Assay Office
Assay offices are central to the UK jewellery trade, ensuring the integrity of precious metal goods through hallmarking and quality assurance. For jewellers, manufacturers, and suppliers, staying informed about the activities and developments of the UK’s assay offices—Birmingham, London, Sheffield, and Edinburgh—is vital. Jewellery Focus provides comprehensive coverage on hallmarking standards, regulatory updates, innovations in testing and certification, and the broader role assay offices play in supporting the trade.
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Oct- 2016 -24 OctoberCurrent Affairs
Birmingham Assay Office CEO to step down next year
The Birmingham Assay Office (BAO) has announced that its CEO and assay master, Stella Layton, is to leave the role at the end of March 2017. The BAO also announced that Doug Henry, an experienced managing director who has been responsible for several of the organisation’s key projects over the…
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19 OctoberTrade Organisations
Goldsmiths’ Company issues final call for Make Your Mark entries
The deadline for the inaugural Make Your Mark Awards is at 5pm on Friday 21st October 2016, the Goldsmiths’ Company has announced. Judges will be looking for the best design of a precious metal piece incorporating a UK hallmark within the design, and says the spirit of the awards is…
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13 OctoberEconomy
Hallmarking falls 11.5% in September
The total number of hallmarked items fell 11.5% in September, a decrease of 115,994 pieces when compared with the same month last year. The figure – from all four UK assay offices and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office – found the total number of hallmarked items in September stood…
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11 OctoberEvents
Deadline for Make Your Mark Awards draws near
Submissions for the inaugural Make Your Mark Awards are set to close next week on Friday, 21 October at 5pm. Entrants to the awards, which is run by The Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office, will have the opportunity to win various prizes as well as having their work seen by a…
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5 OctoberCurrent Affairs
UK jewellers consider legal challenge to BAO over Indian hallmarking
A group of jewellers and silversmiths in the UK are considering a legal challenge to the Birmingham Assay Office over its practice of using UK hallmarking overseas. The news comes after the Birmingham and Sheffield Assay Offices’ marks have been approved by the British Hallmarking Council for use in their…
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Sep- 2016 -13 SeptemberEconomy
9ct gold soars 32% in positive August hallmarking figures
The number of 9-carat gold items hallmarked in August soared 32% in a positive month for overall hallmarking figures. That’s according to latest figures released from the four UK assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, which found overall hallmarking figures soared 10.4% from 696,251 items last year…
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12 SeptemberEvents
Applications open for inaugural Make Your Mark Awards
Applications are now open for the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office inaugural ‘Make Your Mark’ Awards. The new design competition, which aims to challenge today’s students working in precious metals, will be presented at a special event on Tuesday 1 November during the annual Make Your Mark event. There will be…
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Aug- 2016 -24 AugustCurrent Affairs
UK Jewellers launch parliamentary petition to restrict offshore UK hallmarks
A group of UK silversmiths and jewellers have launched a campaign to restrict the use of distinctive traditional UK hallmarks, including city marks, to items hallmarked in the UK. For over 700 years UK hallmarks have only been struck in the UK, but the campaign said that there is now…
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16 AugustEconomy
Hallmarking slumps 11.8% in July
The total number of hallmarked items dropped 11.8% in July, a decrease of 92,333 pieces when compared with the same month last year. New figures from all four of the UK’s assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, which found the total number of hallmarked items in July…
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1 AugustQ&A Sessions
Q&A SESSION: Simon Johnson, National Association of Jewellers
The National Association of Jewellers recently announced that Simon Johnson, owner of Marmalade Fine Jewellery, has been named chairman. TOM DAVIS sat down with him to find out about the new role and what his plans are for the future of the UK’s newly merged trade body. For the…
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