Silver Hallmarks in China: Are They Required?

Question
Hi there,

Last week I went shopping in Shanghai and I bought a silver ring in a very nice looking shop. Today I has realized that there is no hallmark on it.

Can you tell me if silver jewelry in China has also a hallmark? or there is no legislation about it in the chinese market?

Thanks!

Answer
Hello Carlos,
 Chinese export silver  was hallmarked into the early 20th century as the marks were  created to look like the British hallmarks they  were meant to imitate (imitation being a continuing trend in Chinese jewellery manufacture, and widely inapproachable and grossly beyond prosecution). Much Tiffany & Co.NY, Gucci, and other Design Houses' sterling silver is now flooding American and European markets due to Ebay and other online auction sites allowing foreign distributor/manufacturers to continue to advertise  Tiffany & Co. NY jewelry via Hong Kong "middlemen" though it is purportedly against their own  policies)!
Apart from very few independent art jewelers producing one-off items in China, the jewelry industry as a whole produces or rather reproduces less than original designs and no makers marks are required, nor hallmarks issued as the government in theory  has at least an "interest" in each factory.This is a problem  in the scope of the Worldwide Jewelry Industry's headquarters in Geneva Switzerland.The Chinese Jewelry industry is production driven and mass production centred.Most jewelery sold through the Wal-Mart corporation is produced under contract in China, and Wal-Mart  continues to be the largest seller of gold jewelry in the world with annual sales last year topping the 6 billion dollar mark ( I believe that 6 is the correct number of billions if my memory is serving me  at the moment from  their annual report  from fiscal 2007!but I will check tomorrow  morning and get back to you with the exact figure if I am wrong).
Regarding your piece:as long as it has a fineness mark (.925,being sterling or .999 indicating fine silver)that is all that is required to offer it as silver for sale domestically as of the China Trade Act of 1975. I will also read over current Chinese law on not-for- export merchandise and get back to you with the most current  information by the 1st of August.
best regards, Ari Roark