I can help with hallmarking!!

[SteveLAO]

Hello everyone, I'm Steve from the London Assay Office. If you are having difficulty over any aspects of hallmarking I'll jump in to help with your questions! I've been in the trade over 30 years, (over 12 years on the retail side and 11 years in manufacturing amongst other things!) so I think I can see both sides of the coin! Anyway, let's see if I can't help you all in the wonderful world of hallmarking!!

[ps_bond]

Hi Steve - many thanks for joining.

Do you have a an idiots guide to hallmarking mokume gane? Obviously it's part of the mixed metals area; relatively easy for copper/silver (silver + metal) - although is that on its own hallnote, or can it be with other silver items?
And how on earth do you submit e.g. platinum/18k and how does that get marked?

[Wallace]

Hi Steve,

Lovely to see you here too.

Kindest,

Wallace

[Dennis]

Hi Steve,
Thank you for joining us on this side. You will be much valued. Dennis.

[SteveLAO]

ps bond - as long as we can get an assay sample and there is sufficient room to get a hallmark on the precious metal bit then it's not too much of a problem.

Regarding mixed metal marking in general - items of mixed metals do need to be submitted on a separate hallnote, but the same type of mixed metals can go on the same note. For example, if you have two items of silver and copper, and one item of silver and gold, then the 2 items of silver and copper can go on one note, and the one item of silver and gold will need to go on another note.

Mixed metals are marked using the entire hallmark of the least precious metal, followed by a "part mark" which comprises the millessimal fineness mark (925 or 375 etc) and the optional traditional fineness symbol (lion passant for silver, crown for gold etc) for the other metals. The order of metal (least precious to precious) is silver, palladium, gold, platinum. If the "other" metal is not precious then the mark "+METAL" is used after the hallmark. and if possible also on the base metal part.

Remember with all mixed metal marking, it must be very obvious to the man in the street what the different metal parts are, and this is usually achieved by colour difference. Don't for example, make something of silver, white gold and platinum as the "man in the street" won't be able to tell the difference so it's unlikely that you'll be able to get it hallmarked.

Hi Steve - many thanks for joining.

Do you have a an idiots guide to hallmarking mokume gane? Obviously it's part of the mixed metals area; relatively easy for copper/silver (silver + metal) - although is that on its own hallnote, or can it be with other silver items?
And how on earth do you submit e.g. platinum/18k and how does that get marked?

[ps_bond]

ps bond - as long as we can get an assay sample and there is sufficient room to get a hallmark on the precious metal bit then it's not too much of a problem.

Regarding mixed metal marking in general - items of mixed metals do need to be submitted on a separate hallnote, but the same type of mixed metals can go on the same note. For example, if you have two items of silver and copper, and one item of silver and gold, then the 2 items of silver and copper can go on one note, and the one item of silver and gold will need to go on another note.

Mixed metals are marked using the entire hallmark of the least precious metal, followed by a "part mark" which comprises the millessimal fineness mark (925 or 375 etc) and the optional traditional fineness symbol (lion passant for silver, crown for gold etc) for the other metals. The order of metal (least precious to precious) is silver, palladium, gold, platinum. If the "other" metal is not precious then the mark "+METAL" is used after the hallmark. and if possible also on the base metal part.

Remember with all mixed metal marking, it must be very obvious to the man in the street what the different metal parts are, and this is usually achieved by colour difference. Don't for example, make something of silver, white gold and platinum as the "man in the street" won't be able to tell the difference so it's unlikely that you'll be able to get it hallmarked.

Ah, so with the platinum/18k it would hallmarked as 18k followed by platinum, with no worries about having diluted the platinum purity by joining it to gold? I wonder how many metals I could get into the mix before we ran out of space for the hallmark; traditional marks on all...

I've seen silver/platinum mokume - the difference is perhaps best described as "quite subtle". ISTR seeing some of it where the silver had been etched, so the delineation was clearer but still the colours were very similar. 18k mixes still seem the easiest to deal with; there, I suppose it doesn't matter what colours I've used for one hallnote, so long as the entire thing is 18k.

Thanks Steve - most useful.

[SteveLAO]

The other way to differentiate between metals, and used less often, is by texture which is how the silver/platinum mokume is often done, and which you spotted. The dilution of the platinum is not an issue unless its absolutely swimming in solder!!

[caroleallen]

If I were to add some 18ct yellow gold to a 9ct white gold ring that has already been hallmarked, can I get it marked again?

[lorraineflee]

HI Steve, nice to see you over here too!!

Lorraine

[Keia]

Hello everyone, I'm Steve from the London Assay Office. If you are having difficulty over any aspects of hallmarking I'll jump in to help with your questions! I've been in the trade over 30 years, (over 12 years on the retail side and 11 years in manufacturing amongst other things!) so I think I can see both sides of the coin! Anyway, let's see if I can't help you all in the wonderful world of hallmarking!!

Really nice to have you here