Jewelers' marks, scratchings, etchings, etc....

[edselsouth1]

Hello all,

     Regarding the jewelers marks, scratchings, etchings, and etc.:  Is there a universal system used by jewelers to indicate what repairs, modifications, and etc. have been done to a particular timepiece? For example, a routine cleaning of a piece would have a jewelers mark of "J345", an adjustment as to fast or slow a mark of "B112", and so forth.  If a piece were taken to a jeweler for cleaning or repair, how would he know what had previously been done to the piece by another jeweler?

Thanks,

David.

[katgirl]

Usually, the Jeweler's mark consists of numerals depicting a date, and perhaps the jeweler's initials. It merely is indicative of the last time the case was opened, for ANY reason. It's not done anymore. In newer pieces, a jeweler will sometimes use a sharpie, on the inside of the case back, to denote when a battery was changed.

[edselsouth1]

katgirl,... I appreciate the response. Some of the markings in the watches I have are a combination of letters/numerals, others are numerals only. It's good to know why the markings are there. Thanks, David.