Hallmarking is an ancient method of safeguarding consumers, and the word itself, stems from 'marking goods at the (Goldsmiths) Hall'.
Hallmarking involves testing articles made of precious metal and marking them to indicate that they are of a minimum standard of purity.
Nowadays hallmarking is carried out in the UK not only by the London Assay Office, at Goldsmiths Hall but The Birmingham assay office in Newhall street , the Sheffield assay office and the Edinburgh assay office.
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and palladium.
The Hallmarking Act 1973 made Britain a member of the Vienna Convention as well as introducing marking for platinum, a recognized metal under the Convention. All four remaining assay offices finally adopted the same date letter sequences.
Changes in 1999 and then in 2005 (Regarding nickel content) were made to the UK hallmarking system to bring the system closer into line with the European Union (EU).
As it now stands, the compulsory part of the UK hallmark consists of the sponsor or maker's mark, the assay office mark, and the standard of fineness.
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| Sponsor or maker hallmark | Gold Standard Mark | Assay Office Mark | 2006 hallmark year |
Assay Office Mark
The assay office marks - from left to right, the leopard's head of London, the anchor of Birmingham, the Yorkshire rose of Sheffield, and the castle of Edinburgh.
Current Gold Standards
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| 9 carat | 14 carat | 18 carat | 22 carat |
Current Silver Standards
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| Sterling | Britannia |
Current Platinum Standards
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The only items which are exempt are those which are under the legal weight threshold, 1 gram for gold, 0.5 grams for platinum and 7.78 grams for silver.
Nickel
Under the 2005 legislation any manufacturer, importer, wholesaler or retailer in the supply chain will commit an offence if:
- They sell a post assembly intended to be inserted into a pierced part of the human body unless the rate of nickel release from the post assembly is less than 0.2 µg/cm2/week;
- They sell jewellery items, including certain metal clothing fasteners, if the rate of nickel release from those parts of the product which come into direct and prolonged contact with the skin is greater than 0.5 µg/cm2/week.
- They sell any jewellery items, including certain metal clothing fasteners, where these have a non-nickel coating unless the coating is sufficient to ensure that the rate of nickel release from those parts of the product which come into direct and prolonged contact with the skin does not exceed 0.5 µg/cm2/week for a period of at least two years normal use of the product.
At Victoria James we prefer to use only high Palladium based gold alloys, not only does this mean it is nickel free but that white gold retains its white colour.
Palladium
Palladium has been officially acknowledged as the latest precious metal trend for the fine jewellery industry with the advent of a hallmark to guarantee its fineness.
From 22nd July 2009, the four UK Assay Offices can mark Palladium articles with a legally recognised Hallmark, applied under an amendment to the Hallmarking Act 1973.
The interest in Palladium both within the jewellery trade and among consumers has grown strongly in recent years, driven by an increased demand for quality jewellery in white precious metal.
Palladium, one of the platinum group metals is tarnish resistant, white and durable.
Birmingham Assay Office
The Birmingham Assay Office, Birmingham Jewellery Quarter opened on August 31, 1773, and initially operated from three rooms in the King's Head Inn on New Street employing only four staff and was only operating on a Tuesday.
The first customer on that day was Matthew Boulton.
The Birmingham Assay Office, Birmingham Jewellery Quarter moved from the pub in 1815 to its own offices at Little Cannon Street and then moved to its current home on Newhall Street in the Jewellery Quarter in 1877, and is now the largest Assay Office in Europe, hallmarking 13 million articles in 2003.
Services provided by the office include nickel testing, metal analysis, plating thickness determination, bullion certification, consultancy and gem certification.
Platinum was brought within hallmarking regulations in 1975. The Diamond grading department of the Birmingham Assay office is called Anchor Cert and we use them regularly here at Victoria James.
