Hallmarking

and assay office compliance

BMG 14K, 18K, 14K white gold and Platinum is extensively tested at:

1. Point of manufacture.
2. Point of export to the UK (on items made overseas).
3. Finally by Goldsmiths Assay office in London UK (Goldsmiths is now the BMG registered office for Assay testing and marking in the UK.

As from April 2002 all of BMG jewellery with a weight of over 1g (i.e. excluding nose studs single clip in or tapped balls and some ball closure rings) will have its final testing and marks applied by the Goldsmiths Assay office in London. These marks will now be on every piece both sold internally within in the UK and overseas regardless of any lesser regulations required. This will apply to all BMG jewellery sold retail and wholesale. Once again maintaining the BMG standard of excellence.

The Marks on all BMG jewellery with a weight of over 1g as from 1st April 2002

1) Sponsors mark. Jewellery (over 1g) will be marked with BMG our registered sponsored hallmark. This is of course your guarantee that the product you have purchased is a genuine BMG product. Should you have purchased an item such as a nose stud that cannot be marked, as it is too small and needs to retain a smooth surface, the attached letter act as your guarantee and certificate of authenticity.
	2) The Leopards head. Mark of Goldsmiths, UK’s and the worlds oldest and most respected assay office for precious metal verification.
	3) 18-ct yellow or white gold
	4) 14-ct yellow or white gold
	5) Platinum
	6) Sterling silver where relevant i.e. some of our toe rings are silver.

Current Hallmarks 

What Is Hallmarking?

In the UK a Hallmark consists of three marks which give you the following information:

• who made the article
• what is its guaranteed standard of fineness
• the Assay Office at which the article was tested and marked

For example:

AB Sponsor or maker	750 Standard	Anchor Assay Office

Sponsor's Mark (formerly known as the Maker's mark)

This shows the person or company responsible for sending the article to the Assay Office. The sponsor may be the manufacturer, retailer, importer, etc.

Assay Office Mark
There are now four British Assay Offices:

Birmingham	Edinburgh	London	Sheffield

The separate Assay Office marks for imported goods were discontinued in 1999.

Standard Marks

These show the standard of fineness - the purity of the precious metal, in parts per thousand.

e.g. The background shape shows the metal (gold). The figure shows the article consists of 750 parts of gold by weight to 250 parts of other metals - 75% gold. This is equal to 18 carats (18 parts in every 24), the traditional way of describing gold purity.

Current Gold Standards

19 Carat - 14 Carat - 18 Carat - 22 Carat

Current Silver Standards

(Sterling) (Britannia)

Current Platinum Standards

Commemorative Marks

Commemorative marks may also be added if a sponsor chooses. These are marks to commemorate special events. The most recent was the Millennium Mark which was struck during 2000. The Millennium mark was very popular and was applied to over 5 million articles during 1999 and 2000. A new mark was made to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and was applied throughout 2002 only.

Convention Marks

As an alternative to the traditional UK Hallmarks articles may be applied with a Convention Hallmark which may have been applied by any one of the countries included in the International Convention on Hallmarking.