@joshuatheemerald
Yep, a manufacturer’s mark can be important. After all, which would you trust to be of higher quality and workmanship? A well known, well respected manufacturer like Tiffany or some unfamiliar company based in India (IGS) with their poorly written website? 🫤 The U.S. has required maker’s marks since 1961.
Per the well known Heritage Auctions (“America’s Auction House”) here’s some info that you may find helpful:
“A Maker's Mark is a unique stamp placed on jewelry and watches to ensure the authenticity of the manufacturer. These stamps are typically made up of the manufacturers initials, name, or another unique representative symbol. Identifying this mark is the first step in determining the value of a piece of jewelry. In addition to Maker's Marks, some countries require hallmarks, which are given by the country where manufacturing took place. Hallmarks can offer further information about the place of origin, date of manufacture, and metal content.”
And here’s additional info from the site:
“What do stamps on gold jewelry mean?”
Besides the maker's mark, there is also a gold purity mark showing the percentage of pure gold in the piece. For example, "14K" may also be represented as "585", meaning it is 58.5% (14/24) pure gold. In the US, jewelers have been required to stamp a purity mark on their pieces since 1906, and in 1961 the US required a maker's mark.”
So not only are maker’s marks a requirement in the US since 1961, the lack of a maker’s mark can be an indication that the gold isn’t real or a big red flag that it isn’t as pure as the purity mark indicates. (Of course the karat mark and maker’s mark could possibly have worn off from heavy use or possibly because the piece was created prior to 1961. A good jeweler can determine that for you.)
Heritage Auctions also has an extensive database of the most well-known maker’s marks if you’d like to check it out. Not surprisingly, IGS isn’t on it! 🫤 This, to me, explains part of the reason SLC sells much of their gold at lower than average prices; the manufacturer isn’t a high quality name.
Anyway, here’s the website: jewelry.ha.com
And to further emphasize the importance of manufacture’s marks, this is from the Goldmania (N.Y.) website (Goldmaniajewelry.com)
“Understanding Hallmarking:
Hallmarks play a crucial role in gold jewelry stamp identification, helping you recognize the manufacturer of a product. They're like a signature, indicating who crafted the item. Manufacturers stamp their products with hallmarks to confirm authenticity. It's a mark of pride and a way for consumers to trust that they're getting a genuine product from a specific maker. So, when you spot that gold jewelry stamp, you're not just holding a piece of jewelry but a piece of craftsmanship with a unique identity.”
Hope all this helps! Take care!
WHEW! That’s very reassuring — even though their website is full of spelling and grammatical errors. 
I just searched for gold marks and only went down that rabbit hole! 
