Visit to the Assay Office at Goldsmiths' Hall - a fascinating tour and introduction to the history of assaying and hallmarking

The visit to the Assay Office at the Goldsmiths' Hall was a sell-out success.

Dave Merry (left in the adjacent picture) and his colleagues provided a very informative and fascinating tour of the Assay Office. We learned about the history of assaying and hallmarking and saw how the skills and techniques have developed over the years.

The office handles tens of thousands of items everyday and we saw how things are hallmarked using traditional techniques (hammers and stamps), special presses and modern laser etching.

The old assaying 'touch stone' technique is still in use and apprentices (during their training that lasts four years!) learn how to judge items to the nearest half carat. The modern technique of X-ray fluorescence - which is extremely accurate was also demonstrated - with some brave members volunteering their jewellery for testing.

The huge increase in the price of precious metals has led to a lot of recycling. Scrap gold was put into an electric induction furnace and melted in a just a few minutes after which a 10kg bar of gold was poured from the molten metal.

Of course, hallmarking in a critical and legal guarantee of quality - the City of London originated the quality standards in business through the Livery Companies of which the Goldsmiths' is one of the 'Great Twelve'. Part of the work a the Assay Office is looking for fraud - and particularly in antiques. The testing techniques combined with years of skill and experience are used to recognise forgeries and we saw some of the collection of objects they have identified.

"We much enjoyed the visit to the Assay Office yesterday - it was interesting and educational," commented one member. "Dave is the longest-serving member of staff and is a mine of information, a smashing chap and a great raconteur. The visit to the Assay Office was so good, it should be a regular on our calendar of events"

After the fantastic tour, we retired to a local restaurant for a most-enjoyable lunch. Berat, the Manager of Haz restaurant just a few yards away from Goldsmiths' made us very welcome and the food was excellent!