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Trade Organisations

NAJ plans ‘Made in Britain’ mark to boost jewellery sales

The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) is considering plans to launch a ‘Made in Britain’ mark in a bid to drive jewellery sales.

Hallmarking of gold and silver is currently undertaken by British assay offices which determine the metal content of the product rather than where the product was made.

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Despite this, Michael Rawlinson, chief executive at the NAJ, said many people are using the assay hallmark, both consumers and trade members, as a ‘country of origin’ mark.

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It is hoped that a ‘Made in Britain’ mark will not only help to boost sales to overseas markets, but it will also provide provenance to jewellery pieces in the future.

If the plans go ahead, the mark will be owned by the NAJ which will license its members to use it. Licensed members will be given a licence number which they will be able to relay to their assay office to receive the ‘Made in Britain’ stamp.

The project is currently in the early stages, with the NAJ currently researching regulatory restrictions and feasibility of the mark.

Speaking to Jewellery Focus, Rawlinson said: “An assay mark is purely and solely there to talk about the fineness of the metal and that it has been tested by a particular assay office. Their mark is their guarantee of that statement.

“There is a lot of weight to British design and manufacturing in overseas markets, and the best way for us to tackle that and promote that is to actually mark the goods with the fact that it’s made in Britain.”

It is expected that a town hall meeting will take place in Birmingham, in either late June or early July, to follow up on the proposed plans and to gauge industry reaction and appetite for the mark.

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