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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.
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.
April 20, 2023 | 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.
Kate Middleton’s engagement ring has been the talk of the world for a while now. The stunning ring was given to her by Prince William and is beautifully unique. Not only that, but it has inspired a flurry of sapphire engagement rings across the world.
If you’ve ever been curious about engagement rings like Kate Middleton's and how much Kate Middleton’s engagement ring is worth, read on to learn all about it.
Does Kate Middleton have Princess Diana’s ring?
The beautiful sapphire and diamond engagement ring that Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with once belonged to his late mother, Princess Diana. It was originally passed to Harry when she passed away, but Harry gave it to William to put on Kate’s finger when he found out his intent to propose.
The ring is unique in its not-uniqueness as Princess Diana chose the ring herself from a Garrard's catalogue. This meant that, technically, anyone could have bought the same ring. This was highly unusual as she would have been expected to choose from the Queen’s existing collection rather than from such an accessible catalogue.
But the ring had connections to royal jewellery, after all. The design was inspired by the sapphire brooch that Prince Albert gifted Queen Victoria on their wedding day, which now sits within the crown jewels collection.
How many carats is Kate Middleton’s engagement ring?
Kate’s ring is extremely unique and beautiful, as not many people propose with sapphires (although they are growing in popularity). The centre stone is a stunning, 12-carat, oval, blue sapphire and is surrounded by a halo of 14 brilliant round solitaire diamonds.
How much is Duchess Kate’s ring worth?
In the early 1980s, when Princess Diana got engaged, her engagement ring cost £28,000. Thanks to inflation, that ring, if purchased today, would cost over £116,000. However, thanks to the ring’s fame, history, and priceless legacy, it’s estimated that it is likely worth over £500,000.
Did Kate Middleton change her engagement ring?
The Duchess apparently has made some changes to her engagement ring, but they were only minor alterations. She has added platinum beads to the inside of the band in order to adjust the size as the ring was too big and reportedly turned on her finger – and it’d be devastating to lose such a precious ring, after all. This alteration is reversible so it can be removed if necessary and keep the original ring and band intact.
Engagement rings like Kate Middleton’s
Sapphire engagement rings are really unique and make the perfect rings for those who love to show off their individuality and style. For those who want an engagement ring like Kate Middleton (but don’t want to spend over half a million pounds on one), Diamonds Factory has a variety of stunning styles inspired by the famous ring.
Shop the look
4 Prong Setting Round Blue Sapphire Fashion Ring
From £703
Diamond Side Stone Blue Sapphire Emerald Engagement Ring
From £503
Full Bezel Setting Round Three Stone Blue Sapphire Ring
From £744
Oval Halo Blue Sapphire Engagement Ring
From £610
Emerald Halo Blue Sapphire Engagement Ring
From £1,856
Prong Setting Blue Sapphire Side Stone Ring
From £902
Prong Setting Blue Sapphire Three Stone Ring
From £768
Prong Setting Oval Blue Sapphire Half Eternity Ring
From £542
Engagement rings that look like the rings of our favourite celebrities are more popular than ever before, and there are plenty of rings inspired by celebrity engagement rings for you to choose from to help them feel a million dollars (without spending a million pounds).