Edinburgh, 1999: maker "TP"

[orthogonal]

Today I found a pair of very nice modern cufflinks at a local fleamarket in Austria. They have the tiniest hallmarks I have seen so far (less than 1 mm in height). So they were really not easy to read, but I think I deciphered them: TP, 925, rampant lion + castle (Edinburgh), Z (1999)

Who is "TP"?

Thanks a lot! Thomas

[dognose]

Hi Thomas,

I don't think your cufflinks are going to turn out very Scottish I'm afraid.

The only 'TP' registered at that time would have been a Thai jewellery importer named Thien Po (UK) Limited. They registered in 1996 but let the registration lapse when it came up for renewal in 2006. Unfortunately the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh do not appear to have a clear image of their mark, but I can see no other alternative.

Can you an image of the whole items?

Trev.

[orthogonal]

Dear Trev,

thank you for your quick response! As a newbie I am not delighted to hear I might have made a mistake. The word "Pink" is written all over the backside of the cufflinks. Google supposes that to be "Thomas PINK", a British clothing business.

Could that "TP" stand for "Thomas Pink"?
Does the combination of those hallmark match for imported silver?

Unfortunately I don't have a proper camera here. So I made a few more pictores with the microscope, maybe they help as well. The cufflinks are quite heavy (11 g each) and really well made.

[dognose]

Hi Thomas,

I found a nice clear image of the 'TP' mark on a well-known auction website and I think it likely you are correct that it may be Thomas Pink. It's strange though that the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh do not appear to have a record of the mark nor the sponsor.

Trev.

[orthogonal]

:) Thank you, I'm happy!