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Stephen Alan's Jewellers - The Jewellery Blog
Take a good look at that gold or silver ring, necklace, bracelet, those cufflinks or that gorgeous silver cutlery set your grandmother left you, and you’ll notice a discreet stamp, that looks something like the picture below.
This is what’s called a hallmark, and it’s a way of telling firstly, if the piece of jewellery or giftware etc. is genuine, and secondly, how much of the precious metal the piece contains.
Why does jewellery need a hallmark?
The answer to this question comes down to UK regulations around precious metals that state, in order to classify a metal as precious, it has to contain a minimum amount of that precious metal.
A hallmark therefore, is designed to protect you, the buyer of the precious metal (jewellery etc.), from buying something that isn’t quite as pure as the seller is making out.
Why isn’t jewellery made from pure precious metal?
Precious metal, such as gold or platinum in its purest form, isn’t usually as durable or flexible as it needs to be for use as a practical or decorative item, so manufacturers will add another metal which does contain the properties required.
But…
As a buyer of a precious metal, you want to know just how precious/pure that metal is – which brings us right back to the hallmark, which if you know how to read it, will tell you, amongst other things,
the exact purity (fineness) of your precious metal.
How do you read a jewellery hallmark?
A hallmark on jewellery, or other decorative pieces manufactured from precious metal, will contain four compulsory symbols, including –
1. The makers mark
This mark, which will have at least two letters within a surround, will tell you who the maker or sponsor of the jewellery is, allowing you to trace it back to its manufacturer. For example, here at Stephen Alan’s Jewellers, any bespoke jewellery we make will have the makers mark DJQ, which stands for Dean John Quy, the name of our own onsite goldsmith and jewellery design expert.
2. The millesimal fineness (purity) mark
This mark, denoted by a three figure number, tells you the percentage of the precious metal the piece contains. If we’re referring to gold:
‘916’ stands for 91.6% pure gold – 22ct Gold Jewellery
‘750’ stands for 75% pure gold – 18ct Gold Jewellery
‘583’ stands for 58.3% pure gold – 14ct Gold Jewellery
‘375’ stands for 37.5% pure gold – 9ct Gold Jewellery
3. The assay office mark
The assay office mark is a symbol that shows the location the metal was tested and marked. In the UK, there are four current assay offices in operation, including:
Sheffield: a rose and crown
London: a leopards head
Birmingham: an anchor
Edinburgh: a three-turreted castle
Although, it’s important to note - over the centuries, assay office marks have been changed, or represent assay offices no longer in operation, so older jewellery or antiques etc. may have an alternative mark not mentioned above.
4. Date letter mark
Note: Date letter marks were compulsory up until 1999
A date letter is a single letter with a surround, which indicates when the piece was hallmarked. These (optional) markings are changed on 1st January each year, and need to be entirely unique, including the font of the letter, and the shape of the surround.
Bradbury's Book of Hallmarks
As you can imagine, dating a piece of jewellery using this mark is going to be challenging, therefore in most jewellery experts box of tools, you’ll find a copy of Bradbury’s Book of Hallmarks – a handy guide showing all hallmarks dating back as far as 1544.
Optional hallmarks
On close inspection of your jewellery, giftware or antiques, you might notice other hallmarks we haven’t mentioned yet. These are usually optional hallmarks, and could include:
Convention mark
A convention hallmark is an optional mark to encourage international trading of precious metals. If a piece of jewellery has this mark (the millesimal fineness mark surrounded by scales) it means wherever the piece originated, it’s still legally recognised in the UK.
Commemorative marks
Commemorative marks are stamped to commemorate important occasions, such as the recent Platinum Jubilee, marking the Queens 70th year on the throne. Although used mainly as a decorative stamp, a commemorative mark is also a great way to date a specific piece.
How is jewellery hallmarked?
There are two ways in which jewellery is hallmarked, which include:
Stamp
Stamping a hallmark into a piece of jewellery is a method that has been used over the centuries, and is still used today. But, due to it being quite a harsh method, stamping can have the drawback of damaging the piece being hallmarked, and in some cases, a stamped hallmark in more delicate pieces, isn’t legible.
Laser
Due to the problems with stamping a hallmark, most manufacturers now use laser hallmarking. And, although this method is a much gentler and more reliable way to imprint a hallmark, due to its subtlety, a laser hallmark can be fade during polishing, meaning the piece needs to go back to the assay office to be re-hallmarked.
Not just a mark
Registering a hallmark, isn't a difficult process, and is available to anyone via an assay office for around £60 + vat. But, here at Stephen Alan's Jewellers, the DJQ hallmark means so much more.
Dean John Quy, our own onsite goldsmith and jewellery design expert, waited over twenty years before registering the DJQ hallmark, because he strongly believed that the hallmark was a mark of his deep passion, a representation of over 20 years hard work perfecting a craft he adored.
And, he took it a step further...
Looking for a jeweller with passion?
Visit Stephen Alan's Jewellers at 30b High Street Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1EA, or give us a call on 01525 373177 to speak to Dean, or one our friendly and knowledgeable team of jewellery experts.
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