Hallmarking and Your Wedding Ring

So you have had an engagement ring, wedding ring, or eternity ring commissioned. Alot of people might see the hallmarks in their wedding rings on a daily basis but don’t actually know what they mean! Hallmarks are the official marks on a precious metal to denote the quality of the metal. This provides you as a consumer a guarantee or even proof of the condition of your jewellery with an official stamp of quality! The nature of the hallmark itself also differs from country to country. Some countries provide the details of the precious metal in a single mark, whereas in the UK the details of the metal are given with several different symbols.

Hallmarks have been used to mark precious jewellery since as early as the 4th century AD, and in fact there are examples of silver pieces from the Byzantium period with a collection of five stamps on them… though sadly we have been unable to confirm what they suggested about the object! During the Middle Ages hallmarking was regulated by local governments and was performed by assayers. In 1300 England saw the introduction of hallmarking for silver items by King Edward I was instilled and done by ‘guardians of the craft’. This later developed into a system which was centred in the London Goldsmiths’ Hall. In fact jewellery was stamped in this hall, these marks became known as hallmarks!

Hallmarks and your jewellery

But how, you might ask are your engagement rings or wedding rings hallmarked? Most precious metals are traditionally marked are punched using a hammer or press. Today you can also have your hallmarked lasered! This can even be done in 2D and 3D! This is a great option for delicate or hollow items as it doesn’t distort the item.

Today in the UK there are three compulsory marks which you should see on your jewellery. These are the maker’s mark, standard of fineness and the assay office’s mark. If you have a look at a piece of your jewellery you should be able to find out where it was hallmarked by its town mark. Items stamped in Birmingham have an anchor mark, Edinburgh has a castle mark, the Yorkshire rose mark for Sheffield, and items marked in London (like our Harriet Kelsall designs) have a panther mark!

A number of countries that do not use hallmarking regularly actually do require a mark on the jewellery. For example in the USA the maker has to give the metal a responsibility mark to show the fineness of the metal (without having it tested as is standard when items are hallmarked in the UK). The responsibility mark is known, as it has been since the Middle Ages as le poinçon de maître which means ‘the makers punch’. Here at Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery our bespoke rings and other items of jewelry are marked with an HK manufacturer’s symbol.

Precious metals also get marked for their purity. This involves the metal being tested for its carat (which means the proportion of the precious metal existing in the piece). This is marked with a three digit number for example silver is regularly marked as 925, whereas platinum might be marked as 950. You might be a little more familiar with the purity marks for gold however, e.g. 9ct gold is marked by a 375 and 18ct gold is a 750 mark. Palladium as you may know is a fairly new precious metal on the market, and only began being hallmarked in the UK in January 2010.

This gives you as the consumer a guarantee of the purity of the metal. But don’t worry, if you have bought something abroad and don’t see a mark… in allot of countries they are not normally used. This is one of the fantastic things about having a piece of jewellery that is constructed in the UK, as our strict regulations mean that you get a proper guarantee as a consumer for the piece of jewellery you have had commissioned.

Your jewellery should also have a date mark which should be a letter and number inside of a shaped mark. Each assay office runs a different cycle of letters, so if your curious about a mark in one of your old pieces, with a little bit of research you might be able to work this out!

Some pieces of jewellery have even been given a commemorative mark e.g. special marks were used for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and for the Millennium! Today we are also proud enough to see the launch of the Fairtrade mark. Now you can choose to have an engagement ring, wedding ring or eternity ring designed in Fairtrade precious metals. Now you can choose the most ethical option and have a Fairtrade marked ring to show that you have purchased fairly mined metal.