Do gold charms and bracelets have to have a hallmark?
Many of the old charms will not carry a hallmark or makers mark but that should never discourage you from collecting. The same is true of vintage sterling charms, a mistake all beginning collectors (myself included) usually make. How the quality of gold is rated depends on the age and country of origin, as well as (surprisingly) the size. Until recently (1950’s) small objects – under 10 grams in the USA (such as charms) didn’t need to be hallmarked, and that is still the case in many other countries. I have found that the best answer for me is to test them – I use an electronic tester that will detect gold plate – but a cheap and easy version is an acid test kit, available at jewelry sites and on eBay. In America gold tends to be 10K (if you see 12K it is probably GF- gold filled which means only 1/20th of the weight of the charm is 12K gold) 14K 18K if it tests 20 or higher it is probably plated. In other countries they use the numeral system, if any 9K is 375 (375 out of 1000 parts a
