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It is essential and a legal requirement for all UK jewellery described as precious metal that is over a certain weight to contain a hallmark. You can think of a hallmark as the DNA of your item, it tells you exactly what the piece is made from.

When buying a piece of jewellery characterised as silver, gold, platinum or palladium, you should consider checking the information on the hallmark.
 

Precious metal such as silver, gold, palladium, and platinum are not used in their purest form as their natural properties aren’t suitable for creating jewellery. To counteract this, they are mixed with more common base materials such as copper and zinc (and many more) to enhance it’s properties, making it suitable for crafting with. This is called an alloy.

The fineness of the alloy refers to the amount of precious metal it contains. This dramatically alters the cost and value of the piece which is where its hallmark becomes important.

The item's hallmark will confirm that the proportion of precious metal listed meets a legal standard. It also identifies where the item was tested, or assayed to be precise, and who submitted it for hallmarking.

You can spot a hallmark yourself, however, they are so small and hidden (so as not to detract from the design of the piece) that to clearly see it you will need a jeweller’s loupe. We recommend taking your jewellery item to a professional jeweller where they will be able to tell you all about its hallmark.

For a ring, you will most likely find the hallmark positioned on the inside of the band. On earrings, it will be more commonly spotted on the stem, for a pendant, inside the loop.