Is it just me or does everyone else view hallmarks as a secret code to unlock?

I could sit for hours with my loupe, looking then checking my book for the clues, then looking again until I think I’ve cracked the code 

My favourite rings we get into the showroom are the ones with a full, clear, big hallmark on the inside of the band ready for me to play detective

Although the primary purpose of a hallmark is to prove the purity of the gold, hallmarks can also tell us where the piece was created, what year the piece was created and sometimes who made the piece

At Junkyard Gem, all our pieces are checked by a team of expert jewellers however I also love to try to discover all the information within the hallmark for myself

The hallmark helps me to build a story about the piece which is one of the things I love about antique jewellery

HISTORY

The Assay office traces the origins of hallmarks back to the 14^th century when the gold standards were implemented by Edward I and stamped with a leopards head

The leopards head is still used to signify the London Assay Office, the first and for a long time the only assay office in England

There isn’t a part of English society not steeped in (or bored down by) tradition

Between 15^th and 16^th century, the gold standard alternated between 22ct and 18ct depending on the reigning monarch- you can read why you rarely see 22ct gold in modern jewellery in our blog post about GOLD

The 18^th century brought a prospering economy and with it an increased demand for precious metals in large quantities. As a result two further assay offices were created in Sheffield and Birmingham

It wasn’t until 1854 that 9ct, 12ct and 15ct Gold were introduced and were signified by their respective numbers or percentage quantities of gold within

Less than 40 years later 12ct and 15ct were replaced with 14ct which my jeweller now informs me is no longer industry standard- wouldn’t it be nice if someone could just make up their mind sometimes

In 1975, the modern hallmarking act came into force which aimed to streamline centuries of hallmarking legislation and included platinum

The Secret Code

Now as I mentioned previously I view hallmarks as a code to decipher and here at Junkyard Gem we make it our mission to gather all available information about them

It especially feels like a secret as most are only visible under a loupe

• GOLD

The main purpose of a hallmark is to show the purity of the gold so all hallmarks have a number to showcase the amount of pure gold in the piece

This number will either be the carat so 9 or 18 or the gold percentage written as a three digit number usually 375 or 750

A lot of the antique pieces only have the carat number which I always find so disappointing as we cannot accurately date these Junkyard Ge pieces

• ASSAY

In order to tell where the piece was made, you have to decipher the assay offices mark

Currently there are 4 assay offices in the UK, London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh- each has their own symbol

London = Leopard Head

Birmingham = Anchor

Edinburgh = Castle

Sheffield = Rose

There has been other assay offices which have shut over the years- it is always very exciting if a Junkyard Gem piece comes in with a hallmark from a closed assay office as this makes the piece even rarer

Once you have determined where the piece was made, you can try to determine when the piece was made

• DATE

Each year is given an alphabet letter

Now you might be asking, aren’t there more years than there are alphabet letters? Yes, yes there is

In order to get round this, there are different styles of letters

So for example pieces from 1989 and 2014 will both be marked with the letter P- however the style of the letter P is different enough to be able to distinguish between the years

That is why it is really important to decipher the assay office first and then the year as each year has a different letter and/or style depending on the assay office

I feel like I may have just fried my own brain trying to write this down, so I am sorry if I’ve fried yours too

I have read and read and read about hallmarks as I just find it so interesting however if you are a bit more pushed for time then I recommend starting with Pocket Edition Jackson’s Hallmarks which breaks down the history of hallmarks and helps you to decipher hallmarks with their handy guide- well worth a read if you are interested

I feel like this blog has really brought out the inner geek in me

I hope you enjoyed this really brief, simplified, introduction to hallmarks.

Hopefully by understanding hallmarks you can delve deeper into the history behind your own pieces

*Shop our Junkyard Gem range of antique rings here