A hallmark is a set of marks applied to articles of the precious metals gold, silver, platinum or palladium. It means that the article has been independently tested, and that it conforms to all legal standards of purity (fineness).
It guarantees provenance by telling us where the piece was hallmarked, what the article is made from, and who sent the article for hallmarking. Contrary to popular belief ‘925’ is not a hallmark. Often you will find metals stamped with the number ‘925’ for Sterling Silver, this number alone does not constitute a legal hallmark and is not guarantee that the metal is of the purity claimed.
The Full Traditional Hallmark comprises five marks:
- Sponsor’s mark – mine is LP for my initials.
- Traditional fineness mark – a symbol indicating which precious metal your piece is made from (optional).
- Millesimal fineness mark – how fine, or what quality the metal is, and the metal type.
- Assay Office mark – London Assay Office is a leopard
- Date letter mark – the date denoted by a letter of the alphabet (optional)
This is the standard mark applied to my jewellery.