Assay Assured & Hallmarking
Assay Assured
We are proud to be certified as an Assay Assured Jewellery Retailer – the only Trustmark specifically for online jewellery retailers and endorsed by many of the biggest jewellery companies in the industry.
In summary this ensures:
Independent Verification
All precious metal jewellery such as Gold and Sterling Silver offered by us carries the legally-required independent hallmark verifying the precious metal content (unless the item is exempt by weight). As certified participants of the Assay Assured scheme, sampling and testing by the Assay Assured team ensure that all jewellery including items exempt by weight from hallmarking are also of the advertised standard. This is a level of protection that exceeds the industry legal requirements.
Accurate Product Descriptions
All jewellery products will be accurately advertised and described stating the precise precious metal content.
Independent Arbitrations
If you have any queries regarding the precious metal content of your purchase that you feel are unable to resolve with us, Assay Assured will independently test the item/s and provide a report on their findings.
Branded Products
We will only offer genuine branded products and agree never to carry any counterfeit branded jewellery on our website.
Hallmarking
A hallmark is an official distinctive mark or series of marks struck on items of precious metal such as Gold, Silver, and Platinum, and in some countries Palladium to authenticate the fineness / purity. Commonly a hallmark will comprise of three compulsory marks; the sponsor’s mark, the standard mark and the assay office mark, with a fourth mark known as the date letter which is optional.
UK Hallmarking Law
Owing to the high value of precious metals, there are significant financial profits gained by reducing the content of an alloy during the manufacturing process. There are many unscrupulous entities who deliberately substitute the use of base metal items which are then plated with a layer of Gold, Silver or Platinum and then passed off as genuine solid precious metal. To combat this fraudulent activity most countries worldwide have made independent testing and hallmarking compulsory. Specifically here in UK where current legislation of ‘1973 The Hallmarking Act’ requires all precious metal items to conform to legal standards.
Articles Exempt from Hallmarking
The law applies to everything that is sold in the UK regardless of where it may have been manufactured. The only exemption to items which are not required to be hallmarked is if they weigh less than 1 gram for Gold, 7.78 grams for Silver, 0.5 grams for Platinum and 1 gram for Palladium. Such items are only exempt on weight as long as they are of the standard declared.
International Convention Marks
The hallmarking convention is an international treaty between contracting countries which has been established to facilitate and promote the cross-border trade of precious metal items in compliance to industry standards of quality control. Those who participate in the convention recognise that items, which have been marked with the Convention Common Control Mark (CCM) and which are of legal fineness / purity can enter their territory without any additional control or re-hallmarking. The CCM mark is therefore recognised as a symbol of quality not only by the contracting countries but also those worldwide.
