The Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office London will once again be participating in ‘London Jewellery Week’ which runs from 7 – 13 June.
The Assay Office London, a Prestige Partner of the event, will be holding a Fakes and Forgeries Seminar focusing on Jewellery and two Hallmarking Workshops for Consumers. They will also be demonstrating live hallmarking at the Hatton Garden Festival which takes place on Saturday 12 June.
The Jewellery Fakes & Forgeries Seminar, the first of its kind, is a follow-on from the renowned Silver Fakes and Forgeries Seminar. It will take place at the magnificent Goldsmiths Hall on Friday 11th June.
Jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn from the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow will be talking about the Psychology of Fakes and Faking. Other renowned specialists will be covering such subjects as the faking of hallmarks, counterfeit watches and synthetic and treated gems.
The afternoon will comprise practical table sessions looking at a variety of counterfeit jewellery items, gemstones, watches, and silverware from some of the most famous faked names including Fabergé, Tiffany and Cartier. Limited places are available at £50 per delegate including luncheon and wine.
The Hallmarking Workshop for Consumers has been tailored specifically to educate the general public about the importance of hallmarking. Staff from Assay Office London will spend time explaining the law that surrounds this age old form of consumer protection, what the marks actually mean and how they are applied along with the opportunity to test a personal item of jewellery for its precious metal content with the most modern assaying device – an X-ray-fluorescence spectrometer. Limited places are available at £10 per delegate including refreshments.
The Hatton Garden Festival incorporates a wide selection of different ‘zones’ open to the public and offers a rare opportunity for visitors to go behind the scenes of this exclusive industry. Visitors will be able to view the different stages of jewellery manufacture right up to the point of sale, including of course, the hallmarking process, which is a legal requirement for precious metal objects, and one of the oldest forms of consumer protection.
Assay Office London’s Greville Street sub-office opened in December 2006 and since then has played a major part of the Hatton Garden community. Dedicated members of staff will be on hand to answer any questions on the world of hallmarking as well as demonstrating the age-old process of assaying and hallmarking. Visitors will be given the opportunity to test personal items of jewellery for the precious metal content and children will be able to try their hand and stamping a mark to take home with them.
