Precious Metal Jewellery - what are "carats" and how does Hallmarking work?
Objects made from, or containing, precious metals are classified according to a number of legal and regulatory conditions.
CARATS or CARAT WEIGHT
In the case of gold, pure gold is classed as 24-carat gold. This means that 24 parts are pure, out of 24 parts total. No other metals or substances are added. There may be traces of other elements (metals) but these tiny traces are insignificant.
Gold is a soft and malleable metal, and is seldom used in 24-carat configuration as the item would be too delicate in most instances.
Jewellers generally add portions of other metals to gold in order to strengthen the item being made. Typically, we see items made in:-
- 18 Carat (18 out of 24 parts = gold)
- 14 Carat (14 out of 24 parts = gold)
- 10 Carat (10 out of 24 parts = gold)
- 9 Carat (9 out of 24 parts = gold)
In the case of silver, pure silver is classed as "999", meaning that 999 parts out of 1000 are pure silver. As with gold, pure silver is relatively soft, so jewellers add other metals to harden it.
Sterling silver must be 925 parts of pure silver out of 1000 parts total. Items can only be classified or described as Sterling Silver if they are Hallmarked, (This is a compulsory requirement if the silver content in the object exceeds 7.78 grams or more).
Hallmarks
In the case of both Gold and Silver, hallmarks are official symbols that identity the metal content, the manufacturer and the assay office that regulates that manufacturer, and in most cases, the date/year of manufacture.
Hallmarking is a certification that guarantees the stated metal as being what it claims to be. Its origins date back to 1300 when King Edward 1st decreed that anything being sold as "silver" had to be independently tested and verified. Items that passed the test (the assay) were stamped with a leopard's head emblem. While hallmarks are usually applied to the object by the maker, the certification to apply a hallmark is governed by a regional independent Assay Office. Makers have to abide by very strict conditions to be granted the authority to hallmark their pieces.
In the late 1990's punched (stamped) hallmarks were superceded by precision laser techniques. Today, almost all hallmarking is done using lasers, eliminating potential damage to the item, and also allowing for very small items to be hallmarked.
Under the Hallmarking Act 1973, it is a legal requirement in the UK to hallmark all articles containing precious metals over specific weight thresholds before they can be described or sold as such. The statutory minimum weight limits for mandatory hallmarking are:
Silver: 7.78 grams or more
Gold: 1.0 gram or more
Platinum: 0.5 grams or more
Palladium: 1.0 gram or more
If your item exceeds the threshold, the cost of hallmarking is included in the price. For items under the threshold, we offer you the option of a hallmark. There is an added charge for this, but in general, hallmarked items have a greater value than items that are not hallmarked.