Why small pieces don't need a hallmark

A hundredth of a gram

Put a silver pendant on a jeweller's scale. If it reads 7.77 grams, it can be sold in the UK as silver with no hallmark at all. If it reads 7.78, it can't, not until it has been to an assay office, been tested, and come back with three tiny marks struck into it.

That hundredth of a gram is the whole of the rule for small silver. In Britain it is an offence for a business to describe something as silver, gold, platinum or palladium unless it is hallmarked, but the law makes room for pieces below a set weight. The thresholds are precise, and so is the way the weight is counted.

The four weights

A piece is exempt if it weighs less than the figure for its metal. At the figure or above, it needs a hallmark.

The silver figure has moved over the years. When the Hallmarking Act was passed in 1973 it was 5 grams. An order made in 1975 raised it to 7.78 grams, and at the same time changed what was weighed: from then on, the test looked at the weight of the precious metal in the piece rather than the weight of the whole article.

The exemption covers the hallmark, not the metal. A piece under the weight must still be of at least the legal minimum standard, such as 800 for silver or 375 for gold, and the seller is responsible for making sure it is.

How the weight is counted

Most of the questions about this exemption are really questions about what goes on the scale. The UK assay offices' guidance answers them.

• Stones don't count. Nor do leather, cord or other materials that aren't metal. Only the metal is weighed.
• Base metal does count. If a piece combines precious metal with base metal, such as a silver pendant with steel parts, the exemption weight is measured against the total metal weight, base metal included.
• Mixed precious metals use the stricter limit. If a piece contains more than one precious metal, the limit is the one for the most precious of them, measured against the weight of all the precious metal together.

The guidance gives a worked example. A piece with half a gram of gold and three grams of silver has gold as its most precious metal, so the limit is gold's, 1 gram. The total is three and a half grams, which is over it. That piece needs a hallmark, even though neither the gold nor the silver on its own would.

And the scale itself matters. The National Association of Jewellers says it is not good enough to guess, and that sellers should use approved Class I or II weighing equipment with calibrated test weights. At these weights, a cheap kitchen scale isn't up to the job.

Too small or thin to mark, but not chain

There is a second exemption that has nothing to do with weight. A piece made wholly of precious metal of at least the minimum standard is exempt if it is so small or thin that it cannot be hallmarked.

Chain is the exception. Since an order of 1986, the wording has read "any article, except an article made of chainwork". The order removed the existing exemption for small chainwork, with six months for the trade to adjust, and that part came into force on 11 May 1987.

The order doesn't give its reasons. The likely one is practical: however fine the links, a chain has a clasp or an end ring where marks can go, so it is never truly too small to mark. A light chain under the weight limit is still exempt on weight, of course. It just can't use the "too thin" route.

Pieces made before 1950

Antique and vintage pieces have their own exemption. Gold or silver made before 1950 can be described and sold as precious metal without a hallmark, provided the seller can prove two things: that it is of at least the minimum standard (375 for gold, 800 for silver), and that it was made before 1950. It must not have been improperly altered since.

The burden really is on the seller. The Act says that where an exemption depends on a date, the piece is presumed to have been made after that date until the contrary is proved.

The cut-off has crept forward. The 1973 Act used 1900. From 1999 it was 1920, and in 2007 it moved to 1950. Separate older rules still cover some things made before 1975, when many articles, such as rings other than wedding rings, didn't need a hallmark at all. Platinum made before 1975 and palladium made before 2010 are exempt too.

What a 925 stamp means

Many small silver pieces carry a plain "925", and small gold pieces a "375" or "750". These are makers' marks: the maker's own statement of the metal. The National Association of Jewellers is blunt about it: such a mark can be applied, but it is not a hallmark.

The assay offices' guidance treats a maker's fineness mark as a description, just like a label or a line on a website. That has two consequences.

• Under the exemption weight, the stamp is a lawful way to describe the piece, because describing light pieces as silver is allowed. The guidance itself refers to "a 925 stamp on underweight articles".
• At or over the weight, the stamp alone is not enough. Because it describes the piece as silver, the piece must carry a full UK hallmark too.

Nor is the stamp compulsory. Asked whether makers need to use a 925 punch on underweight sterling, the London Assay Office's answer was a simple no.

Hallmarking a small piece anyway

Being exempt doesn't stop a piece from being hallmarked. Many jewellers send underweight pieces to an assay office regardless. Asked why, the London Assay Office gave three words: pride, prestige, quality assurance.

For a buyer, that independent test is the difference between a maker's word and a third party's guarantee. On pieces this small, it is a choice, not a requirement, which is why you will find both on the same shelf.

The Dealer's Notice

Anyone who sells precious metal in the course of business has one more duty, whatever the weight of what they sell. Section 11 of the Hallmarking Act requires every dealer to display a notice, approved and supplied by the British Hallmarking Council, explaining the approved hallmarks. Failing to display it is an offence.

The current notice became compulsory on 1 May 2020. It shows the compulsory marks for each metal, the optional marks, and the exemption weights. There is a version for shop walls, at least A4 in size, and a second version, known as Dealer's Notice B, designed for websites. The National Association of Jewellers advises that when customers can buy online, the notice should be clearly visible before checkout.

So if you are wondering whether an unmarked chain is genuinely exempt, the seller's Dealer's Notice is a good place to start, and a good seller will be happy to tell you what the piece weighs.

Back to the scale

A fine chain with a charm the size of a fingernail can sit on that scale and read well under the line. No marks, no assay office, and no offence. It is the same law that, a few hundredths of a gram later, insists on all three marks. Small pieces aren't left out of hallmarking. They are simply where it draws its line.