A foreigner's questions on Hall Marking

**Hans Meevis** · 25-09-2014, 06:50 AM

I make a range of titanium jewellery out of titanium, silver and gold.
Attachment 6644
Like this and
Attachment 6645
this.

So what I do is stamp all the metals that I used on the back, that is 14kt,titanium and 925.

A friend told me that these would not be allowed to be sold in the UK like that, because they are not assayed.

Basically, they must be unstamped and the description is not allowed to include the words gold or silver.

Tell me this is not true--please...

**ps_bond** · 25-09-2014, 07:08 AM

Steve will probably be along later, but that'd need to be assayed & stamped gold + silver + metal in that order (assuming my understanding of conversations about mokume gane is correct).

Otherwise it's yellow metal, white metal and titanium to comply with legislation which does undermine the value of the piece somewhat.

**SteveLAO** · 25-09-2014, 08:31 AM

If you want to sell these items in the UK and describe them as being of gold and silver, subject to the weight of the item you'll need to have it hallmarked before you can sell it.
You will get a full hallmark for the lowest value metal first, followed by a part mark for the higher value metal. So in your case, you'd get the full silver hallmark, followed by a gold part mark, followed by " +METAL" for the titanium part. This of course is assuming that it is easy for the "man in the street" to easily identify which metal is which, (usually by colour). For example, if you chose to use white gold with silver then you would not be able to get that hallmarked, nor could you sell it with a description that it's made of gold and silver.
The stamps that you put on your work are not sufficient to allow you to sell them in the UK as being made of precious metal. They will need to be submitted to an assay office.

**ps_bond** · 25-09-2014, 08:38 AM

Oops - back asswards!

**Hans Meevis** · 25-09-2014, 03:55 PM

That's amazing.
I have never actually realized what this hallmarking business is.
I have researched a bit more and as I see it, it is basically a method to keep some jobsworth with salary while he ensures that your 9 kt gold is pure.( the irony is strong in this one)
I imagine then that if one makes multi metal jewellery with a reasonable amount of street cred ( as in stamped METAL doesn't cut it) and one were to want to sell it in the UK, (which I want to do) it would be better to stamp it simply "meevis.com" and be done with it?
That way the client could simply go to my web site and read all the materials the object is made from.
Basically, is one allowed to sell unstamped articles that are made from precious metals?

**Dennis** · 25-09-2014, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by Hans Meevis

I have researched a bit more and as I see it, it is basically a method to keep some jobsworth with salary while he ensures that your 9 kt gold is pure.( the irony is strong in this one)

Hans, even the most impecunious beginners get themselves registered for hallmaking, to add authority to their claim that they are using real silver or gold for instance. What is more, customers here expect it.

In fact the assay offices are all that stand between us and all the tricks under the sun. So I for one would protest at the term jobsworth applied in this context'

No hard feelings, just my personal view. Dennis.

**Myosotis** · 25-09-2014, 08:26 PM

[QUOTE=Hans Meevis;71097]That's amazing.
I have never actually realized what this hallmarking business is.
I have researched a bit more and as I see it, it is basically a method to keep some jobsworth with salary while he ensures that your 9 kt gold is pure.( the irony is strong in this one)/QUOTE]

If you think the UK Hallmarking legislation is just to "keep some jobsworth with salary while he ensures that your 9kt is pure" then you really should have done more research. It is an independent guarantee that the precious metal content is exactly what it is stated to be.

I certainly wouldn't commit a large amount of money to buy some jewellery in one of those countries where any Tom Dick or Harry can hold of an 18ct stamp for example and go merrily stamping it over whatever they fancy - I know someone who got ripped off in that way and I'm sure she isn't the only one.

This is how seriously it is treated here.

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/e...fm/newsid/1500
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/e...cfm/newsid/871

In particular the final paragraph on the second link
"Hallmarking was originally introduced in 1300 by a Statute of Edward I and is one of the earliest forms of consumer protection. Compulsory Hallmarking protects all parties - the public who receive a guarantee of quality, the manufacturer who is given quality control and protection from dishonest competitors, and the retailer who avoids the near impossible task of checking standards on all his goods.

Precious metals used in jewellery and giftware manufacture are always used as an alloy. The precious metal must be mixed with other elements to give it necessary properties such as flexibility in order to produce a desirable and durable article.

Even the most experienced jeweller or chemist cannot tell how much precious metal there is in an alloy just by looking at it - or whether a thick plating of gold is covering a base metal interior. Due to the high price of precious metals, this offers a huge opportunity for fraud and there has therefore always been a need to protect the public and honest suppliers, from those who are tempted to cheat them.
Therefore all items being sold as gold, silver, platinum or palladium in the UK must be hallmarked to confirm that they meet the legal standard. This cannot be done by the manufacturer or importer - goods must be submitted to one of the four UK Assay Offices, or an Assay Office belonging to the International Convention.

The only items which are exempt are those which are under the legal weight threshold - 1 gram for gold, 0.5 grams for platinum and 7.78 grams for silver"

You may not agree with the legislation but the people at the London Assay Office in my experience (only speaking about them as I have no experience of the others) are very helpful and do all they can to help you through the process and they certainly aren't "jobsworths"

**SteveLAO** · 26-09-2014, 08:51 AM

Remember it's a law of description, so you would still be committing an offence if you're describing it as being made of precious metal on your website, and are selling it as such in the UK without a hallmark. The hallmark is an indication of the precious metal, so the stamp "metal" indicates that there is also non precious metal in the item.
"Street cred" is a subjective term..........British hallmarks have been around for 700 years.....

Originally Posted by Hans Meevis

That's amazing.
I have never actually realized what this hallmarking business is.
I have researched a bit more and as I see it, it is basically a method to keep some jobsworth with salary while he ensures that your 9 kt gold is pure.( the irony is strong in this one)
I imagine then that if one makes multi metal jewellery with a reasonable amount of street cred ( as in stamped METAL doesn't cut it) and one were to want to sell it in the UK, (which I want to do) it would be better to stamp it simply "meevis.com" and be done with it?
That way the client could simply go to my web site and read all the materials the object is made from.
Basically, is one allowed to sell unstamped articles that are made from precious metals?

**BarryM** · 25-09-2014, 04:21 PM

You can sell it in the UK but cannot sell it described as gold, silver, platinum etc UNLESS it is hallmarked.

Each metal type has a weight limit so, for example, if it is sterling silver below 6.7 grams total weight then you can sell it without a Hallmark described as Sterling Silver without breaking the hallmarking regulations.

However if it is less than 6.7 grams and is described as Sterling Silver but is in actuality NOT sterling silver then you are breaking the Description of Goods Act.

This is my understanding - I am sure that if I have made any substantive errors someone will correct me.

A little unfair to call the Assay Offices jobsworths (i know you were being ironical) - the one thing you can be sure of is that if a precious metal is hallmarked in the UK then it REALLY is what it says it is. With gold at about $1200 an ounce it is essential to know that your hard earned cash is paying for the real thing.