Selling finished goods Silver

[chipperpottery]

Can you tell me, if I sell lampwork jewellery which is made up of sterling silver, do I have to have it hallmarked or Assayed. Only another lady selling jewellery, said I couldn't sell anything that is Sterling silver unless I was authorised to and it should have a hallmark on it?
My husband thinks she had the little green moster and was just trying to put me off.

Rita

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51048389@N02/4739285681/

[elburnzo]

i'm sure someone more knowlegable will come soon but i believe if the item contains more than 7g of silver it needs to be hallmarked. The website it very gd at explaining it, as are the office if you call them

Website: http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/

thts the birmingham one but there are a couple of others, all  the same regulations though to the info on here will be the same as any of the others

[chipperpottery]

Thank you

[Redhotsal]

Well, she's right and she's wrong.

"All articles with a component to be described as silver in which the total weight of all metal is over 7.78 grams will need to be hallmarked." is what the Assay office says.

In other words, if all the silver bits and pieces on a piece of jewellery together weigh less than 7.78g you don't actually need a hallmark.

If your total weight of silver exceeds 7.78g in a single piece then it will have to be assayed in order for you to sell it as sterling silver. Although - you can still sell it as "white metal".

By the way - "925" - which denotes the purity of the silver (in this case sterling silver has a purity of 92.5%) - is NOT a hallmark, by itself.

[mirri marie]

Rota I've just had a look at your piccie your workshop is fantastic very pretty 

[elburnzo]

Well, she's right and she's wrong.

"All articles with a component to be described as silver in which the total weight of all metal is over 7.78 grams will need to be hallmarked." is what the Assay office says.

In other words, if all the silver bits and pieces on a piece of jewellery together weigh less than 7.78g you don't actually need a hallmark.

If your total weight of silver exceeds 7.78g in a single piece then it will have to be assayed in order for you to sell it as sterling silver. Although - you can still sell it as "white metal".

By the way - "925" - which denotes the purity of the silver (in this case sterling silver has a purity of 92.5%) - is NOT a hallmark, by itself.

ah! i knew there was more to it than tht just couldnt remember the finer details hence the link to more knowledgable types

[Redhotsal]

Sorry Claire "she's the cat's mother"! I meant the original lady selling jewellery, when I said she - as opposed to you. Reread it and it sounded rude!  Forgive. 

[elburnzo]

lol dont worry about it! i just knew there was more to it but couldnt remember it, i should really look into it myself.   

[★★Terri★★]

If, as Sal says, all the silver components come to a combined weight of more than7.8 grams it must be hallmarked by the assay office for you to describe it as silver when you sell.  

If you don't need to get a lot assayed and hallmarked you can have a third party submit it for hallmarking, such as Cooksons.  They will charge you a fee, and you will have postage to pay as well, so this needs to be factored into your costs.  You could find a local silversmith who may be happy to include your work in their packages to the assay office as well, for a fee.  Obviously your work would not have your own personal mark on it.  But it's not cheap to set up your own stamp etc.

Try this link for Cooksons.

http://portalgc.knowledgebase.net/display/2/kb/article.aspx?aid=250038&n=1&docid=12001

Terri

[ARBeads]

If your selling SS less than 7.78grams you still need to display a dealers notice which are available free to download here [url][http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/dealers_notices.html/url].

This is a popular discussion on here and there's lots of info in other threads - it can be V.confusing but the best thing to do is to contact your local assay office as we found advice differed between them!
If you do go the route of Hallmarking (wayhey) ring them up and have a chat. We wanted to use a cranked punch for our makers mark as we thought this would do for everything - NOT the case, the lady at Birmingham informed us that they were only for use on rings and we would still need a straight punch therefore doubling the cost. This seems to be a petty rule and I've read recently in B&B that others have got away with this  

[Redkite]

We wanted to use a cranked punch for our makers mark as we thought this would do for everything - NOT the case, the lady at Birmingham informed us that they were only for use on rings and we would still need a straight punch therefore doubling the cost. This seems to be a petty rule and I've read recently in B&B that others have got away with this 

Ooh - that's interesting. I was also under the impression that you could get away with a swan neck punch for everything.

But it's not cheap to set up your own stamp etc.

The London office do a deal for part-time students, which is everything you need to set up your mark, plus one punch for £60. My evening class tutor said she could sign the form for me, but I haven't "taken the plunge" yet.

[chipperpottery]

Thank you all for the info. I think I might stick to Diane's lovely ribbons, copper and silver plate, then I will not have any worries.
One question though, if I did have a piece which is over the amount and used Cookson, would it then be o'k to sell it as sterling silver?
Sorry if I seem thick, but this is all new to me and all I want to do is make beads!!
Rita

[Nick]

Hi All, I do some silversmithing and anything in silver 7.8gms or over must be hallmarked. The Assay will not hallmark without a makers mark so you have to obtain one through the assay Office or go the Cooksons route. If you speak to the Assay Office they are always more than helpful (I know I've spoken lots). Also if you are selling from a stall or premises you must by law display a dealers notice which is a hallmaking guide . This can be downloaded from http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/dealers_notices.html. If not displayed you are liable to prosecution. I hope this is of help  - most lamp work items will probably be under the 7.8gms.

Regards
Nick

[★★Terri★★]

if I did have a piece which is over the amount and used Cookson, would it then be o'k to sell it as sterling silver?
Sorry if I seem thick, but this is all new to me and all I want to do is make beads!!
Rita

Rita - you are not thick - this takes a lot of getting your head round.  Answer is yes, if a third party gets the work hallmarked for you, you can then quite happily sell it as silver.

Terri

[jammie]

Is that right that you have to display this notice at a craft fair even if everyhting you sell is under the 7.8gms I have noticed some sellers dont have, are they wrong in doing this ...me included in the dont have actually !