Hallmarking gets a new home
Those lucky enough to go behind the scenes at the London Assay Office this year will find the historic leopard’s head hallmark being applied in a new, state-of-the-art workshop facility.
Bringing together testing, marking, customer service and management onto one level for the first time, the new space provides a light and airy environment for staff. It is also highly efficient, with zones arranged to reduce travel time for packets of items for marking and to streamline production workflow.
The creation of this new space on the third floor of Goldsmiths’ Hall started just as the pandemic hit in February 2020, and the project had to navigate Covid restrictions alongside the need to deliver a full hallmarking service to customers.
It was challenging for all those involved, but for Will Evans, the Assay Office’s General Manager, the teams have been “inspirational” and the space “helped us work together more efficiently during the toughest times”. It marks the start of a new chapter for the Assay Office in its mission to ensure that one of Britain’s oldest forms of consumer protection continues to guard manufacturers and buyers alike.
Written by Eleni Bide for The Goldsmiths’ Review 2021-2022