Dealer's Notice

Information on hallmarking

It is an offence for any person, in the course of a trade or business, to describe an unhallmarked article as being wholly or partly made of gold, silver, platinum or palladium, or to supply unhallmarked articles to which such a description is applied. A hallmark is your guarantee that an article has been independently tested and conforms to one of the legally recognised standards of fineness (purity).

The compulsory marks

A UK hallmark comprises three compulsory symbols, applied by an independent Assay Office:

• the Sponsor’s (or Maker’s) Mark — who submitted the article for hallmarking;
• the Fineness (Purity) Mark — the precious-metal content, shown in parts per thousand; and
• the Assay Office Mark — the office that tested and marked the article (in the UK: London, Birmingham, Sheffield or Edinburgh).

A date letter and traditional pictorial fineness symbols may also be applied but are optional.

The standards of fineness

The recognised standards of fineness, expressed in parts per thousand, are:

Articles exempt by weight

Articles below the following weights are exempt from compulsory hallmarking:

• Gold — under 1 gram
• Silver — under 7.78 grams
• Platinum — under 0.5 grams
• Palladium — under 1 gram

How this applies to our sales

Loose certified stones do not themselves contain precious metal and are not hallmarked. Where a lot is a piece of jewellery that is, or contains, an article of gold, silver, platinum or palladium above the exemption weight, it is hallmarked accordingly and the description reflects the marked fineness. This notice forms part of our Terms of Sale.

Further information on hallmarking is available from the UK Assay Offices and the British Hallmarking Council.