An essential part of quality craftsmanship within the world of jewellery is ensuring every piece meets the high standards carved out by the Edinburgh Assay Office. Hallmarking stamps serve as your guarantee of the metals used in the creation of your handmade jewellery, providing assurance of authenticity and quality that lasts a lifetime.

hallmarking

WHAT IS HALLMARKING?

A hallmark comprises a series of stamped marks that authenticate the material of a product. Hallmarks are reserved for precious metals like Platinum, Gold, Palladium, and Silver.

Determining the precious metal content of an item by sight or touch is impossible, hence the legal requirement for items sold as precious metal, above a certain weight, to bear a hallmark. However, Silver items weighing less than 7.78g are exempt from this requirement.

Hallmarks indicate the purity of metal in a product, traditionally applied by striking with a punch but this can now also be done with a laser for finer pieces.

Selling a precious metal product without a hallmark is illegal, while non-precious items are prohibited from having one. Items marked only with "925" are not legally hallmarked as they lack other required marks detailed below.

Each Hannah Louise Lamb ring, necklace, and bracelet weighing above 7.78g is verified by the Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office in Edinburgh, ensuring that every purchase is crafted from the stated precious metal on the product page. Hannah Louise Lamb Earrings and some lighter rings, although made from 925 Sterling Silver, fall below the weight limit for testing and hallmarking. Nonetheless, these pieces still use the same 100% recycled silver as our hallmarked pieces.

For official information on hallmarking from the Edinburgh Assay Office, you can download this Dealers Notice PDF to read more.

325 Gold Hallmarking Edinburgh Assay Office

HALLMARK STAMP GUIDE

  • Hannah Louise Lamb Hallmark

    Sponsor's Mark

    Every jewellery brand has a unique stamp, ours is HL.

  • Edinburgh Assay Office Mark

    Assay Office Mark

    Signifies the Assay Office we used to hallmark your jewellery.

  • Edinburgh Assay Office Year Hallmark

    Date Letter

    Each letter represents a year that the piece was hallmarked.

  • Fineness Symbol

    This mark represents Sterling Silver tested in Scotland.

  • Fineness Symbol Gold

    Fineness Symbol

    This mark represents a solid gold piece.

  • Edinburgh Assay Office Platinum Hallmark

    Fineness Symbol

    This mark represents a solid platinum piece.

  • Edinburgh Assay Office Silver 925 Hallmark

    FINENESS MARK

    The ‘925’ stamp signifies the item is made from solid sterling silver.

  • Edinburgh Assay Office 375 stamp

    FINENESS MARK

    The ‘375’ stamp signifies the item is made from 9ct gold.

  • 750 18ct gold assay office hallmark stamp

    FINENESS MARK

    The ‘750’ stamp signifies the item is made from solid 18ct gold.

  • Edinburgh Assay Office 18ct Gold Hallmark

    Fineness Mark

    The ‘950’ stamp within a 5-sided shape signifies the item is made from platinum.

  • 950 palladium hallmark

    Fineness Mark

    The ‘950’ stamp within 3 joined ovals signifies the item is made from palladium.

  • Single Mined Origin Stamp

    This stamp will be included if you choose our SMO option.

Hannah making a Silver Coastline Ring
Edinburgh Type B Hallmarking Dealers Notice, explaining what a hallmark looks like and where to find them.
Hannah Using a blowtorch to fire a silver coastline ring

Now you’ve found out about what each hallmark means, here’s how to care for your HLL jewellery.