HALLMARKING

GUIDANCE NOTES

PRACTICAL GUIDANCE IN RELATION

TO THE HALLMARKING ACT 1973
INFORMATION FROM THE ASSAY OFFICES OF GREAT BRITAIN

NOVEMBER 2022

London Edinburgh Birmingham Sheffield

Guaranteeing The Quality Of Precious Metals Since 1327

 HALLMARKING GUIDANCE NOTES

THE PURPOSE OF THESE

GUIDANCE NOTES
The purpose of these notes is to give practical guidance in relation to the
Hallmarking Act 1973 and subsequent amendments. No reliance should be placed
on the document for a legal interpretation. The UK Assay Offices are happy to
answer questions arising from these guidance notes and on any articles or other
issues not specifically mentioned.

CONTENTS OF THIS BOOKLET:

Contents Page
Hallmarking precious metals 3 - 21

Guidance on describing precious metals 22 - 23

Contact details for UK Assay Offices 24

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HALLMARKING PRECIOUS METALS

WHY ARE PRECIOUS METAL ARTICLES HALLMARKED?

Platinum, gold, palladium and silver are rarely used in their purest form but
instead they are normally alloyed with lesser metals in order to achieve a desired
strength, durability, colour etc.

It is not possible to detect by sight or by touch the platinum, gold, palladium or

silver content of an item. It is therefore a legal requirement to hallmark all articles
consisting of platinum, gold, palladium or silver (subject to certain exemptions) if
they are to be described as such.

The main offence under the UK Hallmarking Act 1973 is based on description. It is
an offence for any person in the course of trade or business to:

• Describe an un-hallmarked article as being wholly or partly made of platinum,

gold, palladium or silver.

• Supply or offer to supply un-hallmarked articles to which such a description is applied.

• The UK’s legal requirement for a hallmark applies to anyone in the course of
trade or business with UK consumers and applies equally to e-commerce,
distance selling, gallery shops, market stalls and physical retail premises.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE HALLMARKED?

Any article described as being wholly or partly made of platinum, gold, palladium
or silver that is not covered under exempt articles. This applies equally to new
articles and pre-owned articles. A description can be verbal, written, or in the
form of a manufacturers fineness marks on a piece of jewellery.

Main Exemptions:
Articles below a certain weight are exempt from hallmarking. In the case of articles
consisting of precious metal and base metal the below exemption weight is based on
the total metal weight, including base metals.

Where an article contains more than one precious metal the applicable minimum
weight is that of the most precious metal in the alloy.
• Platinum 0.5 grams • Gold 1.0 gram • Palladium 1.0 gram • Silver 7.78 grams
Any pre-1950 item may now be described and sold as precious metal without a hallmark, if
the seller can prove that it is of minimum fineness and was manufactured before 1950.

Other Exempt Articles

A full list of exemptions can be found on pages 16 – 18 of these Guidance Notes.

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WHAT ARE THE PRECIOUS METAL

STANDARDS FOR HALLMARKING?
The precious metal fineness standard for UK hallmarking (expressed in parts per
thousand) for each precious metal, along with the standard of solder permitted to
be used, for each individual fineness, is listed below. The hallmarking standards
available under the International Hallmarking Convention (common control mark)
are also listed.

Alloy UK Fineness Permitted Convention

(ppt) Solder Permitted
(ppt) Solder
(ppt)
Platinum 999 Minimum PM
fineness 999
Platinum 950 Minimum PM
fineness 950 Minimum PM
Platinum 900 Minimum PM fineness 800
fineness 900
Platinum 850 Minimum PM
fineness 850
Gold 999 750 750
Gold 990 750 750
Gold 916.6 750 750
Gold 750 750 750
Gold 750 Filigree or watch case 740 740
Gold 750 White 500 585
Gold 585 Yellow, Red 585 585
Gold 585 White 500 585
Gold 375 375 375
Palladium 999 Minimum PM
Palladium 950 fineness 700 Minimum PM
fineness 700
Palladium 500 Minimum PM
fineness 500
Silver 999 650 650
Silver 958 650 650
Silver 925 650 650
Silver 800 650 550

PM is platinum, gold, palladium or silver or a combination of two or more thereof

and the fineness may be combined.

