Newsletter - March 2026

Silver Hallmarks - What, Where, When and Who

Hallmarks were introduced in Britain in 1300, making them one of the oldest consumer protection systems in the world. They were originally created to confirm that items made of silver and gold met legal standards of purity, and to identify where and when they were made. Today, they remain one of the most useful tools for understanding and dating silver.

Most traditional British silver hallmarks are made up of four main elements.

The Standard Mark – This shows the purity of the silver. The most familiar is the lion passant, indicating sterling silver (92.5% pure). Another mark sometimes encountered is the seated figure of Britannia, which denotes a higher purity of 95.8%. It was compulsory in England between 1697 and 1720 to discourage the melting down of sterling silver coins.

The Assay Office Mark – This tells us where the piece was tested and hallmarked. Each assay office has its own symbol: a leopard’s head for London, an anchor for Birmingham, and a crown for Sheffield, amongst others. These marks help narrow down an item’s place of origin.

The Date Letter – Usually shown as a single letter within a shaped shield, this mark indicates the year the item was hallmarked. The style of the letter and the shape of its surrounding shield change over time, which is why reference charts are used to pinpoint the exact year.

The Maker’s Mark – Typically a set of initials, this identifies the silversmith or company responsible for the piece. Some marks can be traced back to well-known workshops, while others remain a mystery.

Together, these marks tell you the what, where, when, and often the who of a silver item.

Many items are simply stamped “925”, which indicates the silver purity, but a 925 stamp does not confirm that the item has been independently tested and verified by an assay office. That distinction matters. Hallmarks add confidence: they help confirm that an object is genuinely silver, provide an approximate age, and can sometimes link a piece to a known maker. For collectors, this adds depth and interest. For everyday owners, it turns an object from “just a spoon” or “just a ring” into something with history.

In the workshop this month - 1920s Omega Pocket Watch

This month in the workshop we had the pleasure of working on a handsome Omega pocket watch, which we’ve been able to date to 1928 from its serial number. Fitted with a 15 jewel movement adjusted to two positions — meaning it was regulated to maintain accuracy in different orientations, a small but important mark of higher quality manufacture — it’s a solid, well-made timepiece from an era when Omega were firmly establishing themselves as one of Switzerland’s leading watch manufacturers.

Although the watch arrived running, it was clearly in need of some careful attention. Years of dust, dirt, dried oils and everyday wear meant it wasn’t performing at its best.

The first step was a full deep clean of the movement. Each component was carefully dismantled, inspected and cleaned before being reassembled and lubricated correctly, bringing the mechanism back to smooth, reliable operation.

A new crystal was fitted to properly show the dial off, and the case received a sympathetic clean and polish to lift the surface tarnish and restore some of its original lustre, while keeping the character intact.

With a little care and attention, pieces like this can hopefully continue ticking reliably for another hundred years.

Monthly spotlight - Antique Silver Perfume Atomiser

An elegant perfume atomiser, carrying London import hallmarks dating to 1913. At over a century old, it’s a well preserved example of how everyday personal items were once made with real care and attention to detail. Scent bottles like this would have been kept on a dressing table or carried in a handbag, offering a touch of luxury in daily life. Well made and full of character, it’s a charming piece of social history, both decorative and practical, and a wonderful survivor from the Edwardian period. It does make you wonder how many everyday objects made today will still be functioning a hundred years from now.