Silver Hallmarks
Hallmarks are your guarantee of the fineness and purity of the silver you are buying. This is one of the oldest consumer protection marks in the world, dating back to the reign of Edward I in the 14th century. The first assay office was established in 1478 at the Goldsmiths Hall and it was for this reason these assay stamps became called “Hall” marks.
At its peak, there were more than ten assay offices in cities throughout the UK. This has dropped to just four, based in London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh. Each assay office has its own mark to identify the place of assay. London uses a Leopard’s head, Birmingham an anchor, Sheffield a Yorkshire (or Tudor) rose and Edinburgh a castle.
** Between 1773 and 1974 Sheffield’s hallmark was a Crown but this was changed to the Rose in 1974
Other marks will tell you even more about your gift. There is a date letter which will tell you the year of assay:
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
The purity mark (or millesimal mark) tells you the percentage of silver in the alloy. Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver, with the rest being made up of other alloys, most commonly copper. For this reason the purity mark for Sterling Silver is 925. Many silver gifts also carry the traditional “Lion Passant” symbol for Sterling Silver. This isn’t a legal obligation, but is a common practice.
Alternatively, the purity mark can read “958”. This is the “Britannia” mark and shows that the silver content is 95.8% silver. This is often accompanied by a second mark with the image of Britannia herself. Objects made from Britannia silver are less common and usually restricted to table or giftware.
A further mandatory hallmark is the “Sponsor’s” mark or “Makers” mark which indicates the maker of the piece or, in some cases, the company that has commissioned the piece. Silversmiths register their own mark with their local Assay Office. Our main two ‘ Makers marks’ are WY for William Yates (founded in 1750) and WRS for ‘White Rose Silverware’ founded in the 1970’s by Margaret Hudson, our Team Principal’s Mother.
On occasions the Assay Offices issue commemorative hallmarks. These are used rarely and can only be officially authorised by The Queen’s Assay Master, and now The King’s Assay Master. In 2022 there was the special Platinum Jubilee Hallmark to mark the late Queen’s 70 years on the throne. Previously there was one in 1953 for her Coronation, 1977 for the Silver Jubilee and in 2000 for the new millennium and 2002 for The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and The Queens Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Now in 2023 we have a new special collector’s hallmark to commemorate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles lll.
For the manufacture of jewellery and silverware, precious metals are not used in their purest forms. Instead they are alloyed with other metals. It is not possible to discern by sight or by touch what the precious metal content of an alloy is.
Our customers can rest assured that all of our products come with a guarantee of the precious metal content through the 700-year-old practice of third-party independent hallmarking.
The 1973 Hallmarking Act makes it unlawful to describe an item over a certain weight as gold, silver, platinum or palladium without an independently applied Hallmark.
- All Silver articles weighing more than 7.78 grams must be hallmarked.
- All Gold articles weighing more than 1 gram must be hallmarked.
- All Platinum articles weighing more than 0.5 grams must be hallmarked.
- All Palladium articles weighing more than 1 gram must be hallmarked.
Articles below these exemption weights may be described as Gold, Silver, Palladium or Platinum without the need for a hallmark.