Our customers can rest assured that all our products come with a guarantee of the precious metal content through the 700-year-old practice of third-party independent hallmarking.
At Rebus we value the UK's hallmarking heritage; we do not view it as an inconvenient legal necessity but a service that should be celebrated. Therefore, we prefer to have each hand punched hallmark stamped into the head of your signet ring as large display marks. Not only do hallmarks serve as consumer protection but each hallmark carries significance because of the information each represents. Future generations will be able to discover which UK city your signet ring was hallmarked, who created it, what it is made from and the year it was created.
Being based in London, we use the London Goldsmiths' Company assay office which has been responsible for testing the quality of precious metals since 1327. In fact, the word hallmarking itself refers to the Goldsmiths' Hall where, from the 15th century, London craftsmen brought their work to the ‘Hall’ for assaying and marking.
We are also registered with the Edinburgh Assay Office, maybe you have Scottish heritage? If so, you may like the Edinburgh castle mark punched into your jewellery. Let us know and we can arrange this for you.
A hallmark consists of a series of marks applied to articles of the precious metals; platinum, gold, palladium and silver. Hallmarking means that the article has been independently tested and guarantees that it conforms to all legal standards of purity (fineness).
A Rebus signet ring will carry the following punch marks:
- • Sponsor's (manufacturer's name) mark, in our case RS which refers to Rebus Signet Rings Ltd
• Metal and fineness (purity) mark
• The London Assay Office mark (leopards head) or by request the Edinburgh Assay Office mark (castle)
• Date mark / letter
• Traditional fineness mark
Download an explanation of each hallmark symbol
Precious metals are rarely used in their purest form but are usually alloyed with other metals. It isn't possible to detect an article's precious metal content by sight or touch. Therefore, it is a legal requirement to hallmark articles containing precious metals if they are described as such.
“I love the UK's hallmarking heritage. We always request the Assay Office to punch in the hallmark symbols as big and deep as possible. They have a beauty, full of information & should be celebrated.”
Emmet Smith, Founder of Rebus.