HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER
MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION

WITH THE ADDITION OF SCOTTISH, IRISH, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES SILVERMITHS
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BRITISH SILVERSMITHS - ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF MARKS: OA - OZ
ALPHABETICAL LISTING
OF SILVERSMITHS' NAMES		 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
(click on the photo to enlarge image)
OM mark, Oomersi Mawji, Bhuy, Calcutta c. 1890 (image courtesy Michael Thomas) OM mark, Oomersi Mawji, Bhuy, Calcutta c. 1890 (image courtesy Michael Thomas) OM mark, Oomersi Mawji, Bhuy, Calcutta c. 1890 (image courtesy Michael Thomas)
O.M
Oomersi Mawji,
Oomersi Mawji was a very famous Indian silversmith who worked in BHUJ, which is in Kutch, Gujarat (India). He was born in Gujarat and was of Indian descent. His mark is included in this directory as he was active during British domination of India and his works may be classified as "English Colonial Silver". His work is not hallmarked (in the English way) but has a high percentage of silver. His own work is marked OM and he started to be well known around 1860. He used a special process and a brief description is given in V&A Museum website. He was known worldwide and will have sold through outlets in Calcutta and Bombay. His work became very expensive and the designs had to be simplified and his sons continued this. Certainly his family’s work was sold through Liberty of London and there is a page in a catalogue giving examples.
Bhuj, Gujarat (India, north of Mumbai) c. 1890
OR mark, Omar Ramsden, London 1922
OR
Omar Ramsden,
London 1922 hallmark
(born Sheffield, 21 Aug 1873; died London, 9 Aug 1939). The son of a silver and electroplate manufacturer, he was apprenticed to a company of silversmiths and attended evening classes at Sheffield School of Art and later at the Royal College of Art in London. In 1898 Ramsden set up a partnership with Alwyn Carr in London to produce fine ‘art’ silver. They exploited the fashionable taste for handmade silver of the Arts and Crafts Movement and, with the help of skilled artisans, made articles adapted from Gothic and Renaissance designs with Celtic-style inscriptions, which became their trademark.
Ot&Bd mark, Ollivant & Botsford, Birmingham 1935
Ot&Bd
Ollivant & Botsford,
Birmingham 1935 hallmark
HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER - MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION
ALPHABETICAL LISTING
OF SILVERSMITHS' NAMES		 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
CAPE SILVERSMITHS A - C D - I J - M N - T U - Z
CHANNEL ISLANDS SILVERSMITHS A - F G - H I - P Q - Z unidentified
CANADA SILVERSMITHS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
BRITISH TOWN MARKS AND DATE LETTERS
London town marks Birmingham town marks Dublin town marks Edinburgh town marks Sheffield town marks Exeter town marks
London Birmingham Dublin Edinburgh Sheffield Chester
The hallmarking of British silver is based on a combination of marks that makes possible the identification of the origin and the age of each piece.
The marks are:

Town mark, corresponding to the mark of the assay office that has verified the piece
London town mark Sheffield town mark Birmingham town mark Newcastle town mark Dublin town mark Edimburgh town mark Glasgow town mark

Lion's passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased certifiying the silver's quality
lion passant: 1598-1820 lion passant: after 1820 Britannia and lion's head erased: from 1697 to 1718
Maker's mark, identifying the silversmith presenting the piece to the assay office

Date letter, in cycles of twenty letters of the alphabet of different shape identifies the year in which the piece was verified by the assay office
London date letter 'a'
A further mark was used in the period 1784 - 1890:
Sovereign head ('duty mark'), certifying the payment of duty
Sovereign head: duty mark from 1784 to 1890
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