925’, which means 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% alloys. 

Some reports state that: if on the silver jewelry, the 926 mark could be an error or actual silver, but with a bit of a higher purity level of silver, since it is 926 and not 925 (sterling silver).

Final Words 

At the end of the day, the ‘926’ mark is unofficial whether you have it on gold jewelry or silver jewelry.

It could simply be an error or a customised hallmark by the manufacturer or the brand, although global markets and leading jewelry brands don’t use it.

With that, we have reached the end of this article, and we hope you now have the correct answer to your question – What does 926 mean on jewelry? 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is 926 silver of good quality?

• Yes, if your silver jewelry with a ‘926’ hallmark is made of real silver, then it should be of good quality, even better than the standard 925 Sterling silver. 

2. What does 926 mean on gold jewelry?

• The number ‘926’ on a gold jewelry could possibly be an error or a custom code of a certain brand or manufacturer because it is not a standard gold term. 

3. What does the stamp 926 mean on jewelry?

• The stamp ‘926’ on a gold or silver jewelry could be a typographical error or a specific code for the manufacturer because it is not a standard term for either of the precious metals.