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.

Mar- 2015 -

25 March

Crime

Michael Northcott

Jeweller fined £70k over hallmarking

A Birmingham jeweller was today sentenced to 10 weeks imprisonment and ordered to pay more than £70,000 after pleading guilty to 21 offences under the Hallmarking Act 1973 and Trade Marks Act 1994. Umran Rafiq, trading as Asian Jewellers based in Alum Rock Road, Alum Rock, was ordered to pay…
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18 March

Analysis

Tom Davis

MARKET ANALYSIS: precious metals and the market

[intro]After a turbulent couple of years, more reasonable metal prices are creating the conditions for hallmarking figures to climb steadily. TOM DAVIS speaks to some of the best-known bullion houses and assay offices to find out their thoughts on where the market for precious metals is heading.[/intro] There’s no doubt…
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12 March

Events

Tom Davis

Goldsmiths’ Company to stage jewellery careers event

London’s Goldsmiths’ Hall will host what it claims is the UK’s ‘biggest’ careers event for students of jewellery and allied trades. Make Your Mark, which will be hosted on April 17 and 18, follows on from its inaugural event last year which attracted over 800 students from across the British…
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11 March

Economy

Tom Davis

Hallmarking figures climb in February

The total number of articles hallmarked across all four of the UK’s assay offices saw a 7.9% increase in February, compared with the same month last year. According to the data (compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office), there was a total of 55,419 more articles hallmarked in February this year…
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Feb- 2015 -

24 February

Product Launches

Tom Davis

Birmingham Assay Office’s ‘Analytical Laboratory’ rebrands

The Birmingham Assay Office (BAO) has rebranded its Analytical Laboratory as AnchorCert Analytical. The BAO said that the rebrand is due to the scope of its services expanding “enormously”. Originally specialising in precious metals, AnchorCert Analytical continues to analyse precious metals from 999 gold to platinum, but services are expanding…
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17 February

Product Launches

Tom Davis

Edinburgh Assay Office launches new pay-as-you-go service

The Edinburgh Assay Office (EAO) is hoping to “unlock international markets” for online jewellery retailer’s with a new pay-as-you-go hallmarking and fulfilment service for online retailers. The new service will combine hallmarking and fulfilment with final mile delivery, opening up UK and EU markets for companies importing precious metal jewellery…
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12 February

Economy

Tom Davis

Hallmarking figures drop in January

After a strong year of growth for hallmarking figures in 2014 the total number of articles hallmarked was down 7.6% in January 2015 compared to the same time last year. According to data from the four UK assay offices and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, there was a total…
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Jan- 2015 -

23 January

Current Affairs

Tom Davis

Birmingham Assay Office receives RJC recertification

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has announced that the Birmingham Assay Office has achieved re-certification. The re-certification was achieved by meeting the “highest ethical, social and environmental standards” established by the RJC. Stella Layton, chief executive and assay master, who was recently appointed chairman of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, said: “[The…
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20 January

Appointments

Tom Davis

Stella Layton named new Jewellery Quarter chairman

Stella Layton, the chief executive and assay master of the Birmingham Assay Office, has been named as the new chairman of the town’s Jewellery Quarter Development Trust (JQDT). Layton succeeds David Mahony, managing director of PCPT Architects. The JQDT, formed in May 2011, is a community interest company that operates…
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12 January

Product Launches

Tom Davis

New ‘sub-office’ in Heathrow for Edinburgh Assay Office

The Edinburgh Assay Office has launched a new, one-stop, secure, in-transit hallmarking and onward delivery service based at its new facility at Heathrow Airport. The Edinburgh Assay Office said that in “the global jewellery market, the challenge of complying with separate regulations in each EU location has made it difficult…
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