ReferenceThe hallmark

Hallmarks of the World

A hallmark is the row of tiny stamps that tells you what a piece of precious metal is — who made it, how pure it is, and who vouches for it. But there is no single system. Every country we map has its own, and the differences are the story.

Tool

Hallmark Translator

Translate a purity you know into how any country marks it — gold, silver, platinum, palladium — or compare two countries side by side.

Where it began

One hall, one word

The word hallmark is literal. It comes from Goldsmiths' Hall in London, where, from 1300, precious metal had to be brought to be tested and struck. That makes Britain the origin — which is exactly why its leopards and lions can look unfamiliar elsewhere: they are the first of their kind, not the global norm.

True independent assay — an office that tests the metal before it can be sold — is actually the exception. Most of the world relies on the maker's own stamp, backed by law or trade custom. The one thread tying systems together is the Common Control Mark — a set of balance scales, created by the 1972 Hallmarking Convention and recognised across member states.

The three systems

How the world marks metal

Independent assay

An independent office tests the metal and strikes the mark — the original sense of a hallmark.

Mandatory maker's mark

Marking is required by law, but the maker certifies it — often with a registered mark and standards oversight.

Voluntary marking

No compulsory mark. Quality is shown by stamps governed by general law or trade convention.

Two ways in

By the stamp

Holding a piece? Start with the number struck inside it. Each stamp is the same metal the world over — what changes is the mark beside it, country to country.