In the UK, hallmarking precious metals is a legal requirement. Jewellers send their wares off to an assay office to be tested and it is a legal requirement to hallmark all silver over 7.78g and all gold over 1g. Not only is it a guarantee to the consumer that the metal being sold is what the seller says it is, it also goes some way towards guaranteeing that the metal being sold is free of toxic metals.
Toxic metals are regularly found in cheap imported jewellery.
What does a hallmark look like?
- The first mark is the sponsor’s mark. In this case, I’m the sponsor/maker and mine is SE (for SeragaEngland) inside a diamond shape.
- Crown icon – shows the item is gold.
- 375 – Then comes the purity. 375 means this gold is 37.5 percent purity (aka 9ct)
- Leopard mark – then the leopard mark which shows that this ring was assayed (tested for purity) in London by the @theassayoffice / London Assay Office
- X – is the date letter for 2022.
