Hallmarking is one of the world's oldest forms of consumer protection – a guarantee to those buying and selling items made of precious metals that they have been expertly tested, and that the marks they bear truthfully reveal their composition – a proud responsibility of the Goldsmiths’ Company since 1327.

But where you have systems designed to protect buyers and sellers, you will also find those intent on acts of deception - cunning artificers, who create fakes and forgeries, not just of the objects, but of the hallmarks themselves. 

To tackle the creation and sale of spurious silver articles and hallmarks, the Goldsmiths’ Company London Assay Office has run the internationally renowned Goldsmiths’ Hallmark Authentication Committee (GHAC) - formerly the Antique Plate Committee - since 1939. Comprising established experts in the field, it advises the London Assay Office on the authenticity of an article’s provenance based on the Hallmark, professional analysis of the object, and a scientific analysis of its metals. 

Save the date for this one day seminar at Goldsmiths’ Hall, which will explore the world of fakes and forgeries in antique British Silver.

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