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WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM

REQUIREMENTS OF A HALLMARK?

A HALLMARK IS MADE UP OF
3 COMPULSORY SYMBOLS:
1. The Sponsor’s or Maker’s Mark
This indicates the maker or sponsor of the article. In the UK this mark consists of
at least two letters within a surround. No two Sponsor’s marks are the same at
any one Assay Office.

2. Metal and fineness (purity) Mark

Indicates the precious metal content of the article and that it is not less than the
fineness of the article indicated. The fineness is indicated by a millesimal number
(parts per thousand) and the metal type is indicated by the shape of the surround.

Platinum Gold Palladium Silver

3. Assay Office Mark

Indicates the particular Assay Office at which the article was tested and marked.
There are 4 Assay Offices in the UK – London, Edinburgh, Birmingham
and Sheffield.

Assay Office Town Marks

London Edinburgh Birmingham Sheffield

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There is also a range of optional marks that can be applied alongside the
Hallmark if requested. These are:

Traditional Fineness Symbols – optional

Sterling Sterling Silver Britannia Palladium Gold Platinum

Silver Scotland Silver

The Date Letter – optional

Until 1999 the date letter was compulsory. This is no longer the case, but it can be
applied voluntarily in addition to the compulsory marks. The date letter changes
once a year on January 1st.

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030

The Common Control Mark and Convention Marks (CCM)

The UK has been a signatory to the International Convention on Hallmarks since
1972. This means that UK Assay Offices can strike the Convention Hallmark which
will then be recognised by all member countries in the International Convention.
Equally, Convention Hallmarks from other member countries are legally recognised
in the UK. Articles bearing the Convention Hallmark do not have to be re-
hallmarked in the UK.

There are two types of Convention mark.

Platinum Gold Palladium Silver

Type 1 has the fineness incorporated in the design and the shape indicates the metal.

Type 2 displays the scales only and is the same shape on all metals.

Articles displaying the Type 2 mark must have additional marks indicating the
metal, e.g., chemical symbol, or shield indicating the nature of the precious metal
and the fineness in Arabic numerals.

Articles that have either type of CCM mark also require the sponsor’s mark and
Assay Office mark.

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CCM marks are applied in addition to the national hallmark and allows the article
to be sold between countries who are members of the convention without the need
for further testing and marking.

Fineness recognised under the Convention are:

Platinum: 850, 900, 950, 999 Gold: 375, 585, 750, 916, 990, 999
Palladium: 500, 950, 999 Silver: 800, 925, 958, 999

A Convention Hallmark consists of 4 marks:

Sponsor Common Fineness Assay

Control Mark (Purity) Mark Office Mark

On smaller articles, when type 1 is applied, the additional fineness mark can be
omitted, as it is incorporated in the CCM design.

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APPROVAL OF SPONSORS’ MARKS

AND USE OF LOGO MARKS

CAN I USE MY COMPANY LOGO AS A SPONSOR’S MARK?

Any sponsors’ mark can be registered with an Assay Office but the design must be
approved by an assay office. The Assay Office will use the following guidance to
make an approval.
(a) In order to allow accurate searches of the Sponsors’ mark register a logo
must either contain at least two letters or if a symbol only is used it must be
contained with an approved Assay Office standard surround.
(b) The supplier must provide the assay office with an authorised hard copy of the
Registered Trade Mark or other registered design.
(c) The supplier must provide the assay office with a written undertaking that they
have the authority to use the trade mark.
(d) The assay office is not responsible for validating ownership of the design or its
use, or for verifying its registration, although it is expected that common sense
and existing knowledge will be applied when approving such designs.
(e) The design must allow the mark to be clearly distinguished and described.
(f) Numbers alone will not be approved.
(g) Designs resembling the character of a current or ancient hallmark will not
be approved.
(h) Any design must be of size that allows it to be made into a punch which can
be used for the hallmark and still be legible. It is unlikely that designs of more
than 5 characters long could be made into a satisfactory punch.

