Guaranteeing Quality and Protecting Consumers
In Britain, Hallmarking has a long history dating back 700 years – representing the earliest form of consumer protection.
A hallmark means that the article has been independently tested by an Assay Office and guarantees that it conforms to a specified legal standard of purity. This is called the fineness of the metal and the precious metal content is expressed as a millesimal number. There are four Assay offices in Great Britain:
London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh. Each has its own identifying mark:
Signets & Cyphers rings are hallmarked by the London Assay office so they will have the Leopard’s head inside the band.
