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British Hallmarks
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UK Assay Offices Hallmark
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Gold and silver in their pure form are not sufficiently durable, so they need an alloy to improve their wearing qualities. Traditional the metals used for the alloy of gold has been silver and copper, and copper in strengthening silver.
Goldsmiths are known to have been operational well before standards became law, and were marking their wares with makers markers and their won mark.
The craft or mystery of goldsmiths included silversmiths, and when the customer brought along his silver to be re-worked, maybe because it had been broken - or was no longer fashionable, or because he had bought it then the craftsman could add copper and keep back some silver. As Silver was worth more per grain than copper and likewise gold more than silver, the dishonest goldsmith could be on a good little earner.
So Edward I had his civil servants set out a statute the set standards in 1300.
Of each 12 ounces of finish silver there must be 11 ounces and two pennyweights (11oz 2dwt) There being twenty dwts to the ounce the sum becomes 11.1/12 or 925 parts per thousand this being the "(Ea)sterling" standard. Easterling being those nordic people from the East who revelled in silver as today with Georg Jensen jewellery.
Gold was determined to be 19 and one fifth carats or 19.2/24ths by weight which is 800 parts per 1000 This was known as the Touch of Paris. This means when the gold alloy was rubbed against a rock called a touchstone and the scratch left tested with a special acid 80% of the scratch would remain.
The guardians of the assay applied a mark - The Leopard's Head to show that the kings standard had been achieved, and the Maker also made his mark, often his initials o and a symbol. If later testing proved that the mark was incorrect then the maker and guardians could be held to account, and as the guardians changed over time it was necessary to indicate which year the items were marked to determine which guardians were in trouble.
Over the centuries there have been various changes to the accepted purities for gold and silver - and know platinum, and maybe soon Palladium.
Today 4 British Assay masters and their guardians operate, London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh, with Ireland having an assay in Dublin. London has branches now in Hatton Garden, and opened at Heathrow in March 2008. Thomas's mark is registered at Sheffield as G&JT. However through history there have been numerous "marks" applied in other cities and towns. The goldsmith would want to be able to have the mark applied locally for reasons of security, and timeliness. Some would want to have a local mark so as to be associated with a particular aristocratic family, or rich client, or church, while others would want to be associated with the guild in London. Just imagine the 18th century - Travelling up to to London with a trunk full of silver with footpads and highwaymen would have been nigh unthinkable. Today we have swift secure carriers. See a list of Town Marks at the foot of this page. So the marks were not necessarily backed by guardians of the assay standards
Hallmarks or Assay Marks
The Hall is the place where the items are tested. The Assay Mark is the statement of the highest purity standard the goods exceeded when tested or "assayed". The UK laws allow no downside tolerance, so the metal must be at least ..., rather than is .... . The "Hallmark" is the minimum of three elements, which hall or assay office, the purity assay, and Sponsor's Mark who submitted the item. Additional marks may now include the date letter, optional standard marks such as the sterling lion, and commemorative marks, and convention marks which indicate common controls across certain European Countries.
Goldsmiths are known to have been operational well before standards became law, and were marking their wares with makers markers and their won mark.
The craft or mystery of goldsmiths included silversmiths, and when the customer brought along his silver to be re-worked, maybe because it had been broken - or was no longer fashionable, or because he had bought it then the craftsman could add copper and keep back some silver. As Silver was worth more per grain than copper and likewise gold more than silver, the dishonest goldsmith could be on a good little earner.
So Edward I had his civil servants set out a statute the set standards in 1300.
Of each 12 ounces of finish silver there must be 11 ounces and two pennyweights (11oz 2dwt) There being twenty dwts to the ounce the sum becomes 11.1/12 or 925 parts per thousand this being the "(Ea)sterling" standard. Easterling being those nordic people from the East who revelled in silver as today with Georg Jensen jewellery.
Gold was determined to be 19 and one fifth carats or 19.2/24ths by weight which is 800 parts per 1000 This was known as the Touch of Paris. This means when the gold alloy was rubbed against a rock called a touchstone and the scratch left tested with a special acid 80% of the scratch would remain.
The guardians of the assay applied a mark - The Leopard's Head to show that the kings standard had been achieved, and the Maker also made his mark, often his initials o and a symbol. If later testing proved that the mark was incorrect then the maker and guardians could be held to account, and as the guardians changed over time it was necessary to indicate which year the items were marked to determine which guardians were in trouble.
Over the centuries there have been various changes to the accepted purities for gold and silver - and know platinum, and maybe soon Palladium.
Today 4 British Assay masters and their guardians operate, London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh, with Ireland having an assay in Dublin. London has branches now in Hatton Garden, and opened at Heathrow in March 2008. Thomas's mark is registered at Sheffield as G&JT. However through history there have been numerous "marks" applied in other cities and towns. The goldsmith would want to be able to have the mark applied locally for reasons of security, and timeliness. Some would want to have a local mark so as to be associated with a particular aristocratic family, or rich client, or church, while others would want to be associated with the guild in London. Just imagine the 18th century - Travelling up to to London with a trunk full of silver with footpads and highwaymen would have been nigh unthinkable. Today we have swift secure carriers. See a list of Town Marks at the foot of this page. So the marks were not necessarily backed by guardians of the assay standards
Hallmarks or Assay Marks
The Hall is the place where the items are tested. The Assay Mark is the statement of the highest purity standard the goods exceeded when tested or "assayed". The UK laws allow no downside tolerance, so the metal must be at least ..., rather than is .... . The "Hallmark" is the minimum of three elements, which hall or assay office, the purity assay, and Sponsor's Mark who submitted the item. Additional marks may now include the date letter, optional standard marks such as the sterling lion, and commemorative marks, and convention marks which indicate common controls across certain European Countries.
Ref. Source: Thomas Skipton
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