Silversmithing

Will's mother is, among other things, a fantastic silversmith. We asked her to make our wedding bands and she has made two of the most beautiful rings! She had to hammer Will's ring out to make it bigger; mine fit perfectly. She will then file and polish them right up to a high shine. She even hallmarked them on the inside before making the silver bit into a ring:
A hallmark is basically a stamp on the silver to mark who, where, and when the silver piece was made. You have to go to the assay office and have them hallmark it. The assay office authenticates it that is "proper silver", i.e. 92.5% pure silver for sterling silver.

The Maker's Mark is who made it. For Sylvia, that mark is "SJT" --her initials, made before she was married. The "925" means that it is sterling silver. The Lion Rampant (third stamp) means Scotland. The castle-like building is for Edinburgh Assay Office. The K means 2009. This bit of silver has a blue background for the hallmarks, but usually there is no color. It does make it easier to see for the photo, though.

Applying a hallmark began in Scotland, in Edinburgh in 1485 by the goldsmiths, who formed their own corporation to protect their trade and the public. They stamped gold and silver with particular stamps to ensure the purity and quality of the piece. In 1681, they started adding a letter to denote the year in which the item was made. The Edinburgh Assay Office's history is fascinating, to say the least.