Hallmark Information
Precious metals are rarely used in their purest form but are usually alloyed with other metals for workability, durability, wearability. It isn’t possible to detect an article’s precious metal content by sight or touch. Therefore, it is a legal requirement for an Assay Office to hallmark articles containing precious metals if they are described as such.
Hallmarks are marks applied to precious metals to indicate the amount of pure metal in the alloy. Traditionally applied by striking with a punch, hallmarks can now also be applied using lasers.
A hallmark:
- Consists of a series of marks applied to articles of the precious metals platinum, gold, palladium and silver
- Means that the article has been independently tested
- Guarantees that it conforms to all legal standards of purity (fineness)
- Guarantees provenance by telling us, as a minimum legal requirement, where the piece was hallmarked, what the article is made from, and who sent the article for hallmarking.
Exemptions Not Requiring a Hallmark
Articles weighing less than the following will not carry a hallmark:
- Gold weighing less than 1 gram
- Silver weighing less than 7.78 grams
- Platinum weighing less than 0.5 gram
- Palladium weighing less than 1 gram
You can find more information on hallmarking here: https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/hallmarking/what-is-a-hallmark
The Little Black Cat Hallmark bears not only authenticity of your jewellery, but it is representative of the pride, hard work and dedication that goes in to creating every single piece. All precious metal articles exceeding the legal required weight limit will have been tested and hallmarked where legally required at the Goldsmith’s London Assay Office.
The Hallmark recognisable as a Little Black Cat piece of jewellery will bear these symbols:
The Sponsors mark (including my Initials of KH), the Fineness mark, the traditional Fineness symbol (Lion) and the London Assay Office mark (Leopard).