Palladium hits the mark

Palladium has been officially acknowledged as the latest precious metal trend for the fine jewellery industry with the advent of a hallmark to guarantee its fineness.

From today, 22nd July 2009,  the four UK Assay Offices can mark Palladium articles with a legally recognised Hallmark, applied under an amendment to the Hallmarking Act 1973.

The interest in Palladium both within the jewellery trade and among consumers has grown strongly in recent years, driven by an increased demand for quality jewellery in white precious metal.  Palladium, one of the platinum group metals is tarnish resistant, white and durable. It also has low density, and is less expensive than Platinum, enabling designers to produce stunning pieces which are both wearable and affordable and offer high perceived value to the consumer.

Michael Allchin,  Chief Executive of The Birmingham Assay Office says “Palladium provides a new opportunity for the jewellery trade.  Designs which may have been impossibly heavy or expensive in Platinum can be very attractive and commercially viable in Palladium. There are already some stunning Palladium pieces on the market; the re-assurance of a UK hallmark will give the consumer added protection and confidence when purchasing palladium jewellery and we expect this to be a significant growth area for the jewellery industry.”

UK Hallmarking has protected the consumer and ensured the trade operates on a level playing field, for over 700 years. No piece of fine jewellery can be sold as silver, platinum or gold in the UK unless it has been hallmarked. The mark is made up of three compulsory symbols, the sponsors mark, identifying who submitted the item for hallmarking, the town mark, indicating which Assay Office tested and hallmarked the item and the fineness mark which denotes the purity of the metal alloy.

Recognised fineness standards for Palladium will be 500 parts per thousand, 950 parts per thousand and 999 parts per thousand. 

A voluntary traditional mark depicts Pallas Athene, Goddess of War , Wisdom and Craft after whom Palladium was named. 

Hallmarking of Palladium will be voluntary to start with but will become a legal requirement for all Palladium articles with a metal weight of over one gram after 1st January 2010. 

Michael Allchin, Chief Executive & Assay Master of The Birmingham Assay Office is pictured here with Laser Operator Sukhdev Singh, and a piece of the new Badge of Office for The Assay Master, designed and made by Martyn Pugh of Redditch, the first Palladium article to be marked at The Birmingham Assay Office.

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