1. This Order may be cited as the Hallmarking (Exempted Articles) (Amendment) Order 1975 and shall come into operation on 18th December 1975.

2.-(1) The Hallmarking (Small Silver Articles) (Exemption) Order 1975(1) is hereby revoked.

(2) The Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament and as if this Order and the Order hereby revoked were Acts of Parliament.

3. Part II of Schedule 1 to the Hallmarking Act 1973, as amended(2), shall be further amended in the manner provided in the Schedule to this Order.

SCHEDULE

1. For paragraph 5 there shall be substituted the following:-

"5. Any battered article fit only to be remanufactured.".

2. For paragraph 10 there shall be substituted the following:-

"10. Any article which-

(a)is wholly or mainly of gold or of silver or of gold and silver assaying in all its gold parts not less than 375 parts per thousand and in all its silver parts not less than 800 parts per thousand; and

(b)was manufactured before the year 1900 and has not since the beginning of the year 1900 been the subject of any alteration which would be an improper alteration if the article had previously borne approved hallmarks.".

3. For paragraph 12 there shall be substituted the following:-

"12. Any article containing only one precious metal, being a metal of minimum fineness and of a weight less than that specified in the following table-

4. For paragraph 13 there shall be substituted the following:-

"13. Any article which is wholly of one or more precious metals of minimum fineness and which is so small or thin that it cannot be hallmarked.".

5. After paragraph 14 there shall be inserted the following two paragraph:-

"14A. Any article, any precious metal in which is of minimum fineness, and which either-

(a)contains gold and platinum but not silver, and the weight of the gold parts of which exceeds 50 per cent. of the total weight of the precious metals in the article, that total weight being less than 1 gram; or

(b)contains silver and either gold or platinum or both gold and platinum, and the weight of the silver parts of which exceeds 50 per cent. of the total weight of the precious metals in the article, that total weight being less than 7.78 grams.";

"14B. Where an article described in paragraph 12 or paragraph 14A above contains materials other than precious metals the article shall not be taken as falling within that paragraph unless it complies with Part III of Schedule 2 to this Act.".

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order further amends Part II of Schedule 1 to the Hallmarking Act 1973. That Part lists articles which are exempted from the prohibition on describing articles in the course of trade as being of gold, silver or platinum if they are unhallmarked.

Certain article of more than one precious metal are exempted from that prohibition.

Exemption for articles containing one precious metal only is to be determined by reference to the weight of the precious metal in the article and not as hitherto by reference to the weight of the article itself, but such articles which contain materials other than precious metal must in future comply with the provisions of Part III of Schedule 2 to the Act.