If the logo cannot be approved as a sponsor’s mark, the logo is a decorative

addition which is not an integral part of the approved hallmark then there are clear
guidelines to be followed.
(a) must be principally for decorative purposes;
(b) must not give the impression that it is a present or formerly authorised hallmark.
(c) must not give or purport to give additional information about that article
regarding the standard of the metal, or at which Assay Office or when it
was marked.
(d) must not be described as being part of a hallmark.

For the full guidelines on the use of logo marks, please refer to The British
Hallmarking Council’s ‘Principles and Guidance on Sponsors’ Marks, Logo and Town
Marks’ which can be obtained from any of the UK Assay Offices on request.

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CAN I USE MORE THAN ONE

PRECIOUS METAL IN ONE ARTICLE?
Articles consisting of more than one precious metal can be hallmarked, subject
to the following conditions:

• The item can only be marked if, in the opinion of the Assay Office, an ordinary
person will be able to determine which part is which precious metal. Note:
Two standards of the same precious metal, e.g., 375 gold and 750 gold, are not
regarded as “Mixed Metals” In this case the hallmark for the lower standard will
be applied.

• Each precious metal component must be at least the minimum legal fineness
for that metal i.e., Platinum 850, Gold 375, Palladium 500, Silver 800 (Parts
per thousand).

• The full Hallmark (Sponsor’s Mark, Assay Office and fineness mark) struck will
be that of the least precious metal, in order, silver, palladium, gold and platinum.
This will normally be struck on the appropriate metal. If not practicable to do so,
marks may be struck on the higher precious metal.

• Where an article includes mixed precious metals, the minor fineness mark only
will be stamped on the “higher” precious metals

• Where an article contains more than one precious metal, the applicable
minimum weight is that of the higher precious metal in the article compared
to the total weight of all precious metals in the article. For example, an article
with 0.5g of gold and 3g of silver. The higher precious metal is gold; therefore,
the minimum exemption weight is 1g. The total weight is 3.5g which exceeds the
minimum exemption weight for gold. Therefore, this article is not exempt.

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Anomalies
Where small components are used, the above may not be possible. In these
circumstances the following rules apply:

• If it is not practical to stamp the fineness marks on the “higher” precious

metals, they may be stamped on the lower precious metals.

• If this is not practical then the fineness marks can be stamped on another
precious metal part.

• If neither of these options are practical, the full hallmark (Sponsor’s Mark,
Assay Office mark and least precious metal fineness mark) will be applied on
the least precious metal part and all other marks omitted.

• When a platinum article has small component parts consisting of gold (not
white) and the gold parts are of a fineness of 750 parts per thousand or
higher, then the article may be hallmarked with a platinum full mark and the
appropriate gold fineness mark. This will not apply if the gold components are
585 or 375ppt. The gold fineness mark can be applied anywhere on the article.
The gold parts must not exceed 50% of the total article weight.

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CAN I USE NON-PRECIOUS

METALS IN COMBINATION WITH
PRECIOUS METALS?
Articles made of precious metals and other materials can be hallmarked,
subject to the following conditions:

A mixed precious metal and base metal article, or an article of mixed precious
metal and other materials, can only be hallmarked if any precious metal
component is at least the minimum legal fineness for that metal i.e. Platinum 850
(parts per thousand), Gold 375 (parts per thousand), Palladium 500, (parts per
thousand), Silver 800 (parts per thousand).

If an article includes base metal parts then:

• Those base metal parts must be clearly distinguishable from precious metal
parts by colour and/or texture and must be clearly visible by their extent.

• The word + METAL must be applied next to the Hallmark on the precious
metal part.

• Whenever practical the word METAL or the name of the metal should also be
struck on the base metal part/s (brass, stainless steel, titanium etc.), in a manner
which complies with any Regulation made by The British Hallmarking Council.

