The Touchstone Award is an annual competition sponsored by the British Hallmarking Council (BHC) in partnership with the National Association of Jewellers. It is designed to raise awareness of the importance of hallmarking in consumer protection, and recognises Trading Standards services which have gone the extra mile to ensure businesses comply with the Hallmarking Act.
For 2025, the Touchstone Award is seeking submissions from Trading Standards teams who have carried out work to enforce and promote hallmarking over the past 12 months. An application form with further information is available here. The closing date for applications is 5 May.
Last year’s Touchstone Award went to Hull City Council Trading Standards. The award was presented at the CTSI Conference in June, when the National Association of Jewellers Chair, Adam Jacobs, along with BHC Chair Noel Hunter OBE, congratulated the team for their much-deserved win.
Hull Trading Standards had long taken an active role in the enforcement of hallmarking legislation, with regular inspections of shops selling precious metals to ensure compliance with the law, along with some online compliance checks. However, it was felt that this was an area which needed revisiting – especially because of the squeeze on consumer spending caused by the cost-of-living crisis.
The Hull team have a good working partnership with the nearby Sheffield Assay Office and decided to utilise that, as well as to explore other partnerships that would supplement their hallmarking work and have a greater impact on ensuring compliance within the industry.
Consumer awareness of hallmarking requirements is also a key factor of compliance, and the department had previously produced a leaflet for shops to display and give out to customers. As part of the project, it was decided to request feedback from businesses to see how that leaflet could be improved to support consumer confidence.
Publicising enforcement action is a great means of getting the hallmarking message out to the public and to business, both locally and nationally. Such publicity also provides business with confidence that rogue traders are being tackled and not allowed to thrive. Therefore a key aim was also to take any media opportunities to highlight successful enforcement work.
In summary, the work included:
- an examination of Hull Trading Standards’ premises database to identify any complaints against traders dealing in precious metals that may have breached the Hallmarking Act;
- conducting online checks to identify any local traders that were failing to comply with hallmarking requirements;
- conducting test purchases to verify precious metal descriptions given by online traders;
- taking appropriate enforcement action against non-compliant businesses, online or on the high street;
- being proactive in identifying and tackling new businesses that failed to comply with the Hallmarking Act;
- exploring further partnership working to supplement and improve hallmarking work;
- conducting physical inspections at trade premises dealing in precious metals;
- a review of the consumer education leaflet with requests for feedback from businesses;
- taking advantage of any media opportunities to promote hallmarking work.
A crucial part of a winning application for the Touchstone Award is to show successful outcomes following any enforcement work. The Hull team’s submission highlighted:
- a criminal case involving serious hallmarking fraud worth £400,000, which was investigated and referred to the Crown Prosecution Service;
- four incident reports resulting in written warnings being issued to non-compliant businesses for hallmarking infringements;
- one verbal warning for failing to display a statutory notice;
- ten intelligence reports submitted on the national intelligence database, IDB;
- a 100% compliance rate among high street businesses which had received advice after failures had previously been identified;
- greater trade understanding of the hallmarking requirements;
- interest being generated among other Trading Standards departments which are keen to follow the project undertaken in Hull;
- positive feedback from local jewellers regarding the leaflet designed and supplied by Hull Trading Standards.
As well as these direct outcomes, the project resulted in improved partnership working with the Sheffield Assay Office and other organisations including the Natural Diamond Council, Retail Jeweller magazine and Humberside Police. There was also significant media interest in the hallmarking work, and much closer partnership working with local business on consumer education.
The Touchstone judges were impressed by the comprehensive nature of the project and also the close collaboration with Sheffield Assay Office, not only in testing products but in assisting with training of Officers. The work of Hull’s Trading Standards team was an excellent example of solid enforcement action, from test purchases and warrant application, to seizures and criminal proceedings.
Presentation at City of Hull
As part of the Touchstone Award process each year, the BHC visits the winning team and congratulates the Trading Standards service at the highest level within the local authority.
Noel Hunter OBE presents the Hull Team with the 2024 Touchstone Award
With this in mind BHC Chair, Noel Hunter OBE, visited Hull on 11 October 2024 and presented the Touchstone silver platter for the second time to the Trading Standards portfolio holder, Councillor Charles Quinn, Hull City Council Chief Executive, Matt Jukes, and Head of Public Protection, Rachel Stephenson.
Councillor Quinn was delighted to accept the award and noted that: “The team have been rightly recognised for their committed and innovative work. They’ve got fantastic results and importantly, protected the public from falling victim to this scam.
“It can be very difficult for people to know what they’re buying is genuine; determining something is a fake, particularly when it includes a hallmark, is really hard. This work protects customers and also reputable retailers, who may lose trade to slightly cheaper fakes.
“It’s fantastic that the effort and innovation has been recognised. Much of the work teams like Trading Standards do can go unnoticed, but it’s happening every day and helping ensure that the goods people buy are safe and genuine.”
Goldsmiths’ Hall
Part of the prize for the winning team is a training and information day at Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London, a magnificent venue that has been on the site since 1337 and serves as the base of the Goldsmiths’ Company and the London Assay Office.
Six members of staff from Hull City Council Trading Standards attended the training event on 19 November 2024 for a fantastic day of learning about hallmarking and the history of Goldsmiths’ Hall. It was also appreciated that CTSI Chief Executive, John Herriman, was able to attend the ceremony and offer his congratulations to the Hull City Council team.
The day included a detailed and instructive look at the hallmarking operation, from use of metal punches to the latest technology with XRF testing and laser hallmarking. There was also a tour of the Goldsmiths’ Hall building and the variety of uses it has been put to over the years, and a fabulous lunch courtesy of the Goldsmiths’ Company. Overall it was a fantastic prize and a memorable day for everyone involved.
BHC Chairman Noel Hunter OBE commented: “The UK Hallmarking Act (1973) was put in place to protect consumers and honest retailers alike from sellers of non-compliant articles as well as counterfeits, and this day is a fantastic culmination of efforts throughout the year.
“The British Hallmarking Council relies on local authority-based Trading Standards teams across the UK to exercise their duties under the Hallmarking Act to protect consumers and business, and I am delighted to be able to congratulate Hull City Council’s Trading Standards team on the Council’s behalf.”
