Jewellery
Georg Jensen Jewellery: How to Read the Marks, Date a Piece and Buy Pre-Owned
By Thomas Lovas Lokoy — researched and drafted with AI, then reviewed, fact-checked and approved by Thomas Lovas Lokoy (editorial policy) | Last updated: October 2026
The short answer
A Georg Jensen piece is dated by reading its marks as a set: the maker's mark (the firm used a series of different ones between 1904 and 1945), the silver standard (826S, then 830S, then sterling 925S from 1927), any Copenhagen three-towers mark with its year, and the designer's initials and design number. Each narrows the range; together they usually give a period of a few years. Before buying pre-owned, check that the marks agree with each other and with the design, because some older-style marks were used on small pieces long after their nominal period, and because some pieces on the resale market have been altered or assembled from parts.
| What you see | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| 826S | The Danish standard under the 1893 act; typical of the earliest pieces |
| 830S or .830 | Used before Georg Jensen switched to sterling in 1927 |
| 925S, Sterling | Sterling silver; the house standard from 1927 |
| GI inside a circle of beads | A maker's mark of about 1915 to 1930, very similar to the current one |
| Crowned Georg Jensen mark | About 1925 to 1932, also used later on some small pieces |
| Three towers with a year | The Copenhagen mark, used on Danish silver until the early 1960s |
| Two towers | Silver plate, not solid silver |
| Designer initials | Who designed it; narrows the date to that designer's years with the firm |
Who Georg Jensen was, in brief
Georg Arthur Jensen was born in Rådvad, north of Copenhagen, in 1866 and died in Copenhagen in 1935. He began training in goldsmithing at 14, studied sculpture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1887 to 1892, and worked in ceramics before returning to metal. He made his first piece of jewellery in 1899, a silver and gilt belt buckle, worked with the silversmith Mogens Ballin from 1901, and in 1904 opened his own silversmithy at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen.
His early jewellery was rooted in Art Nouveau: rounded organic forms set with amber, garnet, citrine, malachite, moonstone and opal. The business grew fast, with shops in Berlin (1909), London (1921) and New York (1924), and won the Grand Prix at the 1915 world's fair. The company passed through several owners after Jensen's death and was acquired by Fiskars in 2023. Our history of gold in Scandinavian culture places the firm in the longer Nordic tradition it grew out of.
Step 1: read the silver standard
The fineness figure is the quickest dating clue, because it changed in a known order. Under the Danish hallmarking act of 1893 the silver standard was set at 826 parts per thousand, and early Georg Jensen pieces are marked 826S. Danish silversmiths moved to 830 in the 1910s, and Georg Jensen moved to the sterling standard of 925 in 1927, although it made some 925S pieces to order for the American market before that.
So a piece marked 830S with a Georg Jensen mark was very probably made before 1927, and a piece marked 925S or Sterling was very probably made after it. This matters most when the maker's mark itself is ambiguous, which, as the next step shows, it often is.
Step 2: read the maker's mark
Wikipedia's list of the firm's marks runs to ten, from one used in 1904 to 1908 to the mark used from 1945 to the present, with one used only from 1945 to 1951 on items sold in the Copenhagen shop. A New York dealer that specialises in the maker, working from old catalogues and internal documents, describes the main ones: the GI initials inside a circle of beads, used from about 1915 to 1930; a crowned Georg Jensen mark from about 1925 to 1932; and the current mark from 1945, which it notes is strikingly similar to the 1915 to 1930 version.
Two cautions apply. First, that similarity means the silver standard does the real work: the same dealer separates the two by the 830S mark, which places a piece before 1927. Second, the firm kept using older-style marks on small pieces where space was short, so an early-looking mark on a small brooch or pin is not proof of an early date. The dealer shows an early GJ mark, of the kind first used in 1904 to 1908, on pieces it dates later because they are also marked sterling.
Step 3: look for the country and year marks
Danish official marking was voluntary for much of the twentieth century, and large firms such as Georg Jensen, Hans Hansen and Carl Cohr rarely used the official assay marks at all; their names were the guarantee their customers wanted. When a Georg Jensen piece does carry the Copenhagen three-towers mark, the mark includes the year, which is the most precise date you will find. The three-towers mark fell out of use in the early 1960s, after which pieces were marked 830S or 925S, often with 'Denmark'.
Other marks turn up too. 'Copenhagen' appears on some early pieces, 'Importe de Danemark' on pieces sold through the firm's Paris shop, and some later pieces carry Swedish-style year letters: the dealer cites a Nanna Ditzel piece marked U10, which dates it to 1994. A mark showing two towers means silver plate. For the full Danish system and its neighbours, see our guide to Scandinavian hallmarks.
Step 4: identify the designer
Georg Jensen and other large Danish makers added a mark identifying the designer, often alongside a design number. The designers whose initials collectors look for include Johan Rohde (1856 to 1935), Harald Nielsen (1892 to 1977), Arno Malinowski (1899 to 1976), Sigvard Bernadotte (1907 to 2002), Henning Koppel (1918 to 1981), Bent Gabrielsen, Nanna Ditzel (1923 to 2005), Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe (1927 to 2004) and Allan Scharff.
