Editing Hallmark (section)

===United Kingdom===
{{multiple image|perrow=1|total_width=200
|image1= Assayoffices.png
|caption1=The [[assay office]] marks – from left to right, the [[leopard]]'s head of [[London]], the [[anchor]] of [[Birmingham]], the [[Yorkshire rose]] of [[Sheffield]], and the [[castle]] of [[Edinburgh]]. The assay office marks are no longer an indicator that an item was assayed in the city, or in the UK.
|image2=AOB Offshore Hallmark India.png
|caption2=Offshore hallmark used by Birmingham Assay Office's subsidiary in India. Precious metal objects assayed and marked outside of the UK must carry a mark which distinguishes them from items assayed in the UK.
}}

The [[Hallmarking Act 1973]] (c. 43) made Britain a member of the Vienna Convention as well as introducing marking for platinum, a recognised metal under the convention.  All four remaining assay offices finally adopted the same date letter sequences. In 1999 changes were made to the UK hallmarking system to bring the system closer into line with the [[European Union]].  Note that under this latest enactment, the date letter is no longer a compulsory part of the hallmark.<ref>{{cite web |title=Convention & Other Legal Marks |website=The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office |publisher=The Goldsmiths' Company |url=https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/hallmarking/convention-other-legal-marks |access-date=31 December 2016 |archive-date=1 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101003129/https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/hallmarking/convention-other-legal-marks |url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[legislative reform order]] (LRO) came into effect on 8 February 2013 giving UK assay offices the legal right to strike hallmarks outside of UK territory. In July 2016 [[Birmingham Assay Office]] began striking Birmingham hallmarks in Mumbai, India and further offshore offices are likely to be established. In March 2018 the British Hallmarking Council announced that UK assay office marks struck offshore must be distinguishable from those struck in the UK. It is likely that an 'offshore' assay mark will have to be added to signify that the item was not assayed in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/737418/bhc-hallmarking-overseas-consultation-council-full-response.pdf |title=Consultation on hallmarking by UK Assay Offices at overseas sub-offices: British Hallmarking Council full response |publisher=British Hallmarking Council |access-date=2019-07-17 |archive-date=2019-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717105734/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/737418/bhc-hallmarking-overseas-consultation-council-full-response.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Only [[The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office|London]] and [[Edinburgh Assay Office|Edinburgh]] assay offices now strike marks exclusively in the UK.

As it now stands, the compulsory part of the UK hallmark consists of the sponsor or maker's mark, the assay office mark, and the standard of fineness (in this case silver, 925 parts in 1,000). [[Image:Example Hallmarks.png|frame|right|Examples of British hallmarks for 925 silver]]
These are shown in the top of the two example hallmarks.  The bottom example shows the extra marks that can also be struck, the lion passant, indicating Sterling silver, the date mark (lowercase ''a'' for the year 2000), and in this example, the 'Millennium mark', which was only available for the years 1999 and 2000.  The bottom example bears the Yorkshire rose mark for the Sheffield Assay Office.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK Hallmarks |website=The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office |publisher=The Goldsmiths' Company |url=https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/hallmarking/uk-hallmarks |access-date=31 December 2016 |archive-date=1 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101003144/https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/hallmarking/uk-hallmarks |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Hallmarking Act was amended in July 2009 to include palladium from January 2010.<ref>{{cite journal | year = 2010 | title = Palladium Hallmarking in the UK | journal = Platinum Metals Review | volume = 54 | issue = 1| pages = 51–52 | doi = 10.1595/003214010X482375 | last1 = Organ | first1 = R. M. | doi-access = free }}</ref>