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48-709: The British Hallmarking Council ( BHC ) is the organisation responsible for supervising hallmarking in the United Kingdom . It is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). The BHC was created under the Hallmarking Act 1973 (c. 43) to oversee the activities of the four remaining assay offices (located in London , Birmingham , Sheffield and Edinburgh ). The costs of its operations are met entirely by

96-430: A single manufacturer deposits a lot of rings or watch cases, while most are assayed using the non-destructive methods a few pieces from the lot are randomly selected for fire assay. There are methods of assay noted above which are more properly suited for finished goods while other methods are suitable for use on raw materials before artistic workmanship has begun. Raw precious metals (bullion or metal stock) are assayed by

144-534: A variance from the marked fineness of up to 10 parts per thousand, others do not permit any variance (known as negative tolerance) at all. Many nations abide by the Vienna system and procedures are in place to allow additional nations to join the Vienna Convention. Similarly, with the consent of all the current member states, the terms of the convention may be amended. The most significant item currently up for debate

192-407: A variety of legally acceptable finenesses, the assayer is actually testing to determine that the fineness of the product conforms with the statement or claim of fineness that the maker has claimed (usually by stamping a number such as 750 for 18k gold) on the item. In the past the assay was conducted by using the touchstone method but currently (most often) it is done using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). XRF

240-504: Is a book published entitled "Netherlands' Responsibility Marks since 1797" (in three volumes and in the English language) illustrating all the responsibility marks registered there since that time. This is significant since producers that exported precious metal goods to the Netherlands would have been required to register their marks. The Dutch government markets their assay services/office as

288-555: Is also a non-destructive technique that is suitable for normal assaying requirements. It typically has an accuracy of up to five parts per thousand and is well-suited to the relatively flat and large surfaces. It is a quick technique taking about three minutes, and the results can be automatically printed out by the computer. It also measures the content of the other alloying metals present. It is not indicated, however, for articles with chemical surface treatment or electroplated metals. The most elaborate, but totally destructive, assay method

336-449: Is especially valuable for delicate items and hollowware , which would be damaged or distorted by the punching process. Laser marking also means that finished articles do not need to be re-finished. Laser marking works by using high-power lasers to evaporate material from the metal surface. Two methods exist: 2D and 3D laser marking. 2D laser marking burns the outline of the hallmarks into the object, while 3D laser marking better simulates

384-596: Is evidence of silver bars marked under authority of the Emperor Augustinian around AD 350—and represents the oldest known form of consumer protection. A series or system of five marks has been found on Byzantine silver dating from this period, though their interpretation is still not completely resolved. From the Late Middle Ages , hallmarking was administered by local governments through authorized assayers. These assayers examined precious metal objects, under

432-604: Is located in Gouda between the Amsterdam and Rotterdam airports. The other one is located in Joure, called Edelmetaal Waarborg Nederland b.v. The Netherlands recognises platinum, gold, silver and palladium as precious metals. The BIS ( Bureau of Indian Standards ) Hallmark is a hallmarking system for gold as well as silver jewellery sold in India certifying the purity of the metal. It certifies that

480-580: Is optional. In addition to the Swiss hallmark, all precious metal goods may be stamped with the Common Control Mark of the Vienna Convention. The Netherlands, who are members of the International hallmarking Convention, have been striking hallmarks since at least 1814. Like many other nations, the Netherlands require the registration and use of Responsibility Marks, however, perhaps somewhat unusual, there

528-621: Is optional. In the modern world, in an attempt at standardizing the legislation on the inspection of precious metals and to facilitate international trade, in November 1972 a core group of European nations signed the Vienna Convention on the Control of the Fineness and the Hallmarking of Precious Metal Objects. Articles which are assayed and found by the qualifying office of a signatory country to conform to

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576-399: Is that the process of punching displaces metal, causing some distortion of the article being marked. This means that re-finishing of the article is required after hallmarking. For this reason, and that off-cuts from sprues are often used for assay, many articles are sent unfinished to the assay office for assay and hallmarking. A new method of marking using lasers is now available, which

624-436: Is the fire assay , or cupellation. As applied to gold bearing metallics, as in hallmark assaying, it is also known as cupellation and can have an accuracy of 1 part in 10,000. In this process the article is melted, the alloys separated and constituents weighed. Since this method is totally destructive, when this method is employed for the assay of jewelry, it is done under the guise of random or selective sampling. For example, if

672-422: Is the function of trademarks or makers' marks. To be a true hallmark, it must be the guarantee of an independent body or authority that the contents are as marked. Thus, a stamp of "925" by itself is not, strictly speaking, a hallmark, but is rather an unattested fineness mark, generally stamped by the maker. Many nations require, as a prerequisite to official hallmarking, that the maker or sponsor itself marks upon

