Secondo le leggi del Regno Unito, ogni oggetto che viene venduto composto da metalli preziosi come platino, oro e argento viene etichettato a seconda del tipo di metallo. Gli oggetti in platino che pesano meno di 0,5 grammi, quelli in oro da 18 ct e in palladio che pesano meno di 1,0 grammi e gli oggetti in argento che pesano meno di 7,78 grammi sono esclusi dal marchio di garanzia.
At Diamonds Factory all our products are hallmarked as per UK hallmarking law from London Assay Office (The GoldSmith Company)
Where Hallmarking Began
The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office is the oldest assay office in the United Kingdom. It has provided hallmarking services since The Goldsmiths' Company was founded in the 1300s. The company received its royal charter in 1327 and ranks 5th in order of precedence of the 12 Great Livery Companies of the City of London.
Hallmarking dates back to the 1300s when Edward I of England passed a law requiring any item made of silver, which was offered for sale, to be at least of equal quality as that of the coin of the realm (silver currency). The wardens of The Goldsmiths' Company were tasked with visiting workshops in the City of London to assay (test) silver articles. If these articles were found to be below standard they were originally destroyed and the metal forfeited to the King. If they passed, each article received the King's mark of authentication - the mark of a leopard's head. By 1478, there were several hundred workshops and merchants manufacturing silver articles in the City of London. It was not possible for the wardens to visit them all so the merchants were ordered to bring their items to Goldsmiths' Hall for testing and marking and a permanent Assay Office was established in the building. This is the origin of the term hallmark - struck with the King's mark at Goldsmiths' Hall.
In 1544 the Goldsmith's Company adopted the King's mark as their town mark and the mark of the leopard's head is now internationally recognised as the mark of this assay office.
Oggi
The Goldsmiths's Company Assay Office ha ancora sede presso Goldsmiths's Hall e rimane l'azienda più longeva in Gran Bretagna ad operare continuamente dallo stesso sito. Tuttavia, ha anche due sedi secondarie; a Greville Street a Hatton Garden, nel cuore del quartiere dei gioielli a Londra e all'interno di un complesso di massima sicurezza vicino all'aeroporto di Heathrow di Londra 's. Attualmente ha una nuova struttura fuori sede all'interno del produttore di gioielli con sede a Dalston, Allied Gold. This is the first time in the Assay Office's 700 year history that it has opened permanent hallmarking services on a customer's premises.
In addition to hallmarking, the office has now expanded its range of services to support the jewellery trade and enforcement authorities. It offers a variety of specialist analytical services including nickel, lead & cadmium testing, antique silver dating, non-destructive compositional analysis, plating thickness measurement and a melt and assay service for scrap precious metal carried out in their fully independent on-site laboratory. Other services offered are a jewellery valuation service, laser marking, trading standards assistance, high quality photography and a comprehensive range of training and educational seminars, lectures and specialist events.
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