Two of them shaped how the firm's jewellery is seen today. Henning Koppel joined in 1945 and worked with the company for the rest of his life; his work won gold medals at three Milan Triennials in a row, in 1951, 1954 and 1957. Torun, the Swedish silversmith, designed the Möbius necklace in 1959 and in 1962 a stainless-steel bangle watch for an exhibition in Paris that later became the first wristwatch Georg Jensen produced. Georg Jensen dates her collaboration with the firm from 1967. She preferred pebbles, rock crystal, moonstone and quartz to precious stones. Georg Jensen still sells pieces under the Torun name, including watches with a diamond bezel, so a Torun-name piece is not necessarily vintage: the marks and the design number tell you which it is.
Silver, gold and gold-plated: know which you are buying
Sterling silver is the firm's founding material, and most Georg Jensen jewellery, old and new, is silver. The house also makes 18 karat gold jewellery. Some current collections are offered in more than one finish: the Daisy collection, inspired by a gift to the newborn Princess Margrethe in 1940, is sold in sterling silver and in 18 karat gold-plated sterling silver.
Gold-plated silver is silver with a thin gold surface, and it is priced, valued and resold as silver. If a listing says 'gold', check the fineness mark: a solid 18 karat gold piece should carry 750, while gold-plated silver carries a silver fineness such as 925. Our explainer on gold-filled, vermeil and plated jewellery covers the differences.
Checks before buying pre-owned
A specialist dealer in the maker warns that not every item bearing a Georg Jensen mark is an original piece: some combine Georg Jensen parts with other silverwork, and some genuine pieces have been altered, for example by adding stones. The checks below catch most problems.
- Ask for clear photographs of every mark before you pay, including the clasp and the back.
- Check that the marks agree: maker's mark, fineness, designer initials and design number should fit the same period.
- Match the design number to an old catalogue or a specialist reference, and compare proportions and details with documented examples.
- Be wary of additions: stones on a model not made with them, or a clasp that does not match the period.
- Look at the construction: the solder joints, the clasp and the hinge are where hand-made quality, or its absence, shows.
- Buy where returns and authentication are stated in writing, and keep the listing, the photographs and the invoice together.
One place to compare listings is the Georg Jensen section of The Luxury Closet, which sells pre-owned fine jewellery. Whatever the seller, the checks above apply. For how signed pieces hold value compared with unsigned ones, see our guide to jewellery brands for pieces that hold value.
Related Collections
Where to Buy
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Jensen
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Jensen_A/S
- jensensilver.com/georg-jensen-hallmarks
- silvercollection.it/DICTIONARYEUHALLMARKDENMARK.html
- georgjensen.com/en-gb/jewellery/torun
- georgjensen.com/en-gb/jewellery/daisy
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivianna_Torun_Bülow-Hübe
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henning_Koppel
Co-founder & Editor, NorwegianSpark SA
Thomas Lovas Lokoy is the co-founder of NorwegianSpark SA, the Norwegian company (org. 834 984 172) that runs NordicGilt. He reviews, fact-checks and approves every article before it is published. Articles are researched and drafted with AI assistance; Thomas is responsible for what goes live. Corrections: thomaslien@norwegianspark.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell how old a Georg Jensen piece is?
Read the marks together rather than one at a time. The company used a series of different marks between 1904 and 1945, and the silver standard changed over the same years: 826S under the Danish act of 1893, 830 from the 1910s, and sterling (925S) as the house standard from 1927. A Copenhagen three-towers mark, where present, carries a year. Designer initials narrow the range further, because each designer worked for the firm in known years. A mark on its own can mislead, because some older-style marks stayed in use on small pieces for decades.
What does 925S mean on Georg Jensen silver?
It means sterling silver: at least 925 parts per thousand. Georg Jensen moved to the sterling standard in 1927, although some earlier pieces made to order for the American market were already 925S. Earlier pieces are usually 826S or 830S, which is how a dealer separates a pre-1927 piece from a later one carrying a similar-looking maker's mark.
Why does my Georg Jensen piece have no Danish hallmark?
Because Danish official marking was largely voluntary in the twentieth century, and large firms such as Georg Jensen, Hans Hansen and Carl Cohr rarely used the official assay marks on their silver and jewellery. Most Georg Jensen pieces carry the maker's mark, a fineness figure such as 925S, often 'Sterling' and 'Denmark', and sometimes a design number and designer initials. The absence of a state mark is normal, not a warning sign by itself.
Is Georg Jensen jewellery solid silver or gold?
Both exist. Sterling silver is the house's founding material and most of its jewellery is silver; it also makes 18 karat gold jewellery. Some current lines, the Daisy collection among them, are offered in sterling silver and in 18 karat gold-plated sterling silver, which is plated silver rather than solid gold. Check the fineness mark and the listing description before you pay a gold price.
Who were the most important Georg Jensen designers?
Beyond Georg Jensen himself, the designers whose marks collectors look for include Johan Rohde, Harald Nielsen, Arno Malinowski, Sigvard Bernadotte, Henning Koppel, Nanna Ditzel and Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe. Koppel joined in 1945 and worked with the firm for the rest of his life; Torun's collaboration began in 1967, according to Georg Jensen.
Can a genuine Georg Jensen mark appear on a piece that is not original?
Yes. A dealer specialising in the maker warns that some pieces on the resale market combine Georg Jensen parts with other silverwork, and some genuine pieces have been altered, for example by adding stones. Compare the piece against an old catalogue or a specialist reference for the design number, and be wary of stones on a model that was not made with them.
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