Hallmarking
hallmarked by the Birmingham Assay Office"
Birmingham Assay Office
The following content is courtesy of the Birmingham Assay Office
The majority of our rings are hallmarked by the Birmingham Assay Office, although we can hallmark you item in the London office should you wish.
What is a Hallmark?
Until 1998, a Hallmark consisted of four COMPULSORY MARKS. Since 1998 the date letter has become optional but the other three symbols remain compulsory. The symbols give the following information:
Sponsor's Mark
(formerly known as the Maker's mark) This shows the person or company responsible for sending the article to the Assay Office. The sponsor may be the manufacturer, retailer, importer, for example.
Standard Marks
These show the standard of fineness - the purity of the precious metal, in parts per thousand.
eg:
The background shape shows the metal (gold). The figure shows the article consists of 750 parts of gold by weight to 250 parts of other metals - 75% gold. This is equal to 18 carats (18 parts in every 24), the traditional way of describing gold purity.
Current Gold Standards
The following marks within a hallmark show the standard of gold used on the item
Current Silver Standards
There are four marks for the four different standards of silver
Current Platinum Standards
As with silver, there are four standards for Platinum
Assay Office Mark
There are now only four British Assay Offices in existence, but there have been more in the past.
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