Birmingham Assay Office
The Birmingham Assay Office is a cornerstone of the UK jewellery trade, providing hallmarking, testing, and certification services that ensure the quality and integrity of precious metal goods. For jewellers, manufacturers, and suppliers, staying informed about its developments is essential to maintaining compliance and understanding industry standards. Jewellery Focus offers in-depth coverage on the Birmingham Assay Office, including regulatory updates, innovations in testing and hallmarking, and its role in supporting the jewellery sector’s operational and ethical standards.
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Nov- 2018 -28 NovemberUncategorized
Three-Minute Interview: Paul Platnauer
Describe yourself in three words? Integrity, drive and passion. When you were at school, what did you want to be and why? I always planned on going into the family business when I left school making me the third generation of R Platnauer Ltd, over 25 years ago, and to…
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23 NovemberFeatures
A hallmark of the future
Changes in the market have driven the Birmingham Assay Office to invest heavily in the technology to apply hallmarks by laser during the past decade. Laser marking is now an established method for applying statutory hallmarks but its potential as a way to differentiate and add value to products is…
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22 NovemberFeatures
What is x-ray fluorescence testing?
The change in the UK jewellery market during the past 15 years has been dramatic and irreversible. Items made outside the UK now outnumber UK manufactured articles by about nine to one and there has been a significant increase in silver and mixed metal articles and those which are hollow…
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16 NovemberFeatures
Saying ‘Yes’ to platinum
Platinum has been successfully marketed as the ultimate precious metal and has proved relatively resilient to recent financial turmoil. Volume in the platinum market is very much driven by the bridal market and it has fared slightly better than gold and silver. Platinum is firmly established as the luxury option…
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14 NovemberMetal Prices
Strong double-digit growth for gold and platinum in October hallmarking
Hallmarking increased by an average of 1.6% in October 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. This was supported by double-digit growth in gold, increasing by 60,849 to 509,390 hallmarked pieces, and platinum, rising by 4,593 to 28,652 items…
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9 NovemberCrime
Birmingham gold bangle scam trio jailed
Three jewellers who falsely claimed that sets of gold bangles they manufactured and sold were made from higher quality gold have been jailed for a total of 14 years. Ibrar Hussain, 38, and Sabhia Shaheen, 40, of Shiza Jewellers, based at 681 Stratford Road, together with 47-year-old Mohammed Afsar, known…
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Oct- 2018 -12 OctoberEconomy
Hallmarking drops 11% as silver and platinum struggle
Hallmarking fell by an average of 11.7% in September 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The number of silver and platinum pieces hallmarked decreased by 22.2% and 7% respectively. However, gold did increase 1.5% up from 364,440 to…
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Sep- 2018 -18 SeptemberMetal Prices
Hallmarking figures drop 2.3% in August
Hallmarking fell by an average of 2.3% in August 2018 compared with the same period the previous year, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. The number of gold and platinum pieces hallmarked increased significantly by 7.9% and 29.3% respectively. However, silver and palladium both dropped by a…
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Aug- 2018 -14 AugustEconomy
Gold and Platinum up double digits in latest Hallmarking figures
The number of gold and platinum pieces hallmarked in July 2018 increased significantly by 12.5% and 20.2% respectively, according to figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office. However, the average volume of silver fell by 22.2% to 331,498 compared with 426,156, while palladium decreased by 21.4% to 6,252 hallmarked items.…
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6 AugustFeatures
Understanding international jewellery
The first month at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham is well underway. Bustling workshop demonstrations and creative experimentations are taking place, contextual study-trips and talking practice events are stimulating minds and the students are settling into the routine of formative lectures and seminars. But there is nothing routine about…
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