Making silver jewellery and selling it

Bowey123

I am considering doing a silversmith course and selling the items I have made.
However, I am reading that it is illegal to sell silver without a hallmark.  
I understand one of the best places to buy silver for jewellery making is Cookson Gold. This all presumably comes hallmarked.
So how do I sell the jewellery without a hallmark?
Sell as silver coloured?  Get an assay office to hallmark?
Has anyone ever done anything like this?

DullGreyGuy

Its illegal to sell it as silver unless its under the minimum weight, you can sell it as a white metal but if you are doing that you may as well use a cheaper white metal

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

Wraithlady

From my limited understanding, you have to send it away to be hallmarked but  that's as far as it goes.

No, Cookson's don't hallmark the silver before they sell it to you - I don't know why anyone thought they did. 

forgotmyname

Gold 1 gram,  Silver 7.78 grams.

Depending what your making, you could hollow sections out to reduce the weight if your getting close. Or factor in the cost
of hallmarking.  Possibly contact a jewellers and see if they can add your items to a batch they send off?  I had that in
mind but never needed to send anything off.

It will be costly to send off 1 item at a time.

Bought silver grain for casting and silver plate for cutting shaped discs etc. and no it does not come hallmarked. Maybe because
it's not a finished item?

Debbie9009

I used to make silver jewellery and had my own hallmark, you send the finished item to the assay office and they hallmark it for you.  It used to work out cheaper per piece to send 10 items or more at one time, but that was a few years ago, it may have changed now.

You will need to pay for the hallmark, which was a one off fee and you could use the hallmark for 10 years.  You then pay an additional when you send the pieces in for hallmarking.

I’ve put two links below with more information, but if you google search, you’ll find other assay offices.

The reason I stopped making jewellery was because I couldn’t compete on prices, unless you can come up with a really unique piece it is very hard to compete with mass produced items, so I would try and test the market with some research before paying for a hallmark.  But do bear in mind, all your family and friends will tell you that of course you will be able to sell your items.  If I had a pound for every person that said to me you should sell that, I would buy it, I would be very rich.  

Apologies if this sounds a bit doom and gloom, I made a loss on having a hallmark, and just want to pass on my experience.  If you do decide to go for it, I hope it goes really well for you.

https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/media/1427/getting-your-items-hallmarked.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hallmarking-guidance-notes/hallmarking-is-the-law-guidance-summary

Bowey123

Many thanks for this.  
Very interesting Debbie.  I had a look around markets and craft fairs and everything looked very similar.  Was not sure how they were making money.  Where did you sell your items?  Have you seen Kendra Scott?  She seems like she does OK.

IslaMujeres

I also haven't seen any unique silver things lately, so might be a good business idea of yours. You can communicate with the large amount of clients by using Microsoft teams whatsapp, send them picture of your new products or offer sales for example. It is much more easier and faster then sending emails, or not even receiving them sometimes at all.

theoretica

What sort of things do you want to make?  If they are small you might be OK staying within the 7.78g limit.

I would be doubtful about being able to put work in with someone else's batch as each hallmark includes a maker's mark.

Historically, there used to be one other exception to hallmarking - if the customer commissions a piece *and provides the metal for you to work with* then it could be returned in its new form without a hallmark.  I haven't looked up if that still applies.

audaparizeau

Bowey123 said:

I am considering doing a silversmith course and selling the items I have made.
However, I am reading that it is illegal to sell silver without a hallmark.  
I understand one of the best places to buy silver for jewellery making is Cookson Gold. This all presumably comes hallmarked.
So how do I sell the jewellery without a hallmark?
Sell as silver coloured?  Get an assay office to hallmark?
Has anyone ever done anything like this?

When selling silver jewelry, it is generally required to have a hallmark as proof of its quality. If you're purchasing silver from a reputable supplier like Cookson Gold, it should already come hallmarked. You have a few options to sell your handmade jewelry without a hallmark. You can label it as "silver-coloured" or consider getting it hallmarked by an assay office. It's essential to comply with regulations to maintain transparency and customer trust.

littleweasel

Bullion from Cookson does not come hallmarked as standard. It is literally silver sheet, grain and wire. Some cheaper cast pre assembled items do come marked 925 but this isn't a hallmark. They sell some solid gold ring shanks etc that are hallmarked. 

Hallmarking is only necessary over 7.78g. You must still display the Dealer's Notice even if the items are underweight.

You can make a reasonable side hustle and even full time income as a jeweller if your designs are good (I do myself) but you need an eye for design and to be absolutely clear on your costs. No point competing with imported silver over generic designs. I would say most that make jewellery part time do it as a hobby rather than for additional income. 

forgotmyname

The blanks at cookson etc.. Can be used to create something for little outlay and yet be fairly unique.

Those little tree shaped designs can take on a whole new look using some cheap polymer clay or enamel.

Cheap little toaster ovens are perfect for that task but BEWARE the temperature... Set my oven to 160ºC and
it burnt the clay. Stuck an accurate thermometer in it and it went way over 240ºC.

I built a temperature controlled power supply for it so I can leave the dial on max and adjust the controller instead
which is smart and even knows how quickly it heats up and cools down.

Beware doing things cheaply for friends and family, especially if it needs hallmarking.