I was surprised by the marks on these silver earrings whose stones I believe are charoite. The .875 mark is accompanied by a star with an arm holding a sickle inside it. The other mark to the left appears to be "6A3C" or "G" at the end with the A actually more of an upside-down V. I usually have good like researching on .925-1000.com but the info I found was related to very old Russian marks not to USSR marks which would have the star/sickle stamp. On this other site there were multiple pages showing makers and towns, etc., for Russia but I'm making no headway. https://www.silvercollection.it/russiansilverhallmark.html I don't image the earrings are that old, just trying to verify they are Russian or USSR and get an idea of age. AND, those of you who wear pierced earrings, how difficult would it be to get the triangular "latches" on the backs of the earrings to slide over the end of the wire? The wires are so long that they don't need latches. Even with the earrings in front of my eyes I find securing them a task--the amount of wire that makes it out the bottom of the latch is very short! Thanks so much!
The USSR mark was a star with a sickle, no arm. Maybe you see the handle of the sickle as an arm? The star and sickle mark was used from 1958-1994. Your mark looks like the 1965-1994 mark, when a small change to the star was introduced. Assayed in Moscow. Not difficult at all. I have several pairs. I think it is an excellent and very secure design. You don't have to put the latches on, it is just a safety measure.
Super, AJ! Yes, I imagined the arm, thanks for the correction and the dating. Which part of the marks indicates Moscow? True, you don't need to use the latches and they will still be out of sight, even if hanging freely. Thanks so much!
The A, just left of the star. True. I have a pair of Russian gold and emerald earrings, and sometimes use the latch to hang loops of emerald beads from. My version of "day and night" earrings, for a fancy occasion.
The stone, btw, looks like charoite. Googled to make sure - it's mined in Siberia and shows up in chunks.
The 875 sample with a star on a silver product means that it is made of 875 silver and is of Soviet origin, since the star with a hammer and sickle inside is a hallmark of the Soviet period. Star with a hammer and sickle: This hallmark was used in the Soviet Union to mark silver products made between 1958 and 1994. I see @Any Jewelry sent this information already, but in addition to the Moscow factory, the Soviet Union had several large jewelry factories, including the Leningrad jewelry factory "Russian gems", the Kostroma jewelry factory, the Bronnitsky jewelry factory, the Riga jewelry factory, and the Sverdlovsk jewelry factory. These factories produced a wide range of jewelry, including jewelry made of gold, silver, and other metals. Other hallmarks: On silver products of the Soviet period, you can also find other hallmarks, such as numbers indicating the metal sample and the manufacturer's mark. I see: 6 A (is there A or Λ)? Looks like it is or manufacture's mark or a number of person who made it. There is: 3c - probably it is: 3rd (third) grade. There is often showing kind of grade of item on the items: 1st Grade (the highest) , 2nd or 3rd Grade. 1c, 2c or 3c.
@Curioser "AND, those of you who wear pierced earrings, how difficult would it be to get the triangular "latches" on the backs of the earrings to slide over the end of the wire? The wires are so long that they don't need latches." .... It is depend on what you are doing during wearing these earrings. But also each piece of jewelry should have a finished design. Such earrings without a clasp would already look like cheap costume jewelry. 30-50 years ago these kind of earrings were expensive, because they were hand made by a jeweler and not by a computer and machine in China.
@Curioser I forgot to add one: I think your earrings made with Amethyst. In USSR Amethyst was using with Sterling, but Charoite with Cupronickel. Because Amethyst was more expensive than Charoite. First group: jewelry (precious) stones 1st order — diamond, emerald, blue sapphire, ruby. 2nd order — alexandrite, sapphire (orange, purple and green), pearl, noble black opal, noble jadeite. 3rd order — demantoid, noble spinel, noble white and fire opal, aquamarine, topaz, rhodolite, adularia, red tourmaline. 4th order — tourmaline (blue, green, pink and polychrome), chrysolite, zircon, beryl (yellow, golden and pink), noble spodumene, turquoise, amethyst, pyrope, almandine, chrysoprase, citrine. Second group: ornamental and semi-precious stones 1st order — lapis lazuli, jadeite, nephrite, malachite, aventurine, charoite, amber-succinite, rock crystal, smoky quartz, hematite (bloodstone). 2nd order — agate, colored chalcedony, cacholong, amazonite, heliotrope, rhodonite, rose quartz, opaque and iridescent feldspars (belomorite and others), iridescent obsidian, common opal. Third group: ornamental stones Jasper, inscribed granite, petrified wood, marble onyx, listvenite, obsidian, jet, jaspilite, selenite, fluorite, aventurine quartzite, agalmatolite, patterned flint, colored marble. Jewelry (precious) stones include minerals (mainly crystals) that are transparent, less often translucent, colorless or have a beautiful, pure and uniform color, bright shine, high hardness, and wear resistance. Exceptions are opals, turquoise, and pearls, a mineral of organic origin and low hardness. Ornamental stones include rocks whose decorative properties are used in products with a large surface area (tens of square centimeters). Ornamental and decorative stones are minerals that are used as both ornamental and jewelry materials.
Interesting. It looked like amethyst, and amethyst comes swirled with white like that, but not usually quite like that. When it is, it's usually made into beads or cabs like these. It's wild that the Soviets even had their gemstones assigned to what metals they could be used in and to their values. It does mean that alexandrite and demantoid garnets were a bargain back then. They price out a more than diamonds now, here.
Than more expensive gemstone, than more expensive metal. Also we had in USSR: ГОСТ / «Межгосударственный стандарт» and everything should be made right! GOST stands for "Interstate Standard". It is a conformity system adopted by states that have signed the Agreement on Harmonization of Policies in the Field of Standardization, Metrology and Certification . Previously, at different periods, the abbreviation GOST meant "all-Union standard" (1940-1968) and "state standard of the USSR" (1968-1992). More details: Interstate standard: GOST establishes mandatory requirements for products, processes, services and other types of activities, regulated and controlled approaches. History: Initially, in the 1940s, GOST meant "state all-Union standard". Then, in 1968, the abbreviation began to be deciphered as "state standard of the USSR". Since 1992, after the adoption of the USSR, GOST began to mean "interstate standard". Application: The corresponding GOSTs are developed by various directions specializing in certain areas. The developed GOSTs are registered by the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology. Even cooking in Restaurants or Cafes!!!! Cooking according to GOST means following state quality standards established for a specific type of product, in this case, for a dish or food product. This means that the dish must meet certain requirements for composition, cooking technology, organoleptic indicators (taste, smell, appearance) and other parameters established by GOST. The meal should be exactly what it should be and how it calls, and not like just has a specific name, but it will be prepared in different way from wrong ingredients.
You are right about "day and night" earrings. It is exactly what I am doing with my diamond earrings during last 10 years. And it's not just because they are my favorite, but I'm just tired of changing earrings every day. Years are not the same, things are moving towards old age
Very interesting that you have a more extensive classification than we do in the West. It all makes sense though, and it could have something to do with Russia having so many different native stones. In the Netherlands we used to distinguish between precious, semi-precious and ornamental. For some reason we are not supposed to use the last two categories anymore, just call them 'stones' (except for the traditional Dutch favourite coral ). I think having a more extensive classification makes things more clear.
But we have a wish and a toast to health... to Siberian Health! We always wish each other Love, Luck, Happiness and Siberian Health in our greeting cards. Portrait "Siberian Beauty" by V. I. Surikov (1891)