• The Hallmark can only be applied to the precious metal component. Sufficient
space must also be available adjacent to the Hallmark for the addition of the
“+METAL” mark.

• For an article with more than one precious metal and a base metal the Mixed
Precious Metal rules apply.

If an article does not include base metal parts, but other materials, then:

• The other materials must be clearly distinguishable from any precious metal part.
• The other materials part must not be plated to resemble any precious metal.
• The extent of each part must be clearly visible.
• The precious metal part must be of a thickness of not less than 100 micrometres.
• A mixed material article containing only a single precious metal will be
hallmarked on the precious metal part only, as if it was a separate article.

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If an item has base metal parts required to fulfil a technical function, then:

• Such parts can only be justified if the particular precious metal from which an
article is constructed cannot be made to perform a required technical function.

• Permission must be pre-agreed with the Assay Office

• Smaller base metal parts such as springs in clasps can be ignored.
• Larger base metal parts that are fully concealed e.g. continuous steel springs
or wire inside bangles or necklaces will be marked with + SPRING adjacent to
the Hallmark.

• Fully concealed base metal spring cores or wires should be no heavier than is
required to fulfil the technical function. They must not exceed 50% of the total
article weight.

• If larger base metal parts performing a technical function are visible by their
extent they will be treated as a mixed precious metal and base metal article and
marked +METAL

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HALLMARKING GOLD PLATED

SILVER ARTICLES

CAN I HALLMARK GOLD PLATED SILVER ARTICLES?

Gold plated silver articles will be hallmarked as silver.

Gold plated articles are not covered by the ‘mixed metals’ amendment to the
Hallmarking Act (2007).

Other than the silver hallmark, or a 925 stamp on underweight articles, no other
standalone gold fineness marks are permitted on gold plated silver articles,
because they are potentially confusing and misleading to consumers.

A gold fineness description is allowed if the article is described as silver and

immediately followed by the words ‘gold plated’. For example an article with a
silver hallmark (or 925 stamp on the underweight articles) can be described as
‘925 & 18ct gold plated’.

CAN I HALLMARK GOLD PLATED BASE

METAL ARTICLES?
Gold plated base metals items cannot be hallmarked, this includes ‘bonded gold’
on base metal, ‘rolled gold’ on base metal and ‘plated gold’ on base metal.

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MOKUME GANE ARTICLES

CONTAINING PRECIOUS METAL(S)

WHAT IS MOKUME GANE?

Mokume Gane is a traditional Japanese method for laminating various colours
of metals together and manipulating them to create patterns that resemble
wood patterns. The rules defined here relate only to articles that include parts
manufactured as Mokume Gane (as defined here).

Articles that include small or thin parts of precious metal and or base metal
constructed in other ways that cannot be defined as Mokume Gane are not to be
evaluated using these guidelines and normal mixed metal hallmarking rules will
apply to those precious metal parts and/or non-precious metal parts.

HALLMARKING MOKUME GANE

• Each precious metal layer must be at least the minimum legal fineness i.e.
silver 800, palladium 500, gold 375, platinum 850 (parts per thousand).

• Mokume Gane articles consisting of more than one fineness of a precious metal
will be hallmarked at the lowest fineness found for that precious metal.

• The item can only be marked if, in the opinion of the Assay Office, an ordinary
person will be able to clearly distinguish by colour the precious metal(s) from
the non-precious metal(s).

• The Assay Office must be able to test the precious metal(s), otherwise the
articles will be rejected for hallmarking (or accepted as a revised submitted
standard), in accordance with normal Assay Office procedures.

• For an article consisting of only Mokume Gane parts, more than 50% of the
article by weight must be made from precious metals.

• Sufficient space must be available for the respective hallmark as

defined below, otherwise the articles will be rejected for hallmarking (or
accepted as a revised submitted standard), in accordance with normal Assay
Office procedures.

• The appropriate full hallmark and other marks, and their locations, will be
selected in the same way as for articles consisting of more than one precious
metals or non-precious metals and precious metals, as explained earlier in
this guidance.

