Hallmarking isn’t just some nice little stamps that help to identify what metal your jewellery is made from, it’s a legal requirement that started over 700 years ago!! I won’t give you the whole history lesson here, but if you want to read more about it, then click this text to link to a great explanation on the London Assay Office website.

Today, the law states that if a piece (of anything, not just jewellery!) made from silver weighs over 7.78g, from gold or palladium weighs over 1g, or from platinum weighs over 0.5g, it MUST be hallmarked at a UK Assay Office in order to be sold as that metal.

In most cases, I hallmark everything anyway, even if it’s below the required weight, as it then helps to prove that it’s made from what I’m saying it is, as well as document the piece in history for anyone that it might be passed onto in years to come.

There’s four Assay Offices in the UK - London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh. I use both London and Birmingham.

There’s a slide show of images at the bottom of the page to help you identify each mark, but if you want to learn more, there’s also loads of interesting information on all of the Assay Office’s web sites.