Hallmarks in Gold and Silver Jewellery    by Steve Jones

in Shopping / Jewelry    (submitted 2011-06-16)

Hallmarks are commonly misunderstood; this is certainly understandable as it is a complex topic. This informative article will explain what a hallmark is as well as how UK and European law effects hallmarks giving you the cabability to understand what exactly a hallmark means when you are buying precious metals.

Hallmarks are the symbols embedded on precious metals which ensure the purity of the metal used; hallmarks can be applied to gold, silver and palladium. Within the uk the hallmarking act of 1973 requires that all goods with precious metals being sold contain a hallmark from an impartial office to guarantee the purity of the piece.

There is four independent UK offices permitted to apply a UK hallmark, Birmingham assay office, Edinburgh assay office, London assay office as well as the Sheffield assay office which all work independently of each other. The United Kingdom can also be impacted by European law which does enable EU hallmarks to be recognised across the European Union including the British isles.

The legislation around hallmarking is sort of complex; the law is mostly made up of the hallmarking act of 1973. The hallmarking act of 1973 has seen a lot of amendments which the British hallmarking council works jointly with the secretary of state on such amendments. In 1972 the convention of the control of precious metals or Vienna convention was agreed upon and came into force in 1975, Britain ratified it in 1976, 91 nations now are members of this convention. The convention means that marks are authorised as long as they belong to a member nation and if they are applied by an authorized assay office. The Vienna convention encourages international trade of precious metals ensuring consumer safety.

Inside the uk the hallmark includes the maker’s mark which indicates who made the piece, the assay office (described above) and the standard of fineness as defined by the Vienna convention. The fineness of silver is donated in parts per thousand, sterling silver is 925 parts silver in every 1000 of the silver allot. Most hallmarks may also incorporate a date mark which is not compulsory but has been used since 1478. The complete lists of standards of fineness are:

• 9ct gold 375
• 14ct gold 585
• 18ct gold 750
• 22ct gold 916
• 99% pure gold 990
• 99.9% pure gold 999
• 800 grade silver 800
• sterling silver 925
• Britannia Silver 958
• 99.9% pure silver 999
• 85% Platinum 850
• 90% Platinum 900
• 95% (UK standard) Platinum 950
• 99.9% pure Platinum 999

In the united kingdom hallmarks might also be marked with a convention hallmark as per the Vienna convention called the common convention mark of CCM, but on account of modifications in the French law in 2004 the UK will no longer accept French hallmarks.

When purchasing items which has precious metals you should certainly be qualified to evaluate the hallmarks and establish if the item is as described and fulfills UK and European standards of purity.

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