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• The item can only be marked if, in the opinion of the Assay Office, the article
satisfies all other conditions for articles consisting of more than one precious
metals or non-precious metals and precious metals, as explained elsewhere in
this guidance.

• If the article includes parts that are not Mokume Gane then normal mixed metal
hallmarking rules will apply to those precious metal parts and/or non-precious
metal parts. The majority of the Mokume Gane part of the article must be made
from precious metals. The Mokume Gane parts will be considered as precious
metal parts.

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EXEMPT ARTICLES
The following gives a full list of articles exempt from compulsory hallmarking
under part II of schedule 1 of the 1973 Hallmarking Act. As amended by the
Hallmarking (Exempted Articles) (Amendment) Order 1975 and the Hallmarking
(Exempted Articles) Orders 1982 and 1986.

Exempted Articles
1. An article which is intended for dispatch to a destination outside the
United Kingdom.

2. An article which is outside the United Kingdom, or which is in course of

consignment from outside the United Kingdom to an Assay Office in the
United Kingdom.

3. Any coin which is, or was formerly at any time, current coin of the United
Kingdom or any other territory.

4. Any article which has been used, or is intended to be used, for medical, dental,
veterinary, scientific or industrial purposes.

5. Any battered article fit only to be remanufactured.

6. Any article of gold or silver thread.

7. Any raw material (including any bar, plate, sheet, foil, rod, wire, strip or tube)
or bullion.

8. Any manufactured article which is not substantially complete, and which is

intended for further manufacture.

9. Any article which is wholly or mainly of platinum, and which was manufactured
before 1st January 1975.

10. Any article which is wholly or mainly of palladium, and which was
manufactured before 1st January 2010.

Articles Exempt if of Minimum Fineness

11. Any article which;

(a) Is wholly or mainly of gold or of silver or of gold and silver assaying in all its
gold parts not less than 375 parts per thousand and in all its silver parts not
less than 800 parts per thousand; and

(b) Was manufactured before the year 1950 and has not since the beginning of
the year 1950 been the subject of any alteration which would be an improper
alteration if the article had previously borne approved hallmarks.

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12. Any musical instrument, where the description is applied to the mouthpiece
and the mouthpiece is of minimum fineness.

13. Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, any article containing only one
precious metal, being a metal of minimum fineness and of a weight less than
that specified in the following table:

Silver 7.78 grams

Palladium 1 gram
Gold 1 gram
Platinum 0.5 grams

NB In the case of articles consisting of precious metal and base metal the above
exemption weight is based on the total metal weight, including base metals.

14. Any article, except an article made of chain work, which is wholly of one or
more precious metals of minimum fineness and which is so small or thin that
it cannot be hallmarked

15. Any article which is of minimum fineness and which is imported temporarily
(whether as a trade sample, or as intended for exhibition or otherwise) and for
the time being remains under the control of the Commissioners of Customs
and Excise.

16. Before 1975, many precious metal articles (e.g. rings, whatever their weight,
other than wedding rings) were exempted from hallmarking. Platinum was not
hallmarked at all. Any article covered by these exemptions, if (a) of minimum
fineness (Gold 375 parts per thousand and Silver 800 Parts per thousand) and
(b) proved to have been manufactured before 1975, may still be described and
sold as precious metal.

16a. The following articles of gold, if manufactured before 1st January 1975,
and (except in the case of articles mentioned in sub-paragraph (d) below) of
minimum fineness-

(a) Rings, except wedding rings, pencil cases, lockets, watch chains
and thimbles.

(b) Articles consisting entirely of filigree work.

(c) Articles so heavily engraved or set with stones that it is impossible to mark
them without damage.

(d) Jewellers works, that is the actual setting only in which stones or other
jewels are set and jointed sleeper earrings.

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16b. The following articles of silver, if manufactured before 1st January 1975
and (except in the case of articles mentioned in paragraph (e) below) of
minimum fineness –

(a) Lockets, watch chains and stamped medals.