720-399: Is the recognition of palladium as a precious metal. Some member nations recognize palladium as a precious metal while others do not. Hallmarks for gold, palladium, platinum and silver from Poland. Official Polish hallmarks between 1963 and 1986 Official French Hallmarks used between 1798 and 1972 for gold and silver. French mark head of horse for jewellery and watches from 18k gold made in

768-430: Is unacceptable. A rubbing of the item is made on a special stone, treated with acids and the resulting color compared to references. Differences in precious metal content as small as 10 to 20 parts per thousand can often be established with confidence by the test. It is not indicated for use with white gold, for example, since the color variation among white gold alloys is almost imperceptible. The modern X-ray fluorescence

816-472: Is used because this method is more exacting than the touchstone test. The most exact method of assay is known as fire assay or cupellation . This method is better suited for the assay of bullion and gold stocks rather than works or art or jewelry because it is a completely destructive method. The age-old touchstone method is particularly suited to the testing of very valuable pieces, for which sampling by destructive means, such as scraping, cutting or drilling

864-571: The "Jewellery Gateway in and to Europe." The Netherlands' hallmarks are also recognized in other EU countries and thus can be sold in Austria, France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom without further testing. The Netherlands' hallmarks are also recognized in Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, which have voluntary hallmarking systems. One of the two Dutch assay offices, WaarborgHolland b.v.,

912-638: The Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine (see links below). Other nations monitor the activities of the convention and may apply for membership. Complete international hallmarking has been plagued by difficulties, because even amongst countries which have implemented hallmarking, standards and enforcement vary considerably, making it difficult for one country to accept another's hallmarking as equivalent to its own. While some countries permit

960-603: The French provinces between 1838 and 1919 The Hallmarking Act 1973 (c. 43) made Britain a member of the Vienna Convention as well as introducing marking for platinum, a recognised metal under the convention. All four remaining assay offices finally adopted the same date letter sequences. In 1999 changes were made to the UK hallmarking system to bring the system closer into line with the European Union . Note that under this latest enactment,

1008-536: The Regulator of Community Interest Companies Office for Product Safety & Standards Oil and Gas Authority Ordnance Survey Pubs Code Adjudicator [REDACTED] Category Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Hallmarking_Council&oldid=1234150411 " Categories : Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department for Business and Trade Non-departmental public bodies of

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1056-2866: The Regulator of Community Interest Companies Pubs Code Adjudicator Scrutiny Business and Trade Select Committee Preceding departments Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department for International Trade [REDACTED] Category v t e Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Ministers Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy : Grant Shapps Minister of State for Climate : Graham Stuart Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation : George Freeman Minister of State for Industry and Investment Security: Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business : Kevin Hollinrake Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility): Lord Callanan Non-ministerial departments Competition and Markets Authority HM Land Registry Ofgem Executive agencies Companies House Insolvency Service Intellectual Property Office Met Office UK Space Agency Non-departmental public bodies Executive Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service British Hallmarking Council Civil Nuclear Police Authority Committee on Climate Change Competition Service Mining Remediation Authority Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Salix Finance Ltd Small Business Commissioner UK Atomic Energy Authority UK Research and Innovation Innovate UK Advisory Committee on Fuel Poverty Committee on Radioactive Waste Management Industrial Development Advisory Board Land Registration Rule Committee Low Pay Commission Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board Regulatory Policy Committee Tribunal Central Arbitration Committee Competition Appeal Tribunal Copyright Tribunal Research councils Arts and Humanities Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Economic and Social Research Council Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Medical Research Council Natural Environment Research Council Science and Technology Facilities Council Other British Business Bank Certification Officer Commissioner for Shale Gas Financial Reporting Council Government Office for Science Council for Science and Technology Groceries Code Adjudicator Independent Complaints Reviewer Office of Manpower Economics Office of

1104-426: The UK. It is likely that an 'offshore' assay mark will have to be added to signify that the item was not assayed in the UK. Only London and Edinburgh assay offices now strike marks exclusively in the UK. As it now stands, the compulsory part of the UK hallmark consists of the sponsor or maker's mark, the assay office mark, and the standard of fineness (in this case silver, 925 parts in 1,000). These are shown in

1152-403: The United Kingdom government Hallmark Historically, hallmarks were applied by a trusted party: the "guardians of the craft " or, more recently, by an assay office ( assay mark ). Hallmarks are a guarantee of certain purity or fineness of the metal, as determined by official metal (assay) testing. Hallmarks include information not only about the precious metal and fineness, but

