April hallmarking figures up by a fifth, 9ct gold up almost 50%

Figures released by The Birmingham Assay Office have revealed that the total number of articles hallmarked for April increased by 20.3 per cent on last year.

The figures, which reflect the flows through four UK assay offices, showed the strongest performing metal category was once again 9 carat gold, which climbed as massive 47.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Sterling silver also showed an increase of 10 per cent, with this being the eighth consecutive month of increased hallmarking numbers for both gold and silver, which the BAO said: “is a positive sign for the remainder of the year”.

Platinum and palladium pieces showed a decline, with the number of platinum hallmarks down by 1.8 per cent and palladium by 2.4 per cent compared to April 2013.

Image: TagishSimon