Hallmarking is a legal requirement for jewellers in the UK that work with precious metals and is to protect the buyers of such metals against fraud. The hallmark itself is a mark to show that the item has been tested and matches its description and conforms to all legal standards of purity or metal fineness.

All precious metal items over certain weights, that are sold in the UK must have a legal, recognised hallmark. For silver items it is items over 7.78g, gold and palladium items over 1g and platinum over 0.5g.

A complete hallmark consists of 3 compulsory marks:

1. The sponsor’s or makers mark

   This is the mark of the company or person sending the item for hallmarking. My mark has the 3 letters A J D and is unique to me.

2. A metal and fineness mark

   This mark shows the precious metal content of the item, recorded in parts per thousand. So for silver, 925 fineness means 92.5% silver.

3. An Assay Office Mark

   This mark shows which of the four Assay Offices in the UK has tested and hallmarked the item. I am registered with the Birmingham Assay Office.

There are other marks which can be added, such as a date mark and traditional fineness symbol but these aren’t compulsory.

Not all my items are hallmarked as some are under the weight threshold for silver but it will say on the product description for the item if it is hallmarked.