1200-433: The auspices of the state, before the object could be offered for public sale. By the age of the craft guilds, the authorized examiner's mark was the "master's mark", which consisted frequently of his initials and/or the coat of arms of the goldsmith or silversmith. At one time, there was no distinction between silversmiths and goldsmiths, who were all referred to as orfèvres , the French word for goldsmith. The master craftsman

1248-439: The country from which the item was tested and marked. Some hallmarks can reveal even more information, e.g. the assay office, size of the object marked, year the item was hallmarked - referred to as a date mark (also known as date letter ). Hallmarks are often confused with " trademarks " or " maker's marks ". A hallmark is not the mark of a manufacturer to distinguish their products from other manufacturers' products: that

1296-636: The date letter is no longer a compulsory part of the hallmark. A legislative reform order (LRO) came into effect on 8 February 2013 giving UK assay offices the legal right to strike hallmarks outside of UK territory. In July 2016 Birmingham Assay Office began striking Birmingham hallmarks in Mumbai, India and further offshore offices are likely to be established. In March 2018 the British Hallmarking Council announced that UK assay office marks struck offshore must be distinguishable from those struck in

1344-481: The following methods: silver is assayed by titration , gold is assayed by cupellation and platinum is assayed by ICP OES spectrometry . Competition Service The Competition Appeal Tribunal ( CAT ) of the United Kingdom was created by Section 12 and Schedule 2 to the Enterprise Act 2002 which came into force on 1 April 2003. The Competition Service is an executive non-departmental public body which

1392-2212: The four offices. References [ edit ] ^ "What we do" . gov.uk . Retrieved 7 April 2014 . External links [ edit ] British Hallmarking Council website v t e Department for Business and Trade Ministers Secretary of State for Business and Trade : Jonathan Reynolds Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security : Douglas Alexander Minister for Industry : Sarah Jones Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets : Justin Madders Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Services, Small Business and Exports : Gareth Thomas Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation: The Baroness Jones of Whitchurch Civil Servants Permanent Secretaries Gareth Davies Crawford Falconer Directors General David Bickerton Amanda Brooks Joanna Crellin Caleb Deeks Beatrice Kilroy-Nolan Gavin Lambert Andrew Mitchell Bidesh Sarkar (interim) Ceri Smith Departmental Chief Scientific Adviser Julia Sutcliffe Non-ministerial departments Competition and Markets Authority Executive agencies Companies House Insolvency Service Non-departmental public bodies Executive Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service British Hallmarking Council Competition Service Financial Reporting Council Small Business Commissioner Trade Remedies Authority Advisory Low Pay Commission Regulatory Policy Committee Tribunal Central Arbitration Committee Competition Appeal Tribunal Public corporations Post Office Limited Other British Business Bank Certification Officer Groceries Code Adjudicator Office of Manpower Economics Office of

1440-499: The hallmark is a single mark indicating metal and fineness, augmented by a responsibility mark (known as a sponsor's mark in the UK). Within a group of nations that are signatories to an international convention known as the Vienna Convention on the Control of the Fineness and the Hallmarking of Precious Metal Objects, additional, optional yet official, marks may also be struck by the assay office. These can ease import obligations among and between

1488-465: The item a responsibility mark and a claim of fineness. Responsibility marks are also required in the US if metal fineness is claimed, even though there is no official hallmarking scheme there. Nevertheless, in nations with an official hallmarking scheme, the hallmark is only applied after the item has been assayed by an independent party to determine that its purity conforms not only to the standards set down by

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1536-604: The item with a leopard's head. In 1327 King Edward III of England granted a charter to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (more commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company), marking the beginning of the company's formal existence. This entity was headquartered in London at Goldsmiths' Hall , from whence the English term "hallmark" is derived. (In the UK the use of the term "hallmark" was first recorded in this sense in 1721 and in

1584-402: The law but also with the maker's claims as to metal content. In some nations, such as the UK, the hallmark is made up of several elements, including: a mark denoting the type of metal, the maker/sponsor's mark and the year of the marking. In England, the year of marking commences on 19 May, the feast day of Saint Dunstan , patron saint of gold- and silversmiths. In other nations, such as Poland,

1632-465: The mark for use on silver works, along with specific punches for each community's smiths. In 1313, his successor, Philippe IV "the Fair" expanded the use of hallmarks to gold works. In 1300 King Edward I of England enacted a statute requiring that all silver articles must meet the sterling silver standard (92.5% pure silver) and must be assayed in this regard by 'guardians of the craft' who would then mark

1680-425: The marks made by punching. Precious metal items of art or jewelry are frequently hallmarked (depending upon the requirements of the laws of either the place of manufacture or the place of import). Where required to be hallmarked, semi-finished precious metal items of art or jewelry pass through the official testing channels where they are analyzed or assayed for precious metal content. While different nations permit

