Black Hills Gold Trademarks - Hallmarks

Black Hills Gold Jewelry is made by quite a few companies. Each company has it's own trademark or hallmark which is placed on each piece of jewelry they create. It is usually located on the inside of ring shanks and on backsides of other pieces. Below is a list of trademarks / hallmarks to help in identifying your Black Hills Gold jewelry. Every company is or was located in the Black Hills of South Dakota as is required by Federal Mandate.

Each piece of Black Hills Gold is stamped with a hallmark of gold karatage or if it is gold on silver, with a sterling silver hallmark. Most Black Hills Gold pieces (gold on gold) are 10K gold. Landstrom's, Stamper's, Mt. Rushmore Gold and South Dakota Gold Company do have some 14K lines. Landstrom's usually creates their items in yellow gold but they will also create them in white gold. The leaves on Black Hills Gold are 12K pink (rose) and green gold.

We are not artists so please bear with us as we try to illustrate, through hand drawings, the various trademarks used by each company that creates Black Hills Gold.







Landstrom's Original Black Hills Gold Creations
The first two trademarks were purchased by Landstrom's when they bought out F.L. Thorpe. The next trademark ocurred when Ivan Landstrom purchased the Black Hills Gold Jewelry company. The BHGJ trademark was was short for Black Hills Gold Jewelry company. The last trademark, the "L", is the current trademark used by Landstrom's. Landstrom's owns all of these trademarks and all of the designs that were created by the previous owners. They represent all of the original Black Hills Gold companies and that is why Landstrom's called Landstrom's Original Black Hills Gold Creations.


This trademark represents Black Hills Gold Jewelry by Coleman. Coleman is a relative newcomer to the business and was founded in 1977. They are noted for creating some of the most contemporary Black Hills Gold designs.


Stamper's Black Hills Gold Jewelry
Stamper was founded in 1959. Ed and Amy Stamper purchased the company in 1959 from Clara Arnold. At the age of 16, Clara began creating Black Hills Gold jewelry for a business owned by the Butler family in Deadwood SD.


South Dakota Gold Company, currently known as Dakota West Designs and founded in 1982, uses these trademarks.



Riddle’s Jewelry, Inc., operates as a jewerly retailing and manufacturing company. It manufactures and markets Mount Rushmore Black Hills Gold, which is only manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The company was founded in 1959. They use either one of these trademarks.


Another relative newcomer to the scene is Gold Diggers Black Hills Gold and this is their trademark.




Dakota Designs Black Hills Gold Jewelry, established in 2001, is stamped with their double D trademark. We aren't sure but we believe this company is no longer in business.



Dakota Gold also manufactured Black Hills gold. This is their trademark. We aren't sure but we believe this company is no longer in business.



Below you will find the trademarks and names of Black Hills Gold Companies we know are no longer in business.

Gold Creek Black Hills Gold (Wades)





Gold Dust





Golden Crest





Heirloom Rings





Leaves Of Gold





Mercy Manufacturing





Rushmore Gold




We don't have a trademark graphic but Black Hills Silver & Gold is also no longer in business.