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Hallmarking in the UK is completed at one of 4 Assay Offices across the UK - London, Birmingham, Sheffield or Edinburgh and is a process to provide you, as the consumer, a guarantee of the purity of metal you are purchasing.
Legally, everything sold as silver in the UK over the weight of 7.78g must be hallmarked, regardless of where it was made. Any pieces that are lighter do not legally require a hallmark.
The hallmark in the UK is not simply '925' as commonly thought but is instead a series of marks:
The Sponsor Mark (makers mark), unique to the maker - mine is EGJ
Traditional Fineness Mark - The Lion for Sterling Silver
Millesimal Fineness Mark - 925 for Sterling Silver
Assay Office Mark - Leopard's Head for London
Date Letter - (optional mark) - signifies the year that the piece was made/hallmarked
Of course, not everyone in the UK follows this law - and a stamp of just '925' on its own, is not a guarantee of metal purity. But that being said, an item with no hallmark at all, is not necessarily 'fake' either - it is quite likely to just be lighter than 7.78g and therefore not require a hallmark at all.
I would love to hallmark every single piece that I make but currently only hallmark the items that I am required to (bangles and larger pieces) since the cost to hallmark can become quite expensive and I cannot justify this additional cost on every item - I try to keep them as affordable for you as possible!
That being said, if there is an item that I have made that you love but would prefer to have hallmarked, please do email - I can certainly add it to my next hallmarking batch for you for a fee.
Different weight limits and hallmark symbols apply for other metals but since I only work in silver, I have only provided the relevant information.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and contact me!
Beth Grace
