Sterling Silver Hallmark

Sterling silver can be identified by a simple stamp on the silver item, if the stamp states 925, then it is sterling silver quality silver. All of the jewellery created here at Kit Heath bares this stamp, along with our own hallmark.

Hallmarking is one of the earliest forms of consumer protection. Items under the 7.78 grams are not required to be Hallmarked, however, these are always stamped with the number 925. Please note that this is not a legal hallmark unless accompanied by other stamps. Since the amendments to the Hallmarking Act came in to effect in January 1999, it is now compulsory for the following three symbols to be present in silver items of 7.78 grams.

Sponsor Mark

This is the registered mark of the maker or sponsor of the piece. The Kit Heath sponsor mark is KH.

Number Mark

SILVER 925 - A mille decimal number fineness indicating the precious metal content. The shape of the shield identifies the metal as gold, silver or platinum.

Assay Office Mark

In the case of Kit Heath this will be EDINBURGH - The mark of the Assay office where the piece was tested. All overweight Kit Heath jewellery is tested and hallmarked by the Edinburgh Assay Office in Scotland.

There are other marks that are not compulsory to be a legal hallmark, these are:
Date letter mark - a letter representing the year in which the piece was hallmarked
Common control mark - a mark used by countries, which are signatories to the international convention on Hallmarking.
Fineness symbol - a traditional symbol denoting one of the older precious metal finesses.
Commemorative mark - examples include the Millennium Hallmark and the Golden Jubilee Hallmark.