In the creation of my pieces I work with silver, gold and sometimes copper but did you know that there are strict rules governing the wording that can and can't be used in the descriptions of precious metals?

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Precious metals covered by UK hallmarking guidelines include silver, palladium, gold and platinum.  Any item weighing more than the allowed limit for each metal must be hallmarked or it cannot be advertised as such.​

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For example - a silver ring weighing 5g can be advertised and sold as Sterling silver with or without hallmark but a necklace weighing 20g must carry a hallmark in order to advertise as Sterling Silver, without a hallmark it can only be described as white metal.  A small pair of gold earrings weighing 0.8g can be advertised as Gold with our without a hallmark but a ring weighing 2.5g can only be described as yellow metal unless hallmarked.

The maximum weights for each precious metal are below;

Silver          7.78g

Gold          1.0g

Palladium    1.0g

Platinum      0.5g

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I am now registered with Edinburgh Assay Office so any item made by me can be fully hallmarked and carry my sponsor's mark (shown below right.)

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The Hallmarking Act 1973 is a lengthy document detailing many aspects of precious metal usage.  It can be found on the Edinburgh Assay Office website.