A hallmark is an official stamp, or group of stamps, put on metal objects to vouch for how much precious metal they contain. An assay office usually applies it after testing the metal. The aim is to protect buyers from being sold fakes.
Where it comes from
Marking precious metal is an old practice. It goes back to the fourth century AD, when it was first used on silver. Britain’s first assay office was Goldsmiths’ Hall in London, set up around 1300. The word ‘hallmarking’ comes from that hall. The Goldsmiths’ Company notes that marking began there over seven centuries ago.
What does a hallmark look like?
A hallmark can be a single stamp or a group of stamps. The Goldsmiths’ Company describes the hallmark as several separate marks. It is used on gold, silver, platinum and palladium. The full traditional UK hallmark applied by the London Assay Office has five separate marks. They are struck by an assay office, a body that tests how pure precious metals are. The stamp confirms what metal the item contains.
Are watch cases hallmarked?
In Switzerland, they must be. Every watch case made of gold, silver, platinum or palladium that is sold there has to be officially checked and hallmarked. The rule applies whether the case was made in Switzerland or abroad. Other countries have their own systems. In the Netherlands, for example, any precious metal item may carry the Common Control Mark of the international Vienna Convention.
Not to be confused with
A hallmark is not the same as a maker’s mark or a brand mark. Those marks exist to tell one manufacturer’s goods apart from another’s. A hallmark does not do that job. It is an official stamp, and it speaks to the metal itself. It tells you how much precious metal the object contains, not who made it or who sold it.
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