Silver, and the marks on it

A hallmark is struck by an independent UK assay office after the metal has been tested. It is not a maker’s claim about their own work — it is a third party confirming the metal is what it is sold as. A full hallmark carries three compulsory marks: the sponsor’s mark identifying who submitted it, the assay office mark, and the fineness mark giving the metal’s purity in parts per thousand.

The Hallmarking Act 1973 sets a weight below which an article does not need to be hallmarked. For silver that threshold is 7.78 grams — and for gold 1 gram, palladium 1 gram, platinum 0.5 grams.

The sterling silver in these earrings is the ear hooks. A pair weighs a fraction of a gram, far below the threshold, so they are exempt from hallmarking by law rather than by omission. That exemption is also what allows them to be described as sterling silver without a mark.

Ear hooks are sterling silver — 925 parts silver per thousand — or gold-plated sterling silver where the pair is gold. The smaller findings above them, the jump rings and wrapping wire, are plated alloy, and every listing says so in its own materials list rather than leaving you to guess.

Where a piece is plated, it is described as plated. Plating is a surface, and it wears; the FAQ says how to make it last.

Anyone dealing in precious metal in the UK must display a notice explaining the approved hallmarks, whether they sell from a shop or online. This is that notice.

The notice is issued by the British Hallmarking Council and is available from the assay offices at Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Sheffield.

If you would like to know exactly what is in a particular piece before you buy it, ask. Write to hello@tengology.com and I will tell you.