Why do some early Belleek pieces have black marks in different colours?

Belleek’s dating guide says that during the first period the mark was predominantly black, yet other colours were used, including red, blue, orange, green, brown, and pink. So, a non-black first-period stamp is not automatically wrong. Age, firing variation, and wear can shift how a stamp reads now, and fading or discoloration is mentioned as something you may see with older marks. The fix is simple: focus on the full emblem design and period details, then treat colour as a supporting clue. If the stamp design matches the first mark (1863–1891) but the stamp ink looks unusual, it can still be correct for the era.