What Does 333 Mean on Jewelry?
333 means 8-karat gold — 33.3% pure gold.
- Metal
- Gold
- Purity
- 33.3% pure gold
- Fineness
- 333/1000
- Karat / type
- 8K
- Also written as
- 8K, 0.333
- Commonly on
- German/European jewelry, vintage pieces
333 stamped on jewelry means 8-karat gold, a low-purity standard mostly seen in German and older European pieces. It's 333 parts pure gold per 1,000 — just 33.3% gold — so it's more alloy than gold and isn't sold as gold in the US or UK.
What is a 333 piece worth?
At only one-third gold, 333 has the lowest melt value of common gold stamps — roughly $32 of gold per gram at a ~$3,000/oz price.
How to verify a 333 stamp
Because 8K is so low, it's worth confirming the stamp is real with the Hallmark Reader and testing the metal with the Is It Real? tool. Anyone can stamp a mark on metal, so a hallmark alone isn't proof — the fastest way to check is to photograph the stamp and run it through the free Hallmark Reader, then confirm the metal itself with the Is It Real? tool. For a full picture of what your piece is worth, get a free jewelry appraisal. To compare 333 with every other mark side by side, see the full jewelry stamps and markings chart.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure what your jewelry really is?
Scan the stamp with the free Hallmark Reader, or get an instant value estimate — no sign-up needed.