First Items Sent for Hallmarking!

[Milomade]

I've got my application from the assay office in Edinburgh but not sure I'm going to apply for it yet. I'm not making enough to warrant registering and nothing I'm making is above the minimum weight anyway. I'm applying for a R&D grant in January and if I get it I'll be able to take some time out from work and concentrate on creating a body of work - only then will I consider getting stuff hallmarked.

if you can upload images of the duff hallmarking they've done that'd be great as it would be good to see what you mean. I would definetly either go in there and speak to them about it or phone them up to have a discussion about it. It doesn't sound like they've done a good job.

[Ominicci]

Here is some of my hallmarks. All of them them 'came up' better after I had polished over them (even though I was worried about doing so!). Don't forget they are magnified a lot! The first bracelet is about 4x real size and the jumpring is only 1mm thick in real life (the maille bracelets jumpring hallmarks are the same as these). The hammered ring is only 2mm wide and the last one shows the back of a 2mm wide flat hammered heart shape - both of these hallmarks are a bit wonky to me. I can see now that the sponsor's mark is applied separately from the rest of the hallmark. The width apart is not always consistent on all the pieces, and on some of them (not shown here) there is no date letter (although that is no longer compulsory).

But I have decide to accept is for what it is and just go with it I'm cool....

[Solunar Silver Studio]

I think, when you consider that someone has applied these by hand, and think how hard it is to stamp anything on metal and get consistant depth and accurate positioning...even when you are using letter stamps 5mm high it is a miracle that anyone can even get it on the jump rings! We accept little innaccuracies in our own work as it is impossible to get machine like consistancy when something is handmade....if hallmarks are stamped by hand then we must expect that they all won't look perfect... and as you say - at 0.5mm high - very few people can even see them well enough to notice innaccuracies!!

[Lindyloo]

Are those links Argentium Nicci? Just asking, following reading the thread on earwires - about balling up the ends. Because yours look lovely here.

[Ominicci]

I think, when you consider that someone has applied these by hand, and think how hard it is to stamp anything on metal and get consistant depth and accurate positioning...even when you are using letter stamps 5mm high it is a miracle that anyone can even get it on the jump rings! We accept little innaccuracies in our own work as it is impossible to get machine like consistancy when something is handmade....if hallmarks are stamped by hand then we must expect that they all won't look perfect... and as you say - at 0.5mm high - very few people can even see them well enough to notice innaccuracies!!

I know, I KNOW!!! It adds to the handmade-ness. I am backtracking from my original wails of complaint and getting very laid back about it all now. Each time I look at the photos I am calming down about it and saying 'It's not too bad after all' Soon I'll be positively horizontal

Yes, Lindy they are Argentium. I have an original version done in sterling just to remind me why the slightly extra expense is worth it lol

[snow_imp]

I guess it's that we're all striving for an ideal picture of the finished item - when someone else is involved for any part of it, we're not as happy as we might be if we'd done it ourselves.

But I'm glad i'm not trynig to stamp a 0.5mm hallmark into a 1 mm ring myself - having seen your photos I'm much happier about the idea of sending my chain maille off for hallmarking. Even if my eye sights so bad I won't have a hope of reading it when it gets back.