Overall UK Hallmarking numbers for 2007 were 25,413,275, a small increase against 2006 of 2.1%, i.e. 523,000 articles. Much of the increase occurred in the second and third quarters while the final quarter was relatively flat at 0.5%.
Gold continued to decline, dropping over 800,000 units, mainly 9ct. By contrast, silver showed a huge increase of 16.5% amounting to 1.3m articles and Platinum grew by 8.5%, 27,000 articles.
Chief Executive, Michael Allchin commented: “The figures reveal a continued steady move away from gold in favour of silver, reflecting a strong demand for white metal and probable resistance to the high gold price.”
