Hallmarks

[EcclesCake]

Under what circumstances would a piece of British made jewellery not be hallmarked?

I have a vague recollection of a commissioned piece not requiring a hallmark unless I paid for it to be sent to the Assay Office, is this memory correct?

If it is does it mean that retail pieces are automatically hallmarked and commissions are a matter of choice?

If I am mistaken in my assumption that it it is British made how do I go about determine the country of manufacture? The piece in question is unmarked.

[Peter Pedant]

Jewellery is not normally hall marked according to Geoffrey Munn of the antiques road show

which kinda conflicts with selling something as gold if it doesnt have one

as for age and country
it is the opinion of the expert as far as I can see

[hc4361]

It makes no difference whether the jewellery is commissioned or not. If the piece was made in the UK after 1920 and is made of gold, silver or platinum it must be hallmarked unless they weigh less than 1 gram for gold, 0.5 grams for platinum and palladium and 7.78 grams for silver. Articles are only exempt on weight as long as they are of the standard declared.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite/jewellery

[EcclesCake]

Hmmm, two opposing views!

[hc4361]

Maybe Geoffrey Munn was referring to pre 1920 jewellery. He is an antique expert after all

[Retrochic]

I had an eternity ring commissioned for me using diamonds from my grandmothers engagement ring and I have just checked and the metal is hallmarked. I did not ask for it to be hallmarked. If you have acquired a piece of jewelry containing metal that is not hallmarked then there is a chance the metal is not solid. Even cheap silver costume jewelry has 925 stamped on it.

[EcclesCake]

Not the case in this instance Retro.

[hc4361]

I've just remembered that my wife's wedding ring was commissioned at a jeweller's in the jewellery quarter in Birmingham. (Hope my wife doesn't read this and see that I'd forgotten!).

It is definitely hallmarked.

[Prudie]

And yet I had a commissioned engagement ring of diamonds set in platinum with 18ct gold band from a reputable independent jewellers and it certainly wasn't hallmarked and weighed over a gram. So???

[Retrochic]

what do you mean 'not the case' ? You mean you know the provenance? You have written there may be some doubt to can't remember where it was made .Do ou know for a fact the metal is solid and not hallmarked? If you took a peice of raw gold or precious metal and made something yourself you are under no obligation to hallmark the item. If the item is Commissioned then the buyer would be prudent to make sure the item was hallmarked to prove the metal was of the purity they paid for.

[hc4361]

You could take it an auction house and get an opinion, or a reputable jeweller.

[hc4361]

To add to Retrochic's answer, if you then wanted to sell your self made piece of jewellery you have to get it hallmarked first.

[Retrochic]

Actually hc you don't 'have to' but it would certainly be of much less value commercially if it was not hallmarked. The hallmark proves the purity of the metal.

[EcclesCake]

Some interesting leaps of faith and false assumptions.

Thanks all.

[EcclesCake]

Put it down to something lost in translation from Québécois to English Retro.....

[woofgang]

This seems to say that items only have to be hallmarked if they are sold described as gold or silver...I presume that this would apply to insurance claims too. So if you were commissioning a piece, you might choose not to have it hallmarked but then you would have no protection at all if the maker didn’t use the metal that you were told they had used. That fits in with unhallmarked items only being able to be offered as “yellow metal” or “white metal” at auction, as we see on TV shows.
https://theassayoffice.co.uk/legislation/current-legislation

The link tells all about hallmarking history and what the law was before it was all standardised.

[EcclesCake]

Thanks Woof. TBH the metal is the least valuable part of the piece, I'm simply curious to know if it is British made or from overseas.

I'll see what my jeweller has to say on its origin. My curiosity has been piqued as it shares a resemblance to another piece of that is definitely of British origin.

[EcclesCake]

Apologies, not ignoring you Prudie, you seem to have had much the same experience as me for a commission. The more I think about it, the more I am sure hall marking was a matter of choice, assuming I had not intention of resale.

[EDDIE51]

woofgang has it. There is no legal requirement to have hall marks, but if a piece is not hall marked it can only be described as 'Yellow metal' or 'White Metal' .You can not sell or describe it as 'Gold' 'Silver' or 'Platinum', unless it is hallmarked. You can send items to be Hallmarked but there is an extra cost, so a commissioned piece would not be Hallmarked if the customer did not pay to have it done.

[Peter Pedant]

// Maybe Geoffrey Munn was referring to pre 1920 jewellery. He is an antique expert after all//

yeah I was thinking two consistent views
the platinum and diamond horseshoe I showed him
he dated by style - every lady wants the most modern jewellery setting
so persistence of style into later times isnt an issue for jewellery