HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Hallmarking Act 1973
OR:
Hallmarking Act 1973 on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The Hallmarking Act 1973 makes up the bulk of modern law regarding the
assay An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity of a ...
ing and
hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
ing of metals in the United Kingdom.
Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
ing is a way to guarantee the purity of precious metals. Metals are tested and, if they meet a certain minimal purity requirement, are marked with a specified seal. In the United Kingdom (UK), this is done by the
Assay Office Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e. if the metallurgical content is found be equal or bett ...
s in London,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Sheffield, and Edinburgh. The Act made business transactions involving unmarked metals illegal. Trading Standards departments are responsible for enforcing the Act. Another notable consequence of the Act was the formation of the British Hallmarking Council (BHC). This council is responsible for advising the Secretary of State in matters of hallmarking, making certain the UK has acceptable hallmarking facilities, and overseeing the Assay Offices so they follow the legal hallmarking standards. The council has made many important contributions concerning UK hallmarking procedures. In 1992, the European Commission proposed a Directive meant to cover hallmarking. The BHC examined the document and found multiple areas of ambiguity and deficiency. When the European Parliament voted on the Council’s recommendations, many were approved. The Hallmarking Regulations 1998 and The Hallmarking Order 1998 caused the legitimisation of hallmarks of other member states (those countries that ratified the Convention on the Control of Articles of Precious Metals of 1972). The council was responsible for clearing up ambiguous statements in the regulations and for extending its definition to deal with other problems in the hallmarking law. Some of these changes include seven additional standards of fineness, a change in the standard mark, and the dropping of the date requirement on marked metals.


References

* * *{{cite web, url=http://www.britishhallmarkingcouncil.gov.uk/hlaw.htm, title=Hallmarking Law, publisher=British Hallmarking Council, accessdate=27 January 2012, archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100406130351/http://www.britishhallmarkingcouncil.gov.uk/hlaw.htm, archivedate=6 April 2010 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1973