PRESS RELEASE: Winners announced of the Touchstone Award- for hallmarking enforcement and education

The Touchstone Award, launched by the British Hallmarking Council in 2012, sponsored by the National Association of Jewellers and supported by the CTSI, recognises the most effective initiative relating to hallmarking enforcement or education delivered by a local authority.

Launched in 2023, Operation Stamping It Out, is a pioneering hallmarking education and enforcement project, established and funded by the London Assay Office and delivered in conjunction with the WRi Group. It aims to ensure retailers of silver, gold, platinum and palladium jewellery and artworks, in London and the Southeast are compliant with the Hallmarking Act (1973), through a programme of education, awareness, and enforcement.

Across the eight LTS teams involved in the operation, 132 intelligence reports were generated, 311 retailers were visited, more than 200 verbal or written warnings were issued for hallmarking non-compliance, over £250,000 worth of silver and gold jewellery without hallmarks has been seized, and 4 active criminal prosecutions are underway.

“The British Hallmarking Council (BHC) congratulates London Trading Standards on winning the Touchstone Award. It was an incredible team effort which has produced, and continues to produce, unprecedented results. It will undoubtedly provide an enforcement model that can be used elsewhere across the UK. The BHC looks forward to supporting that development”- Noel Hunter, Chair of the British Hallmarking Council

“Operation Stamping It Out has laid bare the serious threat that the illicit trade in un-hallmarked precious metals poses to consumers and to the UK jewellery industry—an industry worth £10 billion annually and supporting over 60,000 jobs. The outstanding results achieved by London Trading Standards are a testament to what can be accomplished with focused enforcement, and the 2025 Touchstone Award is richly deserved. However, this must not remain a localised effort. It is imperative that Trading Standards teams and related agencies come together to adopt and implement a similar programme nationally, ensuring a consistent and robust response across traditional retail and digital marketplaces.” - Ben Massey, Chief Executive of the National Association of Jewellers

“For more than 700 years, the London Assay Office has protected consumers and the trade by ensuring the quality of precious metals. We are incredibly proud to support Operation Stamping It Out, and thrilled that the collaboration between WRi Group and London Trading Standards - which has seen more than £250,000 of illegal items removed from the streets so far - has been recognised with the 2025 Touchstone Award. The dedication and professionalism shown by the teams from the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Camden, Westminster, Hackney, Ealing, Waltham Forest, and Newham, and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to protecting consumers and businesses, shows how much can be achieved when we work together towards a common goal.” - Will Evans, Director of the London Assay Office

The British Hallmarking Council

The British Hallmarking Council is an arms-length body of the Department for Business and Trade, established by the Hallmarking Act 1973. It regulates hallmarking in the UK and supervises the hallmarking activities of the four assay offices to ensure adequate provision of hallmarking.

Hallmarking is one of the oldest forms of consumer protection dating back to the early 14th century. The Hallmarking Act requires all items over a specified weight to be hallmarked by a recognised assay office if they are to be described or sold as precious metal.

The National Association of Jewellers

The National Association of Jewellers is the leading voice for the UK jewellery industry, comprising 2000 member companies. It was formed in 2015 through the unification of the British Jewellers’ Association and National Association of Goldsmiths. More information can be supplied on request.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is the recognised UK body for qualified Trading Standards professionals. Many of its members are Trading Standards Officers, enforcing legislation in their local area.