Do I need to hallmark a gold ring under 1 gram — and can I still call it gold?

You do not need to hallmark it: the exemption weight for gold is 1.0g. But the exemption only removes the duty to hallmark, not the offence of applying a false precious-metal description. You may only call it gold if it genuinely is gold.

How do I get a sponsor's mark, what does it cost, and how long does it take?

You register with a UK assay office. At Assay Office London it is £72 including VAT for ten years, with free laser setup for standard designs; punches are £85–90. Allow two to three weeks for laser setup and four to six weeks for a punch — the lead time, not the cost, is the real constraint.

Does my website legally need a Dealer's Notice, or is the shop enough?

Your website needs one too. The notice must be displayed conspicuously on trade premises and online. Notice B exists specifically for online platforms as a PDF or short film. It must be black and white, minimum A4, and shown in its entirety with no amendments.

Is a foreign hallmark valid in the UK, or do imported items need re-hallmarking?

A Convention Hallmark — sponsor's mark, Common Control Mark, fineness mark and assay office mark — is recognised here and does not need re-hallmarking. An overseas fineness stamp with no recognised assay office mark is not a hallmark and does not qualify.

What are the three compulsory marks, and how do I check a piece is properly hallmarked?

The sponsor's mark, the fineness mark (parts per thousand, such as 375 for 9ct gold) and the assay office mark. All three must be present. The date letter and pictorial metal mark are optional, so their absence is not a compliance problem.

If I only sell secondhand or vintage jewellery, do the same rules apply?

The section 1 offence applies to describing or supplying unhallmarked precious metal in the course of a business, so you should check stock the same way. Bear in mind that repairs and alterations can change an item's weight or fineness and affect whether it still qualifies for an exemption.

18 July 2026

UK Hallmarking: What Independent Jewellers Need to Know

Hallmarking is the law, and the offence sits with whoever describes and supplies the piece — usually you. The weights, the marks, the Dealer's Notice, and what enforcement looks like now.

If you describe an article as gold, silver, platinum or palladium in the course of business, it is the law — not your supplier — that decides whether you may. The Hallmarking Act 1973 makes it an offence to apply such a description to an unhallmarked article, or to supply or offer to supply one. The wording matters more than most jewellers realise: the offence is committed by describing as much as by selling, and it falls on whoever describes and supplies in the course of a trade. That is you, at the counter or on your product page — not the workshop that made the piece.

Which items actually have to be hallmarked?

There are exemption weights, below which an article need not be hallmarked at all:

Gold — 1.0g
Silver — 7.78g
Platinum — 0.5g
Palladium — 1.0g

This is where well-meaning independents get caught, because the exemption is narrower than it sounds. It exempts you from the obligation to hallmark. It does not exempt you from the prohibition on misdescription. A sub-threshold item still cannot be called gold unless it genuinely is gold. "I don't have to hallmark this" and "I can call this gold" are two different questions, and only the first is answered by the weight.

Palladium catches people out for a different reason. It has been compulsorily hallmarkable since January 2010, with a 1g threshold, even though it remains a rounding error in volume terms — just 4,069 articles were marked in 2023. Rarity is not exemption.

What does a valid hallmark look like?

Three marks are compulsory, and all three must be present:

The sponsor's mark — the registered mark of whoever submits the article. At least two letters, unique to that sponsor.
The fineness mark — the precious metal content in parts per thousand, inside a shield shape specific to the metal.
The assay office mark — the office that tested and marked the piece.

Fineness is expressed in parts per thousand, not carats: 9ct gold is marked 375, meaning at least 375 parts gold per 1,000.

The date letter and the traditional pictorial metal mark are optional. Their absence is not non-compliance — which is worth knowing, because their absence causes a lot of unnecessary panic. The converse is also true: a date letter does not prove a mark is valid.

Only four UK assay offices exist — London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh. An article must be marked by one of these, or by an office recognised under the International Convention.

Two practical habits follow. First, physically check that all three compulsory marks are present rather than relying on "my supplier said it's hallmarked" — the liability under section 1 is yours, not your supplier's. Second, remember that repairs, alterations and additions can push a piece over an exemption weight or change its fineness. An item that was legitimately exempt when made may not stay exempt after reworking.

Does my website need a Dealer's Notice?

Yes — and this is the single most common gap among otherwise compliant independents. The Dealer's Notice, which explains the hallmarking system to customers, must be displayed conspicuously on trade premises and online. A shop that is immaculate on the counter is frequently exposed on its own website, Etsy storefront or social selling channel.

Notice A is a free download from any assay office website (printed copies cost around £15 plus VAT and postage). Notice B — available as a PDF or a short film — exists specifically for online platforms. The format is prescriptive: black and white, minimum A4 (210 x 297mm), reproduced in its entirety with no amendments. The current format has been compulsory since 1 May 2020, so a notice inherited from an older site build is worth re-checking.

