Jewellery Hallmarks are Important.

Jewellery Hallmarks are Important

Hallmarks are one of the original forms of customer protection. They were introduced over 700 years ago.

A hallmark is a small marking on a gold, silver or platinum item and confirms that the product has been tested by an independent organisation (The Assay Office) and conforms to the required standards of composition for the applied hallmark. There are only four Assay Offices in the UK, in London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh.

With a small number of exceptions, it is illegal to sell gold, silver and platinum products which are not hallmarked. The exception which affects most small jewellery items is related to the weight of metal in the product, (that is, the weight excluding any gemstone(s)). In the case of gold, this is 1 gram; for platinum, it is a gram and for silver it is 7.78 grams. (As a guide, 7.78 grams is nearly the weight of a UK 50p piece, which weighs 8 grams.) A thin or hollow item which could be damaged if hallmarked will also be exempted, provided it is of the required quality.

"Sterling Silver" is nearly pure silver and is hallmarked " 925 "which means that it has 925 parts per thousand of pure silver.

We, at Ceirys Designer Jewellery, always sell "Sterling Silver" or "925 Silver" unless we state otherwise. We describe an item as"Silver" if it is "925" or "Sterling Silver". However, the silver in many of our products weighs less than 7.78 grams or the products may be very thin. In these cases the products may not always have a hallmark, although wherever possible they are hallmarked. If we sell a product is which is not 925 silver, or we cannot be sure whether it is "925" or "Sterling Silver", we will describe it as "silver coloured metal", or "silver coloured base metal" or some other similar description.

You will often find the hallmark "925" discretely placed on the reverse of the product or the clasp of a chain. If you are not sure about whether the product you have bought or wish to buy is Sterling Silver or 925 Silver, please do contact us immediately for confirmation on 01785 819581 or admin@ceirysdesigner.net.

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