Silver Hallmarking Laws/Rules in France?

**mwj** · 08-02-2018, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by pearlescence

A search 'nickel' on this forum shows four pages

Thanks very much I'll have a read.
I'm hoping that since I buy all my materials from Cookson UK there won't be any problems with this (like you said - USA putting nickel in).
Thanks again.

**enigma** · 08-02-2018, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by 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.

Yep thats the US all over really lol.

The single market is a nonsense anyway when you consider the massive differences in taxation across the EU- just one example is that in the UK you don't have to be VAT registered until your turn over is above £70k a year, in Portugal its £10k! so there is no even playing field anyway.
In Portugal we also have to mark any silver over 1 gramme.....
I do think hallmarking in itself is a good idea though.

**enigma** · 08-02-2018, 11:55 AM

Mwj, yes do post if you find out more as Im sure its something that will come up again at some point.
You are correct, gold and silver from Cooksons will have no issues at hallmarking

**pearlescence** · 08-02-2018, 02:59 PM

The single market and individual member state's tax decisions are entirely separate.
The single market allows you to import silver from cooksons without having to pay any additional tax as it enters Portugal, and without it being assayed to ensure it complies with any rules which Portugal might chose to apply (without the single market Portugal could insist that silver had to be .935 for example and .925 could not be sold.
Plus, if we do leave the single market if you send goods to the UK for hallmarking the mark might not be acceptable in the EU any more, and your goods might be liable for tax and duty as they cross the border each way
Sales from France or Portugal would certainly attract 20% VAT plus duty of whatever is the correct % for the type as they enter the UK unless worth less than £18. And they would have to have a UK hallmark to be sold to comply with the hallmarking act

**enigma** · 08-02-2018, 04:24 PM

Yes the customs duties are certainly a possibility.
I doubt that the UK hallmark standard will be unacceptable anywhere in the EU though as it is currently compliant or higher than everywhere else from my understanding.

**pearlescence** · 08-02-2018, 05:19 PM

9ct gold is unlikely to be acceptable.
If we do proceed to be a third state to the EU then it is up to the EU what is acceptable.

**enigma** · 08-02-2018, 05:49 PM

I very much doubt that, I just looked it up and found this from the World Gold Council:
" In France, the UK, Austria, Portugal and Ireland, 9 carat is the lowest caratage permitted to be called gold. In Denmark and Greece, 8 carat is the legal minimum standard."

**mwj** · 09-02-2018, 09:42 AM

I just heard back from Assay Office Birmingham - here were my questions and their answers:
Hello,
I plan to sell my handmade silver jewellery in France but I don't know any of the following:
1. am I legally obliged to have ALL my pieces hallmarked
2. what is the penalty for NOT having pieces "officially" hallmarked
3. if I have them hallmarked in UK can i sell them in France?
4. is there an exclusion for some kind of jewellery where I don't need to have it hallmarked (I am a one-person jeweller who's making things at home)?
5. are there any other laws I might not know about regarding selling jewellery in Europe?
-------
Thank you for your email, I will answer your questions as you have asked them,
1. No, anything under 7.78gs does not need to be hallmarked.
2. The penalty is trading standards get involved and prosecute.
3. Yes you can sell your items anywhere in the world.
4. No not when it is new, unless it is under the 7.78gs.
5. You would need to check with the countries you are looking to sell in for that information.
You need to be aware of how you sell the items and how you are describing the items for sale.
I hope this has been helpful, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me,

**handmadeblanks** · 10-02-2018, 02:10 PM

Now that you know the answer is 7.78g are you going to invest in an accurate scale or a cheap and nasty one? The law specifies the hallmarking threshold to an accuracy of 2 decimal places. Many of the cheaper scales don’t have a resolution of 0.01g which is what you need.

These are the scales I bought:Kern-Precision-Balance-Pfb-600-2M-PFB-600-2M