Postby AG2012 » Wed Nov 25, 2015 4:38 am
Marking all detachable parts was legislated (not only in Russia) to fight unscrupulous silversmiths. Namely, duty has been paid as a tax on silverware at the time of assay, the amount due related to the weight of the article. In this particular case, if marked only at the base, an unscrupulous silversmith could have returned to his workshop, removed the base and inserted it into a new, much heavier article. Compare with ``Duty dodgers`` in UK and hallmarking gold in France (e.g. several repeated marks on bracelets clasp depending on weight). I have noticed this practice of multiple marking of links on Austria - Hungary long gold chains (e.g. tax paid for 30 cm weight and 30 cm added to sell much heavier chain).
In short,one of the most difficult fakes to disclose because of genuine hallmarks on faked objects.