ElanoryaUK hallmarking guide
Under United Kingdom law, a light single-metal article is exempt from hallmarking
This page is about the United Kingdom only. UK statute names weights below which an article containing a single precious metal does not have to be hallmarked, and a UK assay office states the same figures in plain language. That is a statement about the requirement, not about your piece: nothing here can tell you what a particular item is made of, and nothing here tries to.
What an absent mark establishes on its own
A missing mark is easily read as a single fact with a single meaning. In the United Kingdom it is not. The Hallmarking Act 1973 sets out, in Schedule 1, Part II, paragraph 12(1), a class of article that is exempt: an article containing only one precious metal, being a metal of minimum fineness, and weighing less than the weight specified for that metal.
That is why an unmarked article cannot, by itself, be turned into a conclusion. Where the requirement has a boundary written into it, an article on one side of that boundary is outside the requirement, and being outside a requirement is not a description of the material. The recorded sources support neither the conclusion that an unmarked piece is precious metal nor the conclusion that it is not.
The requirement that the exemption limits comes from section 1 of the same Act, which addresses applying a gold, silver, platinum or palladium description to an unhallmarked article in the course of a trade or business, and supplying or offering an unhallmarked article carrying such a description. Who carries the obligation when an item is placed on the market is a separate question and is not settled on this page.
The exemption as the statute writes it
Four conditions appear together in paragraph 12(1). Dropping any of them changes what the figures mean.
- One precious metal, not a combination.
- The paragraph applies to an article containing only one precious metal. An article that combines precious metals is not the case it describes.
- Of minimum fineness.
- The same clause requires the metal to be a metal of minimum fineness. The figures are not offered for material below that condition.
- Weighing less than the specified weight.
- The test in the paragraph is a weight less than the weight specified for that metal, article by article.
- Subject to other provisions.
- Paragraph 12(1) begins by making itself subject to paragraph 14AA and to the provisions of the paragraph itself. Those provisions were not part of the recorded reading, so nothing about them is stated here.
- Stated twice, by statute and by an assay office.
- A UK assay office guidance page carries the same figures in plain language: “Silver: No hallmark needed if it weighs less than 7.78g. Gold and Palladium: No hallmark needed if under 1g. Platinum: No hallmark needed if under 0.5g.”
The weights, metal by metal
From the Hallmarking Act 1973, Schedule 1, Part II, paragraph 12(1), read on 19 August 2026, and repeated in plain language by a United Kingdom assay office. The statute prints the silver figure with a middle dot, as 7·78 grams; the assay office page prints 7.78g. These figures are United Kingdom figures.
| Precious metal | Weight below which the article is exempt |
|---|---|
| Gold | 1 gram |
| Silver | 7.78 grams |
| Platinum | 0.5 grams |
| Palladium | 1 gram |
Reading a missing mark without exceeding the sources
These are reading steps for the statement above, not steps for handling an item.
- Identify the country the question is about first: everything on this page is United Kingdom material and is not stated for anywhere else.
- Establish whether the article contains only one precious metal, since the exempting paragraph is written for that case alone.
- Compare the weight of the article, not of a component, with the figure recorded for that metal.
- Keep the minimum fineness condition attached to the figure; the statute states the two together.
- Note that paragraph 12(1) is expressed subject to further provisions that are not reproduced here.
- Keep the conclusion within what the paragraph supports: an article below the figure is outside the requirement, which is not a statement about what the metal is.
The edge of what the recorded sources say
Each of these was looked for in the recorded reading of 19 August 2026 and was not there. Nothing on this page fills them in.
- Any other country. No weight, exemption or requirement here is stated for any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom, and no claim is made that other countries do or do not have comparable rules.
- Age. Whether an older article is treated differently under any exemption is not addressed in these sources.
- Penalties, fees and enforcement. Amounts, costs and how the rule is enforced do not appear.
- Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Whether a different regime applies there is not addressed.
- Marking methods. Any difference between one method of striking a mark and another is not covered.
- Marks that are present. How a mark is composed, what its parts stand for and how a doubtful mark would be examined are all outside the scope of this page.
- Your item. This page carries no assessment of any individual article, and no part of it inspects, weighs, tests or identifies a piece.
Questions
My piece has no hallmark: does that mean it is not really gold or silver?
It is not evidence either way. In the United Kingdom the Hallmarking Act 1973 exempts an article that contains only one precious metal, is of minimum fineness and weighs less than the figure specified for that metal, so an unmarked article can sit outside the requirement without any statement being made about its material. The recorded sources support neither verdict about a particular piece, and this page makes neither.
What are the United Kingdom weights below which no hallmark is required?
Gold 1 gram, silver 7.78 grams, platinum 0.5 grams and palladium 1 gram, from Schedule 1, Part II of the Hallmarking Act 1973. A United Kingdom assay office states the same figures: “Silver: No hallmark needed if it weighs less than 7.78g. Gold and Palladium: No hallmark needed if under 1g. Platinum: No hallmark needed if under 0.5g.”
Does the exemption cover a piece that combines two precious metals?
Paragraph 12(1) is written for an article containing only one precious metal, so a combination is not the case it describes. The paragraph is also expressed subject to further provisions, and those were not part of the recorded reading, so nothing more is stated about them here.
Do these weights apply outside the United Kingdom?
The sources behind this page are a United Kingdom Act and United Kingdom assay office pages. They say nothing about any other country, so this page states nothing about what other countries require or do not require.