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Java-E UK - Purity Hallmarks Explained
Please note that these hallmarks only apply to items sold from/in the UK - items sold from other countries have nowhere near the same level of provenance or enforcement.
One or more of the following hallmarks can/should be on an item, depending on the age/material of the item.
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1. Purity/Type (Sterling Silver [92.5% Pure])
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2. Purity/Type (Britannia Silver [95.8% Pure])
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3. Purity/Type (22 Carat Gold [91.6% Pure])
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4. Purity/Type (18 Carat Gold [75% Pure])
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5. Purity/Type (14 Carat Gold [58.5% Pure])
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6. Purity/Type (9 Carat Gold [37.5% Pure])
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7. Purity/Type (Sterling Silver [92.5% Pure])
This mark is optional for newly marked items in the UK, but was mandatory hundreds of years ago (before the previously mentioned marks existed). It proves a purity of at least Sterling Silver and is specific to the UK. For newly marked items, it's simply a mark of Tradition.
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8. Purity/Type (Britannia Silver [95.8% Pure])
This mark is optional for newly marked items in the UK, but was mandatory many years ago (before the previously mentioned marks existed). It proves a purity of at least Britannia Silver and is specific to the UK. For newly marked items, it's simply a mark of Tradition.
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IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT: The UK has probably the most stringent precious metal and hallmarking consumer laws in the world. No items which are over a certain weight (about 7 grams) can be sold as Silver, Gold, or Platinum in the UK unless they have been hallmarked by one of the 4 UK Assay Offices, and it is the Assay Offices who perform all the purity tests for the relevant items. As we sell from the UK, we are subject to these stringent laws, and we are happy that such laws protect all UK jewellery customers, and that as a result of these laws, UK hallmarked items have probably the best provenance in the world.
For more details about what the various hallmarks mean in general, click on the relevant options on the left-side menu under the [Hallmark Info] section.
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