By permission of Robin Kennedy Bare Media
Congratulations to Michelle Keegan, voted runner up sexiest person in the world and sexiest in the UK in the poll run every year by FHM magazine..and she wears pearls – Pearlescence anklet pearls. So delighted for her. What a launch for her career in the big world away from the cobbled streets of Wetherfield.
Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright
Some of the internet is awash with rubbish pearls. (Not Pearlescence.co.uk of course!) (Yes, I would say that) The problem we have with these rubbish pearls is that people see Tahitian pearls for a tenner on eBay and wonder why we have strands for £3k. While I was at the London Assay office a week or so ago I took the opportunity to check up on some clasps which we had recently acquired. Last month we decided to do a little research and buy some pearls off eBay and off Aliexpress. We chose ripple pearls as they are the pearls currently hot in fashion terms so likely to attract all manner of sellers.
Ripples seem to be described either as Kasumi pearls (which they are not) or as nuclear (presumably a mistranslation of nucleated). We forgave the latter but not the former. Along the way we also bought a couple more strands which looked interesting.
Without exception the pearls in no way measured up to their (stock) photos (which appeared in many different listings at different prices). They were invariably of poor colour, smaller, with many flaws and generally worth very little. Some, which had been sold as finished necklaces, were a total mis-sell since the silver and gold clasps were plated – and this was inarguable since they have been checked at the Assay office itself.
For example, these sorry pearls were described as south sea pearls…They are big, but they are clearly nucleated freshwater circley pearls, with some satiny lustre but with a preponderance of nasty chalky areas and some ear wax yellow colour splodges instead of the deep gold of the photo. The clasp was plated and to add insult the silk was too thin and the knotting slack. Poor things
poor things – note the complete lack of any lustre in the base of the pearl at 9
Others in the world of pearls spot freshwaters dyed to resemble Tahitians and south sea pearls with varying degrees of success on these websites.
Listed on eBay as I write this entry – for £6.70..or £7.10 from another seller or 0.01p in an auction from a third
So..buyers beware. Most pearls I have seen on eBay and other mass selling sites are rubbish. There are a few honest sellers on them, swimming against a strong tide, but no-one is going to sell a. Tahitian pearl necklace with a gold clasp for a tenner.
So, what happened to the pearls and clasps we bought? In the bin
The London Assay office, where much of the gold, silver, platinum and palladium sold in the UK is hallmarked, lives on the third floor of the hall or headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London.
Hall of The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths
I was fortunate to be one of the lucky few gold and silversmiths to be included in a party allowed in for a day to see the processes involved.
History
Hallmarking is the the oldest form of consumer protection in the UK, with Goldsmith’s Guild getting its first royal charter from Edward III in 1327 (the guild HQ has been on the same site since 1339) . Now the guild, through the London Assay Office, is one of four independent
The sumptuous ceiling in the main hall
organisations (also Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh) which assay precious metals as required by the 1973 Hallmarking Act.
A hallmark is NOT a trademark. A hallmark is punched or lasered into the metal after the metal content is analysed and it is confirmed to be of a certain standard. Each hallmark tells you who made the piece or sent it for assay (the sponsor’s mark – Pearlescence’s is WMG in a cartouche shape) what quality of what metal both in traditional and millesimal (figures) marks, which assay office and in what year.
The Assay office also conducts an annual examination of the coins manufactured by the Royal Mint (known as the Trial of the Pyx) and uses its huge collection of old silver items as a resource for the dating of suspect antiques. Two years ago the head of assay personally checked and hallmarked every gold and silver medal for the London Olympics.
Modern Hallmarking
It seems astonishing that every item sent in for assay is individually checked…but it is. A method dating back to Roman times, touch testing is the quickest and simplest. Pearlescence’s silver ring was checked in a demonstration (no photos by me, unfortunately due to obvious security needs). In a method which ancient Romans and Egyptians would recognise and still be able to carry out, the piece is simply rubbed onto a highly polished tile of lydite until a 1cm by 2mm ish streak is made. Compare that with the streak made by a touch needle of known quality. check by a drop of acid on both. If they match you have identified the metal and its quality (in this case Sterling 925 silver)
The second ancient method is cupellation (which is a splendid word) and this method dates back to pre-Roman times. It is the most accurate. The gold sample is weighed very accurately then a known amount of silver is added in a process called inquartation. this mix is wrapped in lead foil and shaped into a ball, which is placed in a cupel. the cupel is put into a furnace for 20 minutes and everything melts. everything except the pure gold and silver is absorbed into the cupel. Dissolve the silver in acid (parting) Weigh the remaining pure gold, subtract the known amount of silver and simple maths then gives the proportion of gold in the assay item. (accurate to one part per thousand)
This is the main hallmarking room. Very skilled
Finally there is the ultra modern x-ray fluorescence where an item is placed into a machine and bombarded with x-rays. The resulting spectrum identifies the metal and carat. Pearlescence tried this with some unknown gold made into a fused ring (9ct) and another ring made of silver wire and fused gold (interestingly the silver only came up to 800 proof with a lot of gold mixed in (so will be marked as silver), while the gold was over 18ct)
Once the items have passed assay they will be hallmarked. This, astonishingly, is still mostly done by hand. we had a go. It’s scary to try to put the London mark onto metal properly and cleanly. The brilliant folk in the photo above do it so well that even with the smallest punch you can still count the (three each side on the leopard’s face) vibrissae.
Alternately marks can be applied with a laser now or mechanically with a press for long runs of identical items
Hallmark being applied with a laser
Top tip from the day – heartfelt plea from the assayers and markers…please do not pack each item into its own packet. We have instantly resolved to use those plastic compartment trays. Make your assayer love you!
An amazing day, I learned so much. And I even got a certificate!
Pearlescence got a certificate!