British Vintage Jewellery Hallmarking - By: Anne

Have you ever looked at a piece of Vintage Jewellery and wondered what those funny little markings on the back or the inside of a ring are? These are know as Hallmarks. Did you know you can accurately date a piece of British Jewellery and determine the metal content from these hallmarks? Many bargains can be acquired by buying second hand but how do you know it is real?

Hallmarking in the UK has changed frequently since it was first introduced in the middle ages. The first part of of this hallmarking guide refers to the current law as I understand it. Prior to the 1973 hallmarking act which came into force on January 1st 1975 there were many different laws governing hallmarks.

The 1973 Hallmarking act:

The 1973 act simplified these laws and brought all the different hallmarking law into one act and for the first time Platinum was required to be hallmarked and its purity standard was set at .950.All items over a minimum set weight must be hallmarked if they are to be described as that metal: Platinum 0.5 gram, Gold, 1 gram and silver 7.8 gram.The act sets out that there are 2 parts to a hallmark plus the manufacturers sponsor mark. These are:

The Standard mark which indicates which metal the item is made out of. A Lion for sterling silver, Britannia for 958.4 silver, an Orb with a cross on top for Platinum and a crown for gold.

There are 4 assay offices: London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh. Under the act they all use common marks for the different metal standards with the exception of Edinburgh using a Lion Rampant for Sterling silver where as the others use a Lion Passant.

The Purities of the metals were not changed by the 1973 act however this was now expressed as the number of parts per thousand rather than as carats. For example prior to the act an item could have been marked as 9 carat would now be marked as .375. The act also set out the actual form for the assay office mark to take: London took the Leopards head, Edinburgh the Castle; Sheffield took the Rose and Birmingham the Anchor although the silver and gold marks differ in their background .The date letter became common to all the assay offices and it changes on January 1st every year.

The 1999 amendments to the 1973 act:

This helped to bring the UK into line with the European Union.Additional metal standards were set out:

Gold before 1999: .375, .585, .750, .916

Gold from 1999: .375, .585, .750, .916, 990, .999

Platinum before 1999: .950

Platinum from 1999: .850, .900, .950, .999

Silver before 1999: .925, .958.4

Silver from 1999: .800, .925 .958 .999

Hallmarks were set out as having two marks plus the Sponsors mark. These marks are;

i) The standard mark expressed as parts per thousand (see list above); the shape this number is impressed in indicated which metal it is eg oval for silver.

ii) The Assay office mark.

The pictorial mark for the metal (eg the lion for silver) is now no longer required nor is the date letter.

All items made prior to 1920 became exempt from hallmarking and a general rule enabled items which had legal hallmarks at the time they were made to remain legal.

Have you ever looked at a piece of Jewellery and wondered what those funny little markings on the back or the inside of a ring are? These are know as Hallmarks. Did you know you can accurately date a piece of British Jewellery and determine the metal content from the hallmarks? Many bargains can be acquired by buying second hand but how do you know it is real? British Hallmarking Laws are complex and the system which has changed many times over the last 200 years.

Anne owns www.antiquesavenue.co.uk online shop for excellent Vintage Jewellery Vintage and antique jewellery from England dating from circa 1800 to 1970s.