Hallmarking and makers marks

[paulcoyne]

Hey guys I have recently just registered with the assay office here in Ireland and have a batch of jewellery to get marked.
my question is do most people hall mark small ear studs and if so do you do both studs ?
Just as a mater of interest how many people put just their makers mark on items?

[Dennis]

Hi Paul,

Earrings are treated as separate items for hallmarking purposes and if they are below the required weight it will be at your discretion. Customers do like the reassurance of a hallmark, but to recover your cost will probably make the pricing unrealistic. Kind regards, Dennis.

[Kwant]

That is the bummer with hallmarking, as nice as it is, unless the item is over the statutory weight for marking it is hardly ever worth it. A makers mark however is a nice touch and I believe you can do that as and when you will, and costs you nothing after you have paid for your punch to be made, as you are at liberty to do it yourself.

[Dennis]

That brings us to the next problem: punches can dent and distort fragile items and can't be varied in size. So work which I am not having hallmarked, I sign or initial with a vibrating engraver. The Dremel one is very good and with very little practice you can achieve a reasonable effect. A quick go on scrap copper before each run is a good idea, as your hand needs to adjust to the vibration. You need a light touch rather like writing with a pen.

[ps_bond]

Some interesting views - and I'm going to disagree (albeit not purely for the sake of it). I hallmark pretty much everything - even mokume now the copper/silver can be hallmarked. Cost of adding a hallmark to a pair of silver earrings is currently 94p + VAT, or if they are delicate, they can be laser marked for £3 (+ VAT, + postage etc.); I don't think those costs are outwith sensible pricing?

[paulcoyne]

I think I have to side with peter for the price you pay (€0.47 + VAT in Ireland) it gives people piece of mind, I am fairly new to jewellery making and was looking to see what the general feeling was. I have started to observe the competition in my local area just putting on makers mark I find customers some of them at least do look for hallmarked work. Its good to have a standard that people can be assured of what they are buying.

[ps_bond]

'Course, I missed off the 16p per item application of the sponsor's mark. Whoops.

[Myosotis]

Some interesting views - and I'm going to disagree (albeit not purely for the sake of it). I hallmark pretty much everything - even mokume now the copper/silver can be hallmarked. Cost of adding a hallmark to a pair of silver earrings is currently 94p + VAT, or if they are delicate, they can be laser marked for £3 (+ VAT, + postage etc.); I don't think those costs are outwith sensible pricing?

I agree with Peter - I get everything hallmarked regardless of weight unless it is physically too small to have a hallmark applied without ruining the look of the item. I use the London office and tend to send things in batches because they have a minimum charge of c£18 anyway so the more you send the lower the cost per piece averages out. If you can't afford to put an extra £1 on your prices then you're doing something wrong

[Moon Willow]

I must say Dennis is spot on !!! If you have a small hallmarking punch made for your small pieces then I suggest you give a 10x eye glass to your customers so they can see the hallmark !! and when they're able to see it most of them haven't a clue what they're looking at and that's a fact !!!!

I've repaired a lot of jewellery over the last 40 years and seen the damage a hallmark can do, I've made quite a lot of jewels which i've had a large hallmark added as a feature to the rear of the jewel, there's always 2 sides to a story.

A few years ago I made a jewel (£10,000) my chairman inspected it and asked me about that ghastly mark on the rear, errrrr ummmm that's the hallmark, are you sure .........I gave him a eye glass to inspect it before he made me erase the offensive mark.

have you ever looked at the stupid little marks on earrings and jump rings, make a byzantine bracelet 150 rings with no soldering 33 gms and what do you hallmark ???

Carlton

[ps_bond]

Granted most people don't know what they're looking at - or for - that's why one company I know of likes to pretend that "925" is a valid hallmark... But I've found people like to know it is there, even if it is below the weight; it increases their perception of the value. No hallmark, can't be "real" (no matter what the reality is). Not that I'm trying to sell to people looking for £10k jewels!!!

As for damage caused - yup, part & parcel of hitting the thing with a hammer, which is why I go for laser marking on more delicate or awkward bits. The downside to the laser marking is that involves losing some material - I'm relaxed about it for silver, gold I might be irrationally uncomfortable about.