Figures compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office show hallmarking fell by 1.0% in Q1 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.
While platinum and gold saw gains of 10.4% and 2.6% respectively, silver dipped by 5.0% and palladium by 18.0%.
The full results can be seen below…
UK hallmarking figures Q1 2016 vs Q1 2015
Gold
24ct (999) – down 33.5% (189 items)
24ct (990) – Neutral (0 items)
22ct (916) – up 6.4% (129,124 items)
18ct (750) – down 3.1% (182,155 items)
14ct (585) – up 35.4% (24,314 items)
9ct (375) – up 2.6% (758,169 items)
Total gold items – up 2.6% (1,093,951 items)
Silver
Fine silver (999) – up 25.6% (4,207 items)
Britannia silver (958) – down 28.0% (2,783 items)
Sterling silver (925) – down 5.0% (987,396 items)
800 parts silver – down 25.0% (192 items)
Total silver items – down 5.0% (994, 578 items)
Platinum
999 parts – down 80.0% (5 items)
950 parts – up 10.5% (71,328 items)
900 parts – down 22.2% (70 items)
850 parts – down 46.2% (14 items)
Total platinum items – up 10.4% (71,417 items)
Palladium
999 parts – up 200% (3 items)
950 parts – down 17.7% (19,081 items)
500 parts – down 19.7% (3,329 items)
Total palladium items – down 18.0% (22,413 items)
Total items hallmarked in Q1 2016: 2,182,359 – down 1.0%