Ted Frater wrote:

mbstevens wrote:
Jason L wrote:


http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/assay...thallmarks.htm

Yes. This has always amazed me.

"The Act is built around the principle of description,
where it is an offense for any person to apply to an
unhallmarked article a description indicating that it
is wholly or partly made of gold, silver or platinum."

If an object if *in fact* made made of a substance, it
should be basic freedom of speech to describe it as
such. I can understand legislating against fraud, but
not against fact.

And, most of those hallmarks are ugly, old fashioned
designs that I wouldn't want cluttering up my work.

"Breaches of the Act carry stiff sentences (up to 10
years' imprisonment.)"

...and that is just excessive as hell.
I don't know the history of this law -- is it the
Guilds that have such a choke-hold on the legislature?

Regrettably there have always been and still are folks
that describe
the articles there offering for sale as being made of
precious metal
when "IN FACT" there not.

Then punish fraud as fraud -- don't make it illegal to
say a thing contains a metal if it does contain that
metal.

these folks are only interested in cheating people
So the guilds decided to intervene and insist that they
would test and mark every item offered for sale within
the rules of weight etc, as being genuinely up to the
standards defined..
Would you like to be cheated?
I am sure not.

And you think restricting basic rights to free speech
is a lesser wrong? *TEN YEARS* in the pokey for saying
your artwork has precious metal in it when it DOES in fact
have it?

A little ugly stamp is going to stop fraud?
Doubtful. It more likely just reinforces the powers of
Guild members.

Its a safeguard that has worked for centuries in
favour of the
customer as well as the maker.

Other countries seem to get along fine without it.

As an after thought,
With freedom comes responsibility,

Individuals take responsibility. This laws takes
responsibility away from individuals.

cheats abuse the
freedom they enjoy by not accepting the responsibility
that goes with the freedom.. Ted Frater.

So, punish for fraud. Do not force jewelers to put
those *butt-ugly* little stamps on articles that are
intended to be *beautiful.*

These kinds of laws are on the books not really to protect
individuals but to protect organizations. It happens
everywhere. The cattle barons here in Texas have pushed
through a law protecting locally grown *beef* from
slander. It's all just to be ridiculed.