{"id":3354,"date":"2023-10-19T15:23:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T15:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bodyjewellery.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3354"},"modified":"2023-10-20T10:57:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T10:57:27","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-hallmarking-and-dealers-notice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bodyjewellery.co.uk\/blog\/2023\/10\/what-you-need-to-know-about-hallmarking-and-dealers-notice\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need To Know About Hallmarking And Dealer\u2019s Notice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Find out why Hallmarking is important for your precious metal jewellery and why your solid gold body jewellery may not be hallmarked. Also, what is a Dealer\u2019s Notice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Hallmarking?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hallmarking is the legal requirement for all items made from silver, gold, platinum and palladium (with some exemptions*) to be stamped with specified marks to comply with the UK Hallmarking Act 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hallmarking on your jewellery is a guarantee that the jewellery is made from a specified content of precious metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*items exempt from hallmarking are those that fall below the specified weight limits of 0.5 grams for platinum, 1 gram for gold & palladium and 7.78 grams for silver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Why<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Does A Hallmark Look Like?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Actually a Hallmark is a series of three or more different marks on the piece of jewellery. The three compulsory marks are the Sponsor\u2019s or Maker\u2019s Mark, the Fineness Mark and the Assay Office Mark. Let\u2019s have a look at each of these individually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s A Sponsor\u2019s Mark?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Sponsor\u2019s Mark, sometimes known as a maker\u2019s mark indicates the person or company that is presenting the piece of jewellery to the market. Usually it\u2019s who is selling you the jewellery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s A Fineness Mark?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This Fineness Mark indicates how much precious metal is in your jewellery. This is expressed in parts per thousand. For example the fineness mark for 14 carat gold is 585.  This means that the metal must contain at least 585 parts of gold per 1,000. For 18ct gold it\u2019s 750 and for 9ct gold it\u2019s 375.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases precious metal jewellery doesn\u2019t contain 100% of the precious metal. This is because some precious metals are too soft to be made into jewellery so they need to be alloyed (mixed) with other metals to achieve certain characteristics such as strength, durability and colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example rose gold achieves the sought after rosey hue by combining yellow gold with copper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may have heard of 925 Sterling Silver. This means that there is 92.5% pure silver in your jewellery (hence the 925) and the other 7.5% is made up from other metals such as copper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Who Hallmarks The Jewellery?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hallmarks can only be added by one of the four UK Assay Offices in Sheffield, Edinburgh, Birmingham & London. This is done after they have tested the metal to ensure it contains the appropriate content of the precious metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hallmarks can be applied in various ways from using metal stamps hammered into the jewellery to using laser hallmarking on fine and delicate jewellery. You can view the Sheffield Assay Office hallmarking process below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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