| Why are precious metal articles hallmarked? Gold, silver, platinum and palladium are rarely used in their purest form but instead they are normally alloyed with lesser metals in order to achieve a desired strength, durability, colour etc. The main offence under the UK Hallmarking Act 1973 is based on description. It is an offence for any person in the course of trade or business to: - Describe an un-hallmarked article as being wholly or partly made of gold, silver, platinum or palladium.
- Supply or offer to supply un-hallmarked articles to which such a description is applied.
What needs to be hallmarked? Any article described as being wholly or partly made of gold, silver, platinum or palladium that is not covered under exempt articles. Main Exemptions: Articles below a certain weight are exempt from hallmarking. The exemption weight is based on the precious metal content only, excluding, for example, weight of diamonds, stones etc, except in the case of articles consisting of precious metal and base metal in which case the exemption weight is based on the total metal weight: Platinum 0.5 grams
Gold 1.0 gram
Palladium 1.0 gram
Silver 7.78 grams Handcrafted Sterling Pieces by Elyshia Designs Currently all of my handcrafted silver pieces are below the Sterling 7.78 gram exemption weight and as such do not require hallmarking. Where I have sourced manufactured chain, clasps or fittings that are above this weight, they carry the legally required hallmarks. Please note if you are buying precious metal jewellery within the UK, all sellers are required by law to display the Precious Metals Dealer Notice on their website and when trading in person. | 
