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We’ve teamed up with Klarna to provide flexible payment options, allowing you to shop the way you want. With Klarna, you can split your payment into 3 instalments or choose to pay later, making your shopping experience smoother and more convenient. Your order total must be between £100 and £499 to qualify.
January 11, 2018 | by Admin
It is law within the UK that every item of precious metal sold such as Platinum, Gold, Silver is stamped labelling the item with the type of metal it is. Platinum pieces which weigh less than 0.5 grams, 18ct Gold and Palladium pieces weighing less than 1.0 gram and Silver pieces weighing less than 7.78 grams are except from hallmark.
At Diamonds Factory all our products are hallmarked as per UK hallmarking law from London Assay Office (The GoldSmith Company)
The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office is the oldest assay office in the United Kingdom. It has provided hallmarking services since The Goldsmiths' Company was founded in the 1300s. The company received its royal charter in 1327 and ranks 5th in order of precedence of the 12 Great Livery Companies of the City of London.
Hallmarking dates back to the 1300s when Edward I of England passed a law requiring any item made of silver, which was offered for sale, to be at least of equal quality as that of the coin of the realm (silver currency). The wardens of The Goldsmiths' Company were tasked with visiting workshops in the City of London to assay (test) silver articles. If these articles were found to be below standard they were originally destroyed and the metal forfeited to the King. If they passed, each article received the King's mark of authentication - the mark of a leopard's head. By 1478, there were several hundred workshops and merchants manufacturing silver articles in the City of London. It was not possible for the wardens to visit them all so the merchants were ordered to bring their items to Goldsmiths' Hall for testing and marking and a permanent Assay Office was established in the building. This is the origin of the term hallmark - struck with the King's mark at Goldsmiths' Hall.
In 1544 the Goldsmith's Company adopted the King's mark as their town mark and the mark of the leopard's head is now internationally recognised as the mark of this assay office.
The Goldsmiths's Company Assay Office is still based at Goldsmiths's Hall and remains the oldest company in Britain to be continually trading from the same site. However, it also has two satellite offices; at Greville Street in Hatton Garden in the heart of the London jewellery quarter and within a high security complex near London's Heathrow airport. It now has a new off-site facility within the Dalston-based jewellery manufacturer, Allied Gold. This is the first time in the Assay Office's 700 year history that it has opened permanent hallmarking services on a customer's premises.
In addition to hallmarking, the office has now expanded its range of services to support the jewellery trade and enforcement authorities. It offers a variety of specialist analytical services including nickel, lead & cadmium testing, antique silver dating, non-destructive compositional analysis, plating thickness measurement and a melt and assay service for scrap precious metal carried out in their fully independent on-site laboratory. Other services offered are a jewellery valuation service, laser marking, trading standards assistance, high quality photography and a comprehensive range of training and educational seminars, lectures and specialist events.
It might be a cliché but sometimes the biggest clichés are the most romantic ones and you can’t go wrong with romance, right? If you or your partner are truly rom-com fans and love the good old classics, this post is for you. We made a list of proposal ideas to help you surprise your loved one.
Romantic dinner gets cancelled
This is one of a cheeky one since you will have to trick them to believe that that amazing dinner you had planned and talked about weeks is not going to happen. Blame it on your work and say you have to stay late because you have an unexpected deadline. Then, go back home with a bouquet of her or his favourite flowers and knock on the door. Your partner will answer the door and there are you, down on one knee with the most beautiful engagement ring. After she says yes and you celebrate your new chapter in life, head to the restaurant where all your friends and family are waiting for both of you to share this special moment together.
Spell it with chocolates
This one requires a little bit of preparation since you will need to pre-order the chocolate bonbons with the letters on top. Bear in mind that you will need 15 bonbons to spell ‘Will you marry me?’ or 8 if you say ‘Marry Me’. So, after you come back from your romantic dinner and you are chilling by the fire, give her or him the chocolate box as the final gift. Wait until they open the box to take out the diamond ring. We think is the sweetest proposal ever!
The missing piece
This proposal is for the creative ones! The idea is to create a bespoke puzzle where there is one piece that reads, “Will you marry me?” Save this piece and wrap the puzzle as a gift and give to your loved one on Valentine’s Day. They might be a little upset about the being gifted a puzzle but just try to convince them to solve it. When they realize there is one piece missing, just took it out of your pocket and handle it to them. While they read what says in the puzzle piece, pop your ring out and wait for him or her to say yes! Then you can frame the puzzle and have it as a memory of this special day.
The poetry book
If your partner is a book lover then this is perfect for them. You just need to buy a book; it could be their favourite author or a poetry book like this one, which includes a collection of love letters by great men like Beethoven or Voltaire. Then, you will need to get a little bit artsy and cut a small hole in the pages where you could fit the ring. When you manage to put the diamond ring in there, just cover it with a few pages and stick them together so it will be hard for them to sense what is going on. Find the perfect time to give it to them and when they start trying to read it and find that there are a few sticky pages, so when they try to unstick them they will find the hidden treasure. Just say the magic words and save the book forever!
Somewhere Unexpected
If you haven’t been a romantic throughout your relationship it will be suspicious if all of a sudden you are the reincarnation of Shakespeare. So, in order to avoid ruining the surprise, why don’t do it in your own way? Think about your day-to-day life, the things you share each day and surprise her while her least expected. You could tie the ring to her or his favourite jam with a small note attached that says ‘Will you marry me?” Or you could ask them a la Prince Harry while you are cooking your favourite meal. Your partner will be surprised for sure!
The sparkling date
If you know you will never be able to choose the ring of their dreams, why not taking them to choose one? But keep it a secret! Plan a lunch date, have some prosecco and buy them some roses. Then go for a walk and tell her or him that you have a quick work appointment. They will be a little bit annoyed but we promise they will be fine when they find out where they are! You can have some rings pre-selected and have the salesperson present this selection to your soon-to-be fiancé while you say the magic words. They will be both happy and excited about choosing their favourite diamond ring!
Regardless where you propose, Valentine’s Day is an amazing date to pop the question. Just remember to buy the engagement ring in advance. At Diamonds Factory we have a wide range of diamond engagement rings, so take a look at our website and find the perfect ring.