UK specific: What is a hallmark?

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 offence 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.
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?
Im sure not.
Its a safeguard that has worked for centuries in favour of the
customer as well as the maker.
As an after thought,
With freedom comes responsibility, cheats abuse the freedom they enjoy
by not accepting the responsibility that goes with the freedom..
Ted Frater.