
During the Victorian Era in Great Britain, in addition to their hallmarking conventions, a diamond-shaped (or lozenge-shaped) Design Registration Mark (1842-1883), known as a “kitemark” was used on jewelry and other decorative arts. These marks were stamped to indicate the date a particular design was registered, similar to a patent mark. Since kitemarks simply register designs they cannot be relied on to provide an accurate date of manufacture.
Kitemarks from 1842-1867 consisted of the “Class” at the top within a circle, the “Year” at the top, the “Month” at the left point, “Day” at the right and “Bundle” number at the bottom. From 1868-1883 the “Day” was at the top, “Bundle” on the left, “Year” on the right and “Month” at the bottom.
These marks can be helpful in circa dating a piece but do little, if anything, to identify the maker. Kitemarks were replaced by Registration Serial Numbers in 1884.


Kitemark Year Codes
X 1842 | P 1851 | Z 1860 | H 1869 | D 1878 |
H 1843 | D 1852 | R 1861 | C 1870 | Y 1879 |
C 1844 | Y 1853 | O 1862 | A 1871 | J 1880 |
A 1845 | J 1854 | G 1863 | I 1872 | E 1881 |
I 1846 | E 1855 | N 1864 | F 1873 | L 1882 |
F 1847 | L 1856 | W 1865 | U 1874 | K 1883 |
U 1848 | K 1857 | Q 1866 | S 1875 | |
S 1849 | B 1858 | T 1867 | V 1876 | |
V 1850 | M 1859 | X 1868 | P 1877 |
Kitemark Month Codes
C January | G February | W March |
H April | E May | M June |
I July | R August | D September |
B October | K November | A December |