Silver Hallmarking Laws/Rules in France?

[pearlescence]

You need to do some of the research yourself rather than asking busy people to reinvent the wheel for you

[mwj]

You need to do some of the research yourself rather than asking busy people to reinvent the wheel for you

Hi Pearlescence,
Yes of course. If you'd read the whole thread you'd see I have already spent many hours Googling this topic - to no avail. All that came up was historical information about hallmarking in France (what marks are from which century).
I'm not a lazy info-seeker - you can also see it's my first post. The reason I spent even MORE time signing up to this forum is because I couldn't source information from anywhere else. Thanks though, I'll keep your advice in mind.
Cheers,
-MWJ

[mwj]

If you do decide to register with a UK office do make absolutely sure that they are willing to post back to you in France.

Thanks, good advice. I sent an inquiry to a UK hallmarking office and no reply yet but I will make sure they're happy to send it away. Thanks again!

[mwj]

You could try Google

Cheers.
Yes found some info on general Distance Selling Regulations, thanks. Good to know, I'll update my info on shop, though I normally don't sell abroad.
Was asking more about 'nickel content' comment as that is very jewelry-specific and after more searching nothing's come up. I'll keep looking thanks.

[pearlescence]

Cheers.

Was asking more about 'nickel content' comment as that is very jewelry-specific and after more searching nothing's come up. I'll keep looking thanks.

A search 'nickel' on this forum shows four pages

[enigma]

For some reason I also struggled to find detailed info on this sort of thing for France and Portugal.
Perhaps because my French and Portuguese isn't great but actually at least as likely because neither country has a great online presence.
The UK is amazing in comparison but one wouldn't have necessarily realised that they could have a UK hallmark when living and selling in France.

Mwj, where are you sourcing your silver from? because if its a reputable UK supplier it will be compliant with UK hallmarking but if elsewhere it may not be.
I buy all mine from Cooksons, they have decent prices and a very very good service to France.

[pearlescence]

While we are still in the EU it is the EU rules that matter. (If we stay in the EU hallmarking will probably go as it is a qualitative measure which is anti competitative (means UK metal smiths have to get stuff hallmarked which puts prices up - unfair... or EU selling to UK have to get hallmarked - also banned under single market rules)
Buying metals from India or China is safe if you stipulate that it must be EU compliant, it is America which slaps in the nickel and, assuming the world stops at the border, never manages to differentiate between okay for EU and not.

[mwj]

You register at the office of your choice, London possibly for you although it doesn't matter. I see you can do it online which is where I found the info for Edinburgh
As already described re weight although if I have a large collection I also get my underweight pieces done as well but that's by choice.
Once you've registered with an office and also got your own punch with the makers mark you've chosen you can either give your makers mark to the assay office and they will stamp that part for you or you can keep it as I do and mark with your own mark before sending everything to be tested and marked with an assay mark. You can also have a laser mark done instead for pieces that are more awkward. Each office seems to have different costs for registering that, I had to pay a one off set up charge in Edinburgh but I believe it's different elsewhere.
Hope this makes sense, it seems complicated but my office is really helpful and they are quite patient!

Thank you -- that's very helpful to hear your experience with the process. MUCH APPRECIATED!!
I've already sent off an inquiry about the process and how I can get set up so just waiting to hear back.
Many thanks!

[mwj]

Yes, but money changes hands too, so it is more economical with bigger parcels.

Once you decide which assay office to go too, you can look up all about them online, or ask for an information pack.
They are also friendly and helpful on the phone.

You get to choose your unique makers mark, made into a stamp by them. But if your work is delicate it can be laser marked instead. Another advantage of lasers is that the size can be varied according to the piece.

There is nothing like the feeling of seeing your work marked for the first time. Dennis.

Oh and it's quite common for me to repeat what Caroline has already said, because I was still typing. I'll have to pull my socks up to get ahead of her.

Thanks Dennis, very helpful! That was the second part of my original question - I wasn't sure how they'd mark small/non flat items. Very helpful, thank you very much!

[mwj]

For some reason I also struggled to find detailed info on this sort of thing for France and Portugal.
Perhaps because my French and Portuguese isn't great but actually at least as likely because neither country has a great online presence.
The UK is amazing in comparison but one wouldn't have necessarily realised that they could have a UK hallmark when living and selling in France.

Mwj, where are you sourcing your silver from? because if its a reputable UK supplier it will be compliant with UK hallmarking but if elsewhere it may not be.
I buy all mine from Cooksons, they have decent prices and a very very good service to France.

Yes you're spot on there -- French gov't websites are notoriously terrible and awfully archaic (they often send you in circles or are used to simply tell you to send things in paper copy somewhere!). I buy all my supplies from Cookson in the UK as well, so I suppose that'll make their testing straightforward. I've asked the shop to try to find out more from the chambre de métiers et de l'artisanat so if I find anything out conclusive I'll definitely post it here!