This page helps you to make a start on reading the hallmarks in your watch case by identifying in which country it was assayed and hallmarked. In addition to the fineness, hallmarks show where and when an item was hallmarked, and under whose name it was submitted. The fineness of the metal is tested to make sure it meets legal requirements, and then it can be stamped with a hallmark. Other assay offices were later opened in centres where goldsmiths worked. Precious metal (gold and silver, and more recently platinum) objects have by law been tested and marked in England since at least the year 1300, and since 1478 had to be taken to Goldsmiths' Hall in London, from which the term вЂњhallmarkingвЂќ originate. Not all marks on watch cases are hallmarks! For instance, a mark could be a be manufacturer's trademark, and there are is no such thing as an American hallmark. A hallmark is a legally mandated mark applied by an independent testing authority that shows the fineness of precious metal gold, silver or platinum. This page is principally about hallmarking.

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