Jewelry marks of symbolic representations of a monarch, animals, plants, and other objects have been used on jewelry for centuries. In the world of heraldry, the object or symbol is called a "charge".
While there are literally thousands of these symbols found in nature and mythology, MANY have contributed to the distinctive flavor of hallmarks stamped, or impressed on jewelry; one of the most notable is the charge or emblem of the LION, however identifying the POSITION and the lion's ORIENTATION, fundamental to the success of hallmark determination.
The lion walking left is usually associated with sterling lion passant found on silver however left facing lion passant was used on a number of very old antique gold items but rare. I would test the metal content of this item. There is a selection of digital gold testing equipment available for purchase over the internet. You might prefer to use an acid testing kit, many people seem to prefer this method, or alternatively your local jewelry can test the metal content for you. Unfortunately, there are lots of fake hallmarks out there.
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