Why hallmark our jewellery?

The photo shows my hallmark, where you can see my initials, the 925 stamp indicating that the item has been tested and proved to be made of sterling silver, the Birmingham Assay Office’s symbol of the anchor, and an additional mark signifying the year the piece was made (S indicates 2017).

We all know what a hallmark is, don’t we?

Actually, no, an awful lot of people do not know, including people who sell precious metal jewellery. I know! Shocking, isn’t it?

But, you may ask, why is a hallmark important, or even necessary?

I’ll answer the last part first. Anyone who sells an item of jewellery that they describe as being made from silver, gold, or platinum must, by UK law, have had it assayed (tested) by one of the accredited Assay Offices in the UK (London and Birmingham are the two main ones, and there are two others: Edinburgh and Sheffield). Each of them has their own identifying mark, e.g. London is a leopard’s head and Birmingham is an anchor.

For instance, I have just made a sterling silver bangle and because it weighs more than 7.78 grams (below 7.78 grams, a hallmark is not legally required). So I need to have it assayed before I can legally sell it described as silver. I have a unique maker’s mark (my initials within a particular shape) registered with the Birmingham Assay Office where my mark stamp is kept. I pack up the bangle and post it off to sunny Brum. They receive it, test it, and, if the test reveals that it is indeed made of sterling silver, they mark it with a variety of marks, some of which are obligatory - my maker’s mark, the Birmingham identifying symbol (anchor) and the sterling silver stamp (925). There are other discretionary marks which I could have applied. The bangle is then returned to me and I can sell it – yippee!

Okay, you say, but I have pieces of silver jewellery that are just marked 925 and nothing else. What does that mean?

Well, it means that the person or business who sold it to you is breaking UK law if a piece weighs more than 7.78 grams, because there is no guarantee that the piece really is made of sterling silver. Anyone can make a stamp out of a bit of steel stock and a chisel! Commonly, however, it means that the piece has been imported, usually from a country where there are no laws regarding the testing of the quality of the piece, so the buyer cannot be sure that the 925 stamp, indicating sterling silver, is genuine.

So what’s my message to you the buyer?

Always ask anyone selling you a piece of allegedly sterling silver jewellery to show you the hallmark and, if what they are calling a hallmark is just a 925 stamp, ask a few more questions such as where was it assayed, or why doesn’t it have a full hallmark. Remember, a 925 stamp is not a hallmark. It’s just a stamp.

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