Kitemarks

An Example of a Design Registration Mark or "Kite Mark".
An Example of a Design Registration Mark or "Kite Mark".

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 1842-1867
Kitemark 1842-1867
Kitemark 1868-1883
Kitemark 1868-1883

Kitemark Year Codes

Kitemark Month Codes

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