The scale of the online problem explains the focus. Research cited in the British Hallmarking Council's 2023 report suggests around 150,000 fake "gold" items may be listed for sale in the UK each year, and that as much as a third of "gold" jewellery sold online might not be hallmarked at all.

What does it cost, and how long does it take?

Less than the folklore suggests. At Assay Office London, a sponsor's mark costs £72 including VAT for a ten-year registration, with free laser setup for standard designs; physical punches are £85–90 depending on the initials.

The real constraint is lead time, not money. Laser setup averages two to three weeks, and punches take four to six weeks depending on demand. Makers who leave registration until they already have stock to sell miss their selling window — a £72 problem becomes a six-week one.

Marking itself is faster than expected. Packets take between an hour and two weeks depending on service level, and an overnight "Early Hall" service handles up to 30 items at Goldsmiths' Hall or 10 at Greville Street. Same-week turnaround for a waiting customer is realistic if you plan for it.

Is a foreign hallmark valid here?

Sometimes. A Convention Hallmark — comprising a sponsor's mark, the Common Control Mark, a fineness mark and an assay office mark — is recognised in the UK, and articles carrying one do not need re-hallmarking here.

What does not count is a random overseas fineness stamp with no recognised assay office mark. That is not a hallmark, however official it looks. If you buy in from overseas suppliers, this is the distinction to train yourself and your staff on.

Enforcement has quietly professionalised

The old assumption that nobody checks is out of date. Sheffield Assay Office's proactive retail visits across 250 premises found a 20% non-compliance rate. In December 2023, "Operation Stamping It Out" — a London pilot funded by the London Assay Office — identified 16,846 non-compliant listings across Facebook Marketplace, eBay and Amazon in a single month, with the data shared through the National Trading Standards Regional Intelligence Network.

Assay offices are now funding Trading Standards work directly: Sheffield funded East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Touchstone Award project, which inspected 42 physical businesses and assessed 17 online traders. And in April 2025, section 1 was updated to align with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, placing hallmarking alongside the wider consumer-protection enforcement architecture.

Trading Standards officers can seize non-compliant items, which can lead to prosecution. Assay office guidance commonly cites fines of up to £5,000 per article, though it is worth checking the current statutory position rather than treating that round number as a settled ceiling. In practice, seizure of stock, prosecution costs and reputational damage tend to dwarf the fine anyway.

The bottom line

UK assay offices marked 8,018,000 articles in 2023, down from 9,748,000 in 2022 — silver 4,145,000, gold 3,515,000, platinum 354,743 and palladium 4,069. A shrinking market and a rising tide of unmarked online stock cut the same way: in a trade where a third of online "gold" may be unhallmarked, a full UK hallmark is a trust signal, not a tax.

Treat the Dealer's Notice as customer education rather than a compliance poster. It is the clearest available explanation of why you cost more than a marketplace seller — and the cheapest piece of marketing on your wall.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to hallmark a gold ring under 1 gram — and can I still call it gold?: You do not need to hallmark it: the exemption weight for gold is 1.0g. But the exemption only removes the duty to hallmark, not the offence of applying a false precious-metal description. You may only call it gold if it genuinely is gold.
How do I get a sponsor's mark, what does it cost, and how long does it take?: You register with a UK assay office. At Assay Office London it is £72 including VAT for ten years, with free laser setup for standard designs; punches are £85–90. Allow two to three weeks for laser setup and four to six weeks for a punch — the lead time, not the cost, is the real constraint.
Does my website legally need a Dealer's Notice, or is the shop enough?: Your website needs one too. The notice must be displayed conspicuously on trade premises and online. Notice B exists specifically for online platforms as a PDF or short film. It must be black and white, minimum A4, and shown in its entirety with no amendments.
Is a foreign hallmark valid in the UK, or do imported items need re-hallmarking?: A Convention Hallmark — sponsor's mark, Common Control Mark, fineness mark and assay office mark — is recognised here and does not need re-hallmarking. An overseas fineness stamp with no recognised assay office mark is not a hallmark and does not qualify.
What are the three compulsory marks, and how do I check a piece is properly hallmarked?: The sponsor's mark, the fineness mark (parts per thousand, such as 375 for 9ct gold) and the assay office mark. All three must be present. The date letter and pictorial metal mark are optional, so their absence is not a compliance problem.
If I only sell secondhand or vintage jewellery, do the same rules apply?: The section 1 offence applies to describing or supplying unhallmarked precious metal in the course of a business, so you should check stock the same way. Bear in mind that repairs and alterations can change an item's weight or fineness and affect whether it still qualifies for an exemption.