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What is a Hallmark?

A hallmark is a series of marks applied to an item of precious metal by a government-appointed Assay Office. The marks are only applied after the item has been tested to verify the precious metal content. A hallmark provides the following information:
Who?

The registered mark of the company or individual who placed the items on the market

What?

The precious metal content in parts per thousand inside a specific shape for each metal.

Where?

Each of the four UK Assay Offices has a separate mark.

Why is a Hallmark Important?

Precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are rarely used in their purest form to make jewellery. Instead, they are normally combined with other lesser metals to improve strength and wear characteristics, or influence the colour. When different metals are melted together the resulting mixture is called an alloy.

It is virtually impossible to tell how much precious metal is contained within an alloy by sight or by touch alone. That is why the science of assaying (testing) precious metals began over 700 years ago. It is not possible to tell how much precious metal is present in an alloy without the use of chemical analysis.

In the UK, and many other countries, it is a legal requirement to have a hallmark applied if an article over a certain weight* is described as partly or wholly made of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium.

*Articles below the following weights do not require a hallmark in order to be described as precious metal:

  • Gold items below 1 gram
  • Silver items below 7.78 grams
  • Platinum items below 0.5 grams
  • Palladium items below 1 gram.

What Should I Do if I Suspect an Article I Have Purchased is Not Hallmarked?

As a consumer, you have a legal right to the independent guarantee that a hallmark provides. If you have purchased from an Assay Assured Jewellery Retailer, they have made a commitment to the Assay Assured code of conduct to ensure all product sold is compliant.

Here is your checklist whenever you purchase a piece of precious metal jewellery.

  1. Before you buy, look around the supplier’s site to see if they provide any information about hallmarking. It is a legal requirement for anyone selling precious metal jewellery to display information about hallmarking in the form of a dealers’ notice (pop-up with notices) . Whenever you see the Assay Assured Trustmark, it means the retailer complies with our code of conduct.
  2. When you receive your jewellery, check it to see if it carries a hallmark. If it weighs less than the limits above, it may not require one.
  3. If the precious metal weight is greater than above the item should have a hallmark.
  4. If you have bought an item that is not exempt by weight, and there is no hallmark, then the company you have purchased may be guilty of an offence under the 1973 Hallmarking Act.
  5. In the first instance, you should contact the company you have purchased from with your concern.
  6. If after you have contacted the company and they have responded to your query, you are still not satisfied, you should:
    1. If the company displays the Assay Assured Jewellery Retailer trust mark you can contact us to make an independent assessment on your behalf.
    2. If the company you have purchased from is not an Assay Assured Jewellery Retailer you should contact your local trading standards department.