(b) Mounts the weight of which is less than 15.55 grams.

(c) Articles consisting entirely of filigree work.

(d) Silver articles the weight of which is less than 7.78 grams.

(e) Jewellers works, that is the actual setting only in which stones or other
jewels are set.

17. However, even articles which should have been hallmarked when they
were made, but bear no hallmark, are now treated as exempt if they were
manufactured before a specific date. Since 1999, the date has been 1920, but
the amended legislation alters this date to 1950. Therefore, any pre-1950 item
may now be described and sold as precious metal, if the seller can prove that it
is of minimum fineness and was manufactured before 1950.

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OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Adhesives & Solder
Adhesives and solder can be used as long as it is not excessive, nor used for
strengthening, weighting or filling. Adhesives may be used in place of solder.

Filled Hollow Articles

Hollow articles may be filled with non-metallic substances. Such articles must be
marked ‘FILLED’ before hallmarking.

Submitting part assembled items

The Assay Offices are required by the Hallmarking Act 1973 to see all the
component parts that will be used to make the final complete article before the
hallmark is applied. The customer must ensure all components are present at the
point of submission.

Plated Articles
Hallmarked articles may also be plated as follows:

Article made of: Plating Permitted

Platinum Gold, platinum, rhodium
Gold Gold, platinum, rhodium
Palladium Palladium, gold, platinum, rhodium
Silver Silver, palladium, gold, platinum, ruthenium , rhodium

• If the plating is applied after hallmarking, the plating or coating must not exceed
2 micrometres on any part of the article.

• If precious metal articles are plated with the same precious metal, for example
gold plated with gold, the standard of fineness of the plating must not be less
than the standard of fineness of the article itself.

• Any precious metal used for plating must never be less than the minimum UK
standard of fineness.

• The use of base metal for plating on precious metal articles is not permitted,
Whether as an interlayer or as a surface treatment. This includes the use of
nickel, copper and alloys such as Miralloy etc. If detected, the article/s will
be rejected by the Assay Offices. This practice tends to be more evident on
articles manufactured outside the UK. Importers are encouraged to specify the
requirements of the Hallmarking Act to the supplier before orders are placed.

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Making alterations to a new hallmarked article

• It is an offence for any person to make an addition, alteration or repair to a
NEW article bearing approved hallmarks, except in accordance with the written
consent of an assay office.

• If an article is submitted for hallmarking disassembled it should be assembled

using only the metal parts that were submitted with it.

• If after hallmarking the component which bears the hallmark is combined with
different parts which have not undergone assay with the hallmarked component
this will constitute an offence under Schedule 5(1) of the Hallmarking Act.

Making an alteration to a pre-owned hallmarked article

(articles that are not new)
It is possible to make an alternation to a hallmarked article that is NOT new,
subject to the following conditions:

• The altered article must be of the same character and purpose as the original
(e.g. a spoon must not become a fork.)

• The addition must be of the same standard as the article to which it is being added.
• The weight of the addition must be no heavier than 0.5 grams in platinum, 1
gram in gold, 1 gram in palladium and 5 grams in silver.

• The addition must not be greater than 50% of the article’s total weight.
• Any other alteration must be re-submitted to an Assay Office.

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CHANGE OF USE
The practice of recycling unwanted hallmarked articles into items with a different
use has been popular over recent years. Most of the examples use cutlery, forks,
spoons, etc, to make pendants, rings and bracelets and the original mark is still
present. This is permitted, providing:

• After the change has been made, the articles are submitted to an Assay Office
before they are sold.

• The articles can be submitted to any of the 4 assay offices, even if the original
mark was not applied by them and even if the existing hallmark was applied by
an Assay Office that has closed.

• The assay office will inspect the article to ensure the hallmark is still valid
and issue a certificate for each item. The item will have the certificate number
applied to it. The end consumer shall be supplied with the certificate as proof
that the article is in accordance with the current requirements.

