Hallmarking
A hallmark is the stamp inside an item of jewellery that confirms the purity of the metal. All metals in their pure form would be much too soft as jewellery so they are therefore mixed along with another alloy which gives the metal its solid form. Depending on the metal the alloys can be made up of rubidium, copper and many more.
The short answer to this is no. All hallmarking is done independently. This then means that the consumer can feel at complete ease when buying an item of jewellery from us.
The earliest record of a hallmark was in 1300 and appears to be one of the earliest forms of consumer protection.
Your hallmark will have the company stamp (who it was made by) the metal stamp (for platinum 950) and also the symbol stamp for the assay office where it was hallmarked. (In our case this would be anchor which represents the Birmingham Assay Office)
Feel free to visit the Birmingham Assay office website: http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk
If you would like more information on different metals then visit our metal education section here.
Aspire Diamonds
35 Warstone Lane
Jewellery Quarter
Birmingham
B18 6JQ
Tel : 0121 236 5799
E : sales@aspirediamonds.co.uk
VAT No: 824525534
Company Registration No : 5297666
