All silver items weighing over 7.78g must be hallmarked by law, a '925' stamp alone is not a hallmark. A hallmark guarantees the precious metal content of the item, and comprises three compulsory marks - a sponsors mark (first two initials of the maker), a fineness mark (925, 916, 999 for example) and an assay office mark (symbol representing one of the four assay offices - London, Birmingham, Sheffield or Edinburgh) The year the item was struck by the assay office is represented by a letter Sian and Simon are registered with the same mark with Edinburgh assay office and their hallmark looks like this
The hallmark comprises of the two initials SL, followed by the metal fineness (925), the castle symbol and finally the year represented by a letter This means the items have been tested by the assay office and confirmed with the stamp to be what they are described as Where an item is described as being Sterling silver it is exactly that. Where no mention of silver is used or the words silver finish or silver metal alloy is used then this implies the item is silver plated and not Sterling silver
For more information on hallmarks and what they mean, please visit the following websites. These links will open in a new window without removing this page
Information on what assay assured means
Dealers Notice Edinburgh (please click to view full size PDF):
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