About Hallmarks

Gold, platinum, palladium and silver are rarely used in their purest form but instead they are normally alloyed with lesser metals in order to achieve a desired strength, durability, colour etc. It is not possible to detect by sight or by touch the platinum, gold, palladium or silver content of an item. It is therefore a legal requirement to hallmark all articles consisting of gold, silver or platinum, if they are to be described as such (subject to certain exemptions). After an Assay Office has tested the precious metal content of an article it applies a permanent hallmark (stamp) to the article to confirm the precious metal content.

What needs to be hallmarked?

Any article described as being wholly or partly made of gold, platinum, palladium and silver that isn't specifically exempt.

Main exemptions:

Articles below a certain weight are exempt from hallmarking.  The exemption weight is based on the precious metal content. Except in the case of articles consisting of precious metal and base metal in which case the exemption weight is based on the total metal weight:

1. Gold 1 gram
2. Palladium 1 gram
3. Silver 7.78 grams
4. Platinum 0.5 grams

What does a hallmark look like?

More details can be found here.

What should I do if I suspect my article should be hallmarked and isn’t or has been wrongly described as precious metal?

1. In the first instance you should contact the retailer that you purchased the article from stating clearly the nature of your query.
2. If you are unable resolve your query then you or the retailer may refer the matter to Assay Assured to independently inspect or test the article.

In the case of (2) simply click on the Assay Assured Jewellery Retailer logo on the retailer’s website and follow the link “report a query on this retailer” on the retailer’s Assay Assured Jewellery Retailer certificate.