I have no idea about the details of hallmarking legalities, I was just reiterating what Steve said in his post as the local expert on hallmarking.
I have no idea about the details of hallmarking legalities, I was just reiterating what Steve said in his post as the local expert on hallmarking.
Barry the Flying Silversmith👍
This is all I can find in the Edinburgh notes Wendy
Making an alteration to a hallmarked article
It is possible to make an alteration to a hallmarked article, subject to the following conditions:
• Thealteredarticlemustbeofthesamecharacterandpurpos eastheoriginal (e.g. a spoon must not become a fork).
• Theadditionmustbeofthesamestandardasthearticletowh ichitisbeingadded.
• Theweightoftheadditionmustbenoheavierthan0.5gramsi nplatinum, 1 gram in gold, 1 gram in palladium, and 7.78 grams in silver.
• Theadditionmustnotbegreaterthan50%ofthearticle’sto talweight.
• Anyotheralterationsmustbere-submittedtoanAssayOffice.
I see Edinburgh also has a Heathrow office to take in bulk orders from overseas, hallmark them in the uk and then post them off elsewhere as James has mentioned
Surely if Cooksons or anyone else is selling eg a ring shank or a chain as silver or gold it needs to be hallmarked unless below weight because it's a finished (apart from the stone or stones, maybe?) item.
Hi Caroline
If you sell a plain ring shank as is, no probs, but if you add- eg -a bezel and a stone you are clearly altering it. The exemption is for sizing and stuff like that.
Oh London Assay Office...you CHUMPS
Just FYI..... the maker's mark is also referred to as the sponsor's mark as it can indicate either who made the piece, or who commissioned the piece. As previously mentioned, most jewellery is made overseas and then marked in the UK. In the case of someone already registered with an assay offices taking a commission from a retailer who is also registered, the retailer can have his sponsor mark applied despite the fact he hasn't actually made the piece. The manufacturer would send in the item for assay, and have the retailer's sponsor mark applied instead of his own. (The retailer needs to give their authorisation to do so first of course!) Actually, if you like, more than one sponsor mark can be applied! This is sometimes done on a big commission where multiple manufacturers are involved!
Regarding the initial question of the silver trophy being given as a prize - the law does state that it's during the course of a trade or business. If you are charging for the commission and you wish to call it silver you will need to have it marked. If you're doing it for free and gifting it, then it doesn't matter, as their is neither a trade, nor business transaction committed. It's a bit like making stuff for family and friends for presents.....there is no need to in those cases.
(Sorry....busy job hunting....but old habits die hard!!)
You can see how we have got ourselves into a twist already Steve. Dennis.
Last edited by Dennis; 19-10-2015 at 10:31 AM.
hahahaha...maybe start a petition?
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