Selling unhallmarked jewellery

loztiggy

Could you not just list it as a diamond ring, and then in the description explain that you have had this ring seen by an expert and they have stated it is unhallmarked gold. This is a true factual statement backed up with evidence, and invite buyers to inspect themselves if you are comfortable with that, or sell it locally where you can take the buyer to a jewellers and they can confirm its real and then if buyer isnt happy mutually cancel the sale? I would go down the, 'I will do whatever it takes to prove it' route myself, ebay cant stop you listing the ring and saying you believe it to be gold and an expert has said it is gold but it is un hallmarked so am happy to work with buyers to assure them, surely?

shaun_from_Africa

This subject gets brought up a fair bit on here, and a lot of people think that they can't sell unhallmarked gold.
This isn't the case, and providing that you are not selling as part of a trade or business, it is perfectly legal to sell an item which is not hallmarked and still call it gold (provided that is what it is).

http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/law_infull.html

1 MAIN OFFENCE
Subject to certain exemptions it is an offence for any person in the course of trade or business -
(a) to apply to an unhallmarked article a description indicating that it is wholly or partly made of gold, silver or platinum; or
(b) to supply or offer to supply an unhallmarked article to which such a description is applied.

This applies only to transactions "in the course of a trade or business". Thus it applies to transactions by antique dealers, gift shops, auctioneers, pawnbrokers, etc. But it is no offence for such a description to be applied by a person in a private transaction. But where a person carries on a series of transactions it has been held that those were "in the course of a trade or business".

loztiggy

dickinsons real deal?

Pembroke

Shaun I don't think Ebay is classed as a 'private transaction'. A private transaction would be one to one and Ebay isn't as you're offering the item to everyone until you settle on a buyer. This would need a test case to sort that out for certain, but I would think that a sale on Ebay would be covered by the part before your highlighting that mentions 'auctioneers'.

shaun_from_Africa

Shaun I don't think Ebay is classed as a 'private transaction'. A private transaction would be one to one and Ebay isn't as you're offering the item to everyone until you settle on a buyer.

In which case, anything sold on ebay, or at a boot sale, market, advertised in a free ad paper etc would not be classed as a private transaction as these are also advertised to everyone until you settle on a buyer.
If this was the case, just about anything sold by anyone would be covered by the full requirements of the SOGA and DSR's (if applicable), which any consumer advice organisation will confirm is not the case.

peter_the_piper

Can you not get it hallmarked by an assay office? Might cost but solves the problem.

hcb42

even though insurance valuation is £2200, the resale price might be a fraction of that...just to forewarn if you are not aware already

bpm_2

The prevalence of fake gold in the market is causing the introduction of many new rules especially for businesses. Though clearly this sometimes has an effect on private transactions as well.

As hallmarking has been in Britain for some 700 odd years now, unless you are claiming your ring to be older than that, it is unlikely to affect most people. Other countries though, have not always marked their jewellery accordingly and it may well have come from abroad.

As the value of your ring is in its age and not in its Gold value, listing it as an antique diamond ring should not adversely affect its value. If you mention later on in your description your certificate and even photograph it to be shown on your listing you are not contravening any laws, you are merely stating an independent assayer has valued and assessed your ring as shown.

Hammyman

imafatskintslug wrote: »

But how can it be illegal to own a ring which is so old it was never hallmarked, as it was probably exempt at the time, and then want to sell it, whilst describing what it is?

Its not illegal. However it is illegal to sell it as hallmarked and/or 18 carat gold. It would have to be sold as yellow metal.

You would have to put in the description that it has been inspected and certified as 18 carat.