Hallmarking charges nearly doubled

[Wallace]

in my experience, and depending on which assay office, I find they can be pretty good at following the notes you leave. If you give the office you used a call, they should be able to clarify what happened. I think it is unlikely that because they were doing your earrings they carried on and did the rest that way. It may have been an oversight or some mis-understanding.

Either way - open up the communications between you and them and make sure it is clear for both sides on the next submission.

[Claire D]

They have always been good at following my instructions in the past, about the placement of the hallmark and so on. I just wasn't expecting it all to be laser marked, good job it didn't matter! I will have to give them a call so I know for next time.

[CJ57]

Can I jump in and ask a question please?

I sent off a batch which I received back last week. I had requested the earrings I sent be laser marked, but not anything else.(bangles, pendants etc) When it came back I discovered that all of it had been laser marked. Is that the norm? My husband reckoned it was because they had to get the laser set up for the earrings so thought they might as well just carry on and do the whole lot! It doesn't really matter an awful lot as I was happy with the laser mark but thought I would check for another time in case there was something I particularly wanted stamped.

If you have marked your instruction sheet clearly I don't see why they would mark it all. I've sent in mixed markings to Edinburgh before and they laser mark those which can't be stamped and punch mark the rest but you do have to be clear what you want. I suppose the difference might be that I punch Mark my own so there is no confusion

[china]

Thanks for that Dennis we don't have that here it is voluntary

[LydiaNiz]

To clarify, I misunderstood - different metals are charged as separate packets still.

[ShinyLauren]

So, I saved up all my over exemption weight pieces and got them all done at the same time. It worked out to around £1.60 per piece (I sent in 33) on a normal turnaround (it took 5 working days, so 7 days with weekend included), which I think is reasonable, although obviously more expensive than it was previously to get things stamped.

As the price is now the same whether you get items laser marked or stamped, I requested 3D laser marking. I've had the 3D mark done on pieces previously, and it was really deep, but this time the mark was really faint on all pieces. I gave each piece a very gentle buff on the polishing wheel with a super-soft mop and the hallmark has all but disappeared, whereas previous 3D laser hallmarking I've had done has been fine after polishing. The website states "3D hallmarks
retain excellent definition even after heavy polishing." which didn't appear to be the case this time.

Has anyone else had 3D marks come back much less 3D recently? Just wondering whether it's because the new charges now cover laser marking as well as stamping that they're now making the 3D laser mark fainter?

[SteveLAO]

Hi Shiny Lauren. - If you want a deeper laser mark, then just ask for "3D deep" on the special orders part of the hallnote. I think the website says that it "retains excellent definition even after polishing" rather than "heavy" polishing. http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/welco...types-of-marks
Standard laser marks won't stand a heavy polish, and are designed to be applied where they will get minimal wear, such as earring wires and pendant bales, rather than on the inside of rings and so on.
We've not changed any of the parameters for laser marking...it's exactly the same set up as before!

[vsilvered]

I get all my pieces laser marked at the London Assay Office, as I unwittingly had my original punch made at 0.7mm which is teeny, tiny for the type of pieces I make.

I hand all my pieces in at Greville Street and in the comments box at the bottom of the hallmark note, I always write something like 'Deep laser hallmarks, [x]mm high required, please'.

Also, this may seem like a daft question, but were the pieces you got back this time around with the fainter marks, the same gauge metal/wire as the previous ones you'd sent off that got the deeper marks or thinner?

Ah! Mr SteveLAO was quicker than I with a reply

[ShinyLauren]

Hi Shiny Lauren. - If you want a deeper laser mark, then just ask for "3D deep" on the special orders part of the hallnote. I think the website says that it "retains excellent definition even after polishing" rather than "heavy" polishing. http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/welco...types-of-marks
Standard laser marks won't stand a heavy polish, and are designed to be applied where they will get minimal wear, such as earring wires and pendant bales, rather than on the inside of rings and so on.
We've not changed any of the parameters for laser marking...it's exactly the same set up as before!

Ah, thanks for clarifying Steve! Previously there was only the option to ask for standard or 3D laser - hadn't realised it had changed. The last time I had stuff hallmarked I just asked for 3D and the mark was much deeper and more defined than what I was given this time. Will ask for 3D deep next time then. Is the 3D deep covered by the new standard price structure, or is this charged as extra?

In the Useful Downloads section - Hallmarking Services - it mentions standard laser and 3D laser, which is where I found the quote "What’s more, unlike traditional hallmarks, 3D hallmarks retain excellent definition even after heavy polishing." I can't find any mention of '3D deep' marking anywhere though.

I don't consider a 2 second buff with a super-soft mop a 'heavy' polish, by the way!

[ShinyLauren]

I get all my pieces laser marked at the London Assay Office, as I unwittingly had my original punch made at 0.7mm which is teeny, tiny for the type of pieces I make.

I hand all my pieces in at Greville Street and in the comments box at the bottom of the hallmark note, I always write something like 'Deep laser hallmarks, [x]mm high required, please'.

Also, this may seem like a daft question, but were the pieces you got back this time around with the fainter marks, the same gauge metal/wire as the previous ones you'd sent off that got the deeper marks or thinner?

Ah! Mr SteveLAO was quicker than I with a reply

V - I sent a variety of different sizes of things, same as last time (although last time was about a year ago as I keep things under the exemption weight wherever I can) but asked for the same as last time, 3D mark - just hadn't realised that now there is a '3D deep' option as well. Last time just asking for a 3D mark gave me a deep mark, similar to a struck mark, but this time the marks are super-faint when I asked for 3D, even before a tiny buff to bring back the high shine. Everything I sent in for hallmarking was completely finished and needed no further 'heavy' polishing, it just needed a quick buff to remove fingerprints/dulled surface after being handled for hallmarking.