Bench note
What a hallmark tells you
A hallmark is an independent test of the metal, not a decoration and not a maker's signature. Here is what each part of it is doing.
A hallmark is one of the oldest forms of consumer protection there is. It exists because you cannot tell the purity of silver by looking at it, and because for several centuries people were extremely keen to sell you something that was not silver.
It is not applied by the maker. The piece is sent away, a sample is independently assayed, and if the metal is what the maker says it is, the marks are struck or lasered on. That independence is the entire point.
The parts of a mark
A UK hallmark has three compulsory parts and some optional ones.
The sponsor's mark identifies who submitted the piece. It is a registered set of initials in a shaped surround, unique to that maker or company. Mine is registered to this workshop and appears on everything I make that is heavy enough to require marking.
The fineness mark gives the purity in parts per thousand. 925 is sterling. 958 is Britannia. The number is what is guaranteed, not the word.
The assay office mark identifies which office tested it. There are several in the UK and each has its own symbol.
Optionally there is a date letter, which tells you the year the piece was marked. It is no longer compulsory, but I ask for it on everything, because a piece with a date letter is a piece you can place in time in fifty years.
What it does not tell you
It does not say the piece was made by hand. It does not say it was made in this country. It does not say anything about quality of workmanship. A cast, imported, mass produced object and a raised bowl that took three days carry the same fineness mark, because the mark is a statement about the alloy and nothing else.
That is worth knowing before you pay a premium for a hallmark on its own.
When a piece has to be marked
In the UK there is a weight threshold below which silver does not legally require a hallmark. For silver it is 7.78 g, which is half a troy ounce, and it is higher than most people expect. That single number is the reason a small pendant or a light band may arrive unmarked. At or above it, marking is a legal requirement and I do not treat it as optional.
So every one of the vessels and bowls, every spoon except the salt spoon, the signet and the heavier pendants go away to be marked. Most of the bands do not have to, because a 3 mm band weighs about two and a half grams. I will still send any of them if you ask, and it adds about ten days and a small fee.
Where the marks go
Somewhere it will not be damaged and will not disfigure the piece. On a band, inside the shank. On a spoon, on the back of the handle. On a bowl, near the foot. Placement is a judgement, and a mark struck carelessly across a curve can distort a form permanently, which is why on thin raised work I ask for laser marking instead of struck marks.
Reading an old piece
If you have inherited something, the marks will usually tell you the year and the office, and from there a reference book or a good dealer can tell you a great deal. I am happy to look at photographs of marks and say what I can, at no charge. I will not value anything, because I am a maker and not a valuer, and there is a real difference.
If you are sending an old piece for restoration, never let anyone polish across a hallmark, and be careful about polishing at home for the same reason. Worn marks lose the piece its history, and a hallmark polished flat cannot be put back.
In sequence