1728-596: The more general sense as a "mark of quality" in 1864. ) In 1424, the French cardinal Jean de Brogny , after consulting a council of eight Master Goldsmiths from Geneva , enacted a regulation on the purity and hallmarking of silver objects (following the French standards) for application in Geneva. Although gold was used for articles, the regulation was silent on standards and hallmarking for gold. In Switzerland today, only precious metal watch cases must be hallmarked. The hallmarking of other items including silverware and jewelry

1776-473: The piece of jewellery conforms to a set of standards laid by the Bureau of Indian Standards, the national standards organization of India. Traditionally, the hallmarks are "struck" using steel punches. Punches are made in different sizes, suitable for tiny pieces of jewelry to large silver platters. Punches are made in straight shank or ring shank, the latter used to mark rings. The problem with traditional punching

1824-672: The price-comparison site, Skyscanner , brought a case to the Tribunal, challenging a January 2014 decision by the Office of Fair Trading to settle a probe over pricing of hotel rooms sold online. The OFT's decision had been to accept commitments from a number of online travel agents and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Skyscanner appealed against the OFT's successor, the Competition and Markets Authority, because it believed its business would be affected by

1872-533: The settlement, even though it was not targeted by the investigation. Skyscanner's case was supported by a smaller online travel agent, Skoosh, which had triggered the OFT's original investigation. In a judgment handed down in September 2014, the Competition Appeal Tribunal quashed the Office of Fair Trading's decision to accept commitments in the online hotel booking sector and the matter was reverted to

1920-472: The signatory states. Signatory countries each have a single representative hallmark, which would be struck next to the Convention mark that represents the metal and fineness. The control or inspection of precious metals was an ancient concept of examination and marking, by means of inspection stamps (punch marks). The use of hallmarks, at first on silver, has a long history dating back to the 4th century AD—there

1968-555: The standard, receive a mark, known as the Common Control Mark (CCM), attesting to the material's fineness. The multi-tiered motif of the CCM is the balance scales, superimposed, for gold, on two intersecting circles; for platinum, a diamond shape and for silver a mark in the shape of the Latin letter "M". This mark is recognized in all the other contracting states, including: Austria, Cyprus,

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2016-601: The standards could only be partly enforced, owing to the lack of precise analytical tools and techniques. Hallmarking is Europe's earliest form of consumer protection . Modern hallmarking in Europe appears first in France, with the Goldsmiths Statute of 1260 promulgated under Étienne Boileau , Provost of Paris , for King Louis IX . A standard for silver was thus established. In 1275, King Philip III prescribed, by royal decree,

2064-519: The top of the two example hallmarks. The bottom example shows the extra marks that can also be struck, the lion passant, indicating Sterling silver, the date mark (lowercase a for the year 2000), and in this example, the 'Millennium mark', which was only available for the years 1999 and 2000. The bottom example bears the Yorkshire rose mark for the Sheffield Assay Office. The Hallmarking Act

2112-567: The values of the fines. The tribunal decided that the OFT had used turnover figures for the wrong year when calculating fines, and treated the bid-rigging as more serious than it should have done, although in some other respects the OFT's ruling was upheld. In December 2020 the tribunal upheld a decision of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on an appeal from Northern Ireland building firm FP McCann Ltd., who along with other companies had participated in an illegal cartel . In March 2014,

2160-508: Was amended in July 2009 to include palladium from January 2010. Although hallmarking in the Swiss territories dates back to Geneva in the fifteenth century, there was no uniform system of hallmarking in Switzerland until 1881. Before that time, hallmarking was undertaken at the local level by the Swiss cantons. With the introduction of Federal hallmarking laws starting in 1881, increased uniformity

2208-499: Was created as a support body for the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The current functions of the CAT are: As of January 2024 , the tribunal has addressed 623 cases to date. Examples include: In 2011, a number of fines levied by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on construction firms found to have engaged in illegal bid-rigging schemes were deemed to be "excessive" and the Tribunal revised

2256-465: Was established. Under the current law, on all gold, silver, platinum or palladium watches cases made in Switzerland or imported into Switzerland, there shall be affixed, near the Maker's Responsibility Mark and his indication of purity, the official Hallmark, the head of a Saint Bernard dog . Only precious metal watch cases must be hallmarked. Swiss hallmarking for other articles such as jewelry and cutlery

2304-418: Was responsible for the quality of the work that left his atelier or workshop, regardless of who made the item. Hence the responsibility mark is still known today in French as le poinçon de maître literally "the maker's punch". In this period, fineness was more or less standardized in the major European nations (writ: France and England) at 20 karats for gold and 12 to 13 lots (75% to 81%) for silver, but

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