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William West advertisement and , below Birmingham Assay office silver mark

Thank you both. I have never heard of alpaca silver before so I am learning through our conversations. My kids are increasingly calling me a silver backed gorilla so perhaps if the silver selling goes well I can open some sort of wildlife centre.

Yes, the linked example, which is properly hallmarked, shows the same WESTS PATENT mark, but doesn’t say REAL SILVER.

If I could go back in time, I’d outlaw all use of the word “silver” on anything that wasn’t at least .800. No phony, confusing names like “Nickel Silver,” “Nevada Silver,” or “Alpaca Silver.”

ETA: So the bracelet may not be a “fake” in t...

A square or rectangular maker’s mark on a French piece denotes electroplate - possibly the same for Belgium?

Just a word of caution. The use of the term “real silver” sounds a bit like the manufacturer trying to avoid the hurdle of having it assayed. A bit like the somewhat meaningless term “fine silver” which appears on some watch cases. If you have an opportunity to get it tested with an XRF scanner I would recommend that you do.