Hallmarking
You will have seen that all of our jewellery is made from Sterling Silver. But what exactly does this mean? To be branded as such, a piece must contain 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, which means Sterling Silver is known as an alloy. Pure silver is a very soft metal, and if we made our jewellery out of it, it would quickly lose its shape. So a different metal is added to the silver to increase its durability, without reducing the beautiful look.
Our designers only use the highest quality 925 Sterling Silver (remember 925 = 92.5% silver), backed up by our British Hallmark – a small mark stamped into the jewellery to guarantee quality. Our Hallmark is normally stamped with these elements:
- Our company hallmark HH or Hiho which is in a hexagon shaped box
- 925 in an oval – this indicates that it is sterling silver and imported
- Anchor or other symbol indicating the place of assay.
- Date Letter - this changes each year, 2024 is a lower case z, 2025 A and 2026 B
To read more about the hallmarks please go to: www.theassayoffice.com/help-with-hallmarks/compulsory-marks
We also qualified for the assay assured scheme, an independent Hallmark verification operated by the Assay Office, and we have joined the National Jewellery Association.
Retired Hallmarks:
The King Charles III Coronation Mark
For the occasion of the 2023 Kings coronation, we had the chance to hallmark some of our pieces with a special King Charles III Coronation Commemorative hallmark, depicting the King’s head. You may be lucky to see this on some of our pieces that you order from us.
Platinum Jubilee Commemorative Mark
A commemorative mark was designed to celebrate Her late Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
In 2022, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, seventy years of service, having acceded to the throne in 1952. To celebrate the occasion, the body which oversees UK hallmarking, the British Hallmarking Council, sanctioned a commemorative component mark.
Designed by Thomas Fattorini Ltd, the mark depicts an orb, and for a limited time, we did hallmark our Jewellwey with this. Jewellery is considered a treasured heirloom, and may be handed down through the generations; those items carrying the Platinum Jubilee Mark may become collectable, and feature as a talking point in years to come.
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Rainbow Logo Mark - Raising Funds for the NHS
At the beginning of the covid pandemic in 2020, rainbows started to appear in the windows of homes all over the UK spreading hope amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rainbow logo mark depicts the iconic Rainbow symbol that has become synonymous during the current pandemic. From June 2020 and until December 2020, all Hiho jewellery over 7.78 grams of Silver has been lasered with this iconic Rainbow Logo mark in addition to the hallmarks that we usually have.
For each Rainbow Hallmark that was applied to our pieces, the assay office donated 100% of our hallmark costs to the NHS. Keep an eye out for this on some of our jewellery as you may have been lucky enough to get a piece with the rainbow on. .jpg)
However, no matter how good quality our silver is, it does still need some looking after, as it is still a precious metal which can become scratched without the proper care and attention. Why not pick up one of our polishing cloths to help keep your silver in tip top condition and have a read of our 'Looking after your Jewellery' page, which will give you good tips of how to look after your pieces.
The problem of scratched silver is one that we were keen to address, and saw the introduction of our leather and stainless steel pieces. Leather has been around for millions of years and has stood the test of time as a durable and beautiful material to work with. Teaming it up with the silver-like stainless steel produces an incredibly durable piece that can be used for all occasions from Graduation to Mucking out!
Look for the Hallmark - it's your Guarantee
Watch the video here
