A hallmark is a mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals - platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. Historically, hallmarks were applied by a trusted party: the 'guardians of the craft' or nowadays by an assay office. These marks guarantee a certain purity or fineness of the metal.
Official hallmarks should not be confused with other markings, often just numbers, for example 750 or 925, intended to denote the fineness of the metal added by the manufacturer and unfortunately not always reflecting the true purity of the metal.
Prerequisites to Hallmarking
Notwithstanding the hallmarking systems many nations require, as a prerequisite to official hallmarking, that the maker or sponsor itself mark upon the item a responsibility mark and a claim of fineness. Responsibility marks are also required in the U.S. despite the fact that there is no official hallmarking scheme in that country. Nevertheless, in nations with an official hallmarking scheme, the hallmark is only applied after the item has been assayed to determine that its purity conforms not only to the standards set down by the law but also with the maker's claims as to metallurgical content.
UK Hallmarks
The Hallmarking Act 1973 made Britain a member of the Vienna Convention as well as introducing marking for platinum, a recognised metal under the Convention. All four remaining assay offices - London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh - finally adopted the same date letter sequences. The latest changes in 1999 were made to the UK hallmarking system to bring the system closer into line with the European Union (EU).
As it now stands, the compulsory part of the UK hallmark consists of the sponsor or maker's mark, the assay office mark, and the standard of fineness.
Examples of British Hallmarks for Sterling Silver
These are shown in the above example, showing the extra marks that can also be struck from left to right: the maker's mark, in this case the 'CM' of silversmith Cara Murphy; the lion passant, indicating sterling silver; the date mark, in this case a lowercase 'i' indicating the year '2008'; and the castle symbol representing the Edinburgh Assay Office.
