Most of this post is a copy of the Hallmarking information that can be found on my website. Hallmarks are a compulsory part of UK law for anyone dealing in precious metals. As a bench jeweller and dealer in antique and vintage jewellery, hallmarking and hallmarks are part of my every day. Aside from that, they fascinate me. The fact that you can pick up a piece of silverware that is 400 years old and be able to tell the quality of metal was up to scratch, when this was tested, who made it and when is pretty special. The UK has the oldest, continuous, independent hallmarking system in the world.
So what is a UK hallmark? What do they look like? What do they mean? The video below will give you a brief introduction and then I'll go into a little more detail.
Video courtesy of the British Hallmarking Council.
The United Kingdom has some of the most strict rules for protecting consumers when it comes to precious metals. Unlike some other areas of the world, hallmarking is a compulsory legal requirement, with very few exceptions. The process of testing and marking precious metals in the UK is carried out by one of the four, UK, Assay Offices, all of which are independent so the results are unwavering. A regular, UK, hallmark should contain a Sponsors Mark, and . These are the marks that are a legal obligation. In addition the Traditional Fineness Mark and date letter can also be applied.
The picture above (of one of my pieces) shows a bad picture what a UK hallmark should look like and it's constituent parts, these are; Sponsors Mark: Which is usually the makers, importers or wholesalers mark. In my case this is the maker, me (DJM in 3 lozenges). Sponsors marks need to be registered with an Assay Office. Metal Fineness Mark: Indicating the metal via the shield (oval for silver) or stamp shape and the purity represented by numbers (925 for Sterling Silver). Assay Office Mark: The mark to indicate at which of the Assay Offices the article was marked, in this case, Edinburgh. In addition the following marks can be applied; Traditional Fineness Mark: Such as the familiar Sterling Silver Lion, Gold Crown etc. I'm quite attached to traditional marks, so I always have them applied. Date Letter: (P in this example) The style and outside shape of each letter is different for each year. I think it's a shame that this has been optional for the last 20 years or so as future generations may not be able to put a date to a piece that is integral to their history. I always opt to have this mark applied also. I'm sure it helps to disguise how old some stock is, but I would still rather see a date letter. There is also the Common Control Mark (CCM) which is a legal hallmark accepted in countries that are part of the international hallmarking convention. I don't tend to have this mark applied, but it can be applied for special orders. Pieces under the weight limit for some metals don't need hallmarking as shown below. Any article that weighs less than the weights below doesn't legally need to be hallmarked; Silver (800 silver, 925 Sterling Silver, 958 Britannia Silver and 999 "Fine" Silver): 7.78 grams. Gold (375/9ct, 585/14ct, 750/18ct, 916/22ct, 990 and 999 "Fine" Gold): 1 gram. Platinum: (850, 900, 950, 999 "Fine"): 1 gram. Palladium: (500, 950, 999 "Fine"): 0.5 gram. The purity is an indication of parts fine metal, by weight, per thousand. 9ct gold has a purity of 375, meaning that there are 375 parts of fine gold per thousand and 625 parts of other metals, or 37.5% gold and 62.5% other metals. For more information on what the other metals can be, please read this blog post. If an article is submitted for hallmarking and fails to reach the level of purity required for that carat, even by a small amount, say 749 rather than 750, it will be hallmarked at the next carat down (14ct gold/585). If it's submitted as 9ct gold (375), 800 Silver, 850 Platinum or 500 Palladium and fails that grade, it won't be marked. In addition there have also been been some special marks such as the most recent Platinum Jubilee mark as well as others.
Hallmarks are legal requirement in the UK, but they can also be used as a feature. Below are some examples of how marks have been applied in a more decorative way.
Jubilee Mark, Special Layout, Feature Hallmark.
For anyone wanting to know more about hallmarks and hallmarking, the links below might be interesting; My Pinterest Board of interesting marks. Pictures of marks and resources I come across. My blog post on basic gold alloys. Birmingham Assay Office Edinburgh Assay Office London Assay Office Sheffield Assay Office Hallmarking Research Institute. Information and publications on UK and International Hallmarks. Silver Makers Marks. One of my favourite resources for online UK hallmark identification.
Every piece I make and sell that is required to have a hallmark, does. Sometimes I will even have a hallmark applied to pieces on the list of exemptions.
All retailers within the UK that sell precious metals are required by law to display a copy of a "Dealers Notice". Below is the digital version for use on websites, but in shops a larger, more comprehensive version should be on display. This applies to all businesses selling precious metals, including antique dealers and crafters, even if the articles are older or exempt. When I attend events I display the larger "in store" version.
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