• Any article that does not display a hallmark or the hallmark cannot be easily
read after the change, will need to be submitted as a new ware for testing and
hallmarking. All current requirements of the Hallmarking Act will apply.

• Change of use does not apply to articles where the use has not significantly
changed. e.g. a tankard has the addition of a spout to make it a jug. Nor
does it apply to new wares manufactured using melted down, previously
hallmarked metal.

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GUIDANCE ON DESCRIBING
PRECIOUS METALS
The purpose of this section is to provide practical guidance on the
way in which product should be described at point of sale.
Subject to the provisions of the 1973 Hallmarking Act, any person who, in the
course of a trade or business—

(a) applies to an unhallmarked article a description indicating that it is wholly or

partly made of platinum, gold, palladium or silver or

(b) supplies, or offers to supply, an unhallmarked article to which such a

description is applied, shall be guilty of an offence.

Gold Plated Base Metal Articles

• The terms ‘bonded gold’, ‘rolled gold’ and ‘gold plated’ are allowed to refer to
either gold plated silver articles or gold plated base metal articles

• For ‘bonded gold’, the bonded gold layer must be of fineness of at least 375
parts per thousand and of a fineness recognised in the UK. This means that
bonded gold of 10k can only be described as 9 carat in the UK.

Gold Plated Silver Articles

• When the word ‘gold or a specific gold fineness description is used to describe
a gold plated silver article, the article must be described as silver and the word
‘gold’ must be directly followed by ‘plated’ e.g. ‘18ct gold plated silver ring.’

• Other terms like ‘vermeil’ may be used in addition but the phrase ‘gold plated’
and the word ‘silver’ must appear within the description e.g. ‘18ct gold plated
vermeil silver ring’.

• The term ‘silver gilt’ may be used to describe a gold plated silver article, providing
a gold fineness is not applied as part of the description e.g. ‘silver gilt ring’.

• The gold plated layer must be of a fineness of at least 375 parts per thousand
and should not exceed 2 microns in thickness.

Examples of misleading descriptions for gold plated silver articles, that are not
allowed include:

• 22ct gold clad ring

• 22ct gold vermeil ring
A full list of the British Hallmarking Council’s guidance on describing precious
metals can be obtained on request from any UK Assay Office.

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USE OF THE WORDS ‘PLATINUM’,

‘GOLD’, ‘PALLADIUM’ AND ‘SILVER’
WHEN USED TO DESCRIBE BASE
METAL JEWELLERY AND WATCHES
The following guidance refers to instances when the words ‘platinum’, ‘gold’,
‘palladium’ and ‘silver’ are used as adjectives to describe the colour of a product
and are not intended to imply that the product is wholly or partly made of platinum,
gold, palladium or silver.

• If an article contains no precious metals or is below the minimum fineness and

the words ‘platinum’, ‘gold’, ‘palladium’ and ‘silver’ are used as an adjective to
describe colour then the description must make this clear.

• By way of an example, if a base-metal watch, containing no gold is described

as a ‘gold watch’ in order to describe its colour, this would constitute an offence
under schedule 1 of the Hallmarking Act.

• Suggested examples of how the watch should be described include ‘yellow

metal watch’, ‘gold tone watch’, ‘gold coloured watch’, which are not misleading
to the consumer. These descriptions are offered by way of examples only and
are not an exhaustive list.

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CONTACT DETAILS FOR

UK ASSAY OFFICES

The Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office

Goldsmiths’ Hall
Gutter Lane
London
EC2V 8AQ
www.assayofficelondon.co.uk

Edinburgh Assay Office

24 Broughton Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3RH
Tel: 0131 556 1144
www.edinburghassayoffice.co.uk

Birmingham Assay Office

1 Moreton Street
Birmingham
B1 3AX
Tel: 0121 236 6951
www.theassayoffice.co.uk

Sheffield Assay Office

Guardians’ Hall
Beulah Road
Hillsborough
Sheffield
S6 2AN
Tel: 0114 231 2121
www.assayoffice.co.uk

Guaranteeing The Quality Of Precious Metals Since 1327

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