Gold bracelet has no hallmark

amadeus

My wife went out today and purchased a gold bracelet at a cost of £376 on her credit card from a well-known national jeweler. When I examined it this evening, I was unable to find any trace of a hallmark. On the receipt, the item is noted as 'Bracelet', no mention of gold. I was under the impression that all gold and silver sold in the UK must, by law, be hallmarked. I am not happy about this, at all, and certainly would not have purchased it had I been present. It was sold to my wife as 'gold', Does she have a case for a refund?

Carrot007

amadeus wrote: »

It was sold to my wife as 'gold', Does she have a case for a refund?

"gold" the colour or gold the metal? both are valid sales techniques.

maninthestreet

You need to get a gold testing kit to determine if it's real gold or not.

amadeus

Seems like I had a rush of manure to the brain. Apparently, items of less than a certain weight, in this case the links and clasp, are exempt from the hallmarking rule. Still not happy about no mention of the type of bracelet on the receipt, if only for insurance purposes. I used to run an electrical business, and if I sold a TV set, I didn't just put 'Television' on the receipt. Make and screen size, also.
Many thanks for your advice in this matter. Much appreciated.

shaun_from_Africa

Carrot007 wrote: »

"gold" the colour or gold the metal? both are valid sales techniques.

If the bracelet is not hallmarked then the retailer can call it "gold colour" but not gold.
Apart from a few exemptions such as very light items and some antique pieces, the word "gold" used on its own must refer to hallmarked precious metal and not the colour.

Pollycat

I don't think I'd have bought an item in gold that was so light that it didn't need a hallmark.

Are you sure there is no hallmark anywhere on the bracelet?

soolin

Even if it was bought from a well known jewellery store are you absolutely convinced you bought a gold bracelet and not a gold coloured yellow metal one? Many of the main jewellers now sell fashion branded jewellery that is not Hall marked as it is not gold and they can often be as expensive as a real item as you pay for the name, not the metal.

As there is no hallmark you cannot legally sell it on in the future as gold, so if that is something you were hoping to do then going back to the jeweller and confirming exactly what you have might be an idea.

As for weights and hallmarks read the article below, for any gold item over 1 Gramme a hallmark is required, so you either have an item with so little gold it's basically a fashion item, or it's a base metal item with the value being in the name. For almost £400 and no real gold, I suspect the latter.

https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/faqs

Pollycat

OP
Doesn't your wife know what she's bought?

If I were paying £375 I'd have done some research before parting with my money.

Most 'well known national jewellers' have a website.
Is the bracelet on there?
If it is, what does the description say?

soolin

Just as a visual example of what we are saying, look at this bracelet

https://www.beaverbrooks.co.uk/0110470/Links-of-London-18ct-Gold-Vermeil-Gold-Sweetie-Bracelet/p

being sold with the description 'gold' in the title, but actually 925 silver with a thin gold overlay, no need to hallmark as it is not gold - but even this should be hallmarked for 925 silver. This is an example where you have a £20 bracelet where you pay a huge uplift for the name.

here is the 'sales pitch' explanation of what vermeil gold actually is:

https://www.romadesignerjewelry.com/blogs/education/what-is-vermeil-and-why-you-should-own-some

I suspect your wife has something along these lines, which would be considered a fashion piece rather than a valuable piece. You can also see how the description could be misleading if you don't pay attention to what they are actually selling you.

sheramber

Was the bracelet described a gold or did your wife assume it was gold because of the colour and the price.

If the salesperson told her it was gold then go back to the shop and query it.

shaun_from_Africa

soolin wrote: »

Just as a visual example of what we are saying, look at this bracelet

https://www.beaverbrooks.co.uk/0110470/Links-of-London-18ct-Gold-Vermeil-Gold-Sweetie-Bracelet/p

being sold with the description 'gold' in the title,

That is perfectly legal as the description refers to it being gold plated.

soolin wrote: »

As there is no hallmark you cannot legally sell it on in the future as gold, so if that is something you were hoping to do then going back to the jeweller and confirming exactly what you have might be an idea.

Provided that the OP knows for a fact that the item is made of gold then irrespective of it not having a hallmark, they are legally allowed to call it gold when selling it.
It is only when being sold by a business that it must be hallmarked (subject to the exemptions I mentioned earlier) if it's called gold.