Details of British Import Marks and Related Information

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An example of a Chester import mark from 1916, sponsor, Harry Sapiro:


HS - Chester - ·925 - 1916

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An example of a Chester import mark from 1902, sponsor, Berthold Muller & Son:


BM - 1902 - Chester - F

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An example of a London import mark from 1921, sponsor, George Stockwell:


GS - London - ·925 - 1921

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Example of Glasgow import marks from 1896, sponsor, George Edward & Sons:


DE over GE - Glasgow - 1896 - F


DE over GE - Glasgow - 1896 - F

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An example of a London import mark from 1910, sponsor, S. Blanckensee & Sons Ltd.:


S·B&SLd - London - ·925 - 1910

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A very important case came up at the Mansion House, on October 21st, in which Mr. Maurice Woolf, of 7, Alvington Crescent, Dalston, and 16, Norton Folgate, City, attended before Mr. Alderman Davies on a summons, at the instance of Her Majesty's Board of Customs, for having unlawfully made a declaration under the Statutory Declarations Act, 1835, well knowing it to be untrue in a certain material particular. He pleaded "Not guilty." Mr. W. R. M'Connell and Mr. Macklin, instructed by the solicitor to the Customs, were counsel for the prosecution; Mr. Fillan for the defence. Mr. M'Connell, in opening the case, said under the Revenue Act, 1883, it was provided that all gold and silver plate imported into this country should be entered to be warehoused and deposited in a bonded warehouse, and should not be delivered for home use until assayed, marked, and stamped according to law.Other provisions related to the assaying and stamping of the goods, if of standard quality, and there was this enactment—that plate imported for private use, and not for sale, should be exempted upon proof by statutory declaration being furnished to the satisfaction of the Commissioners of Customs. It was alleged that the defendant made a statutory declaration before Mr. William Carter, a commissioner of oaths, in Idol Lane, that a certain box of foreign plate, which he had imported from Amsterdam, was for his own use, and not for sale, and that, having thus obtained the delivery of the goods to him, he, contrary to that declaration, sold the plate, or portions of it, to Messrs. Jones and Co., of Long Acre. Evidence in support of the opening statement was given. It seemed that the box of plate contained 160 articles, and that the defendant declared that they were solely for his own use or for presents, and not for sale. The Customs officers remarked upon the similarity of many of the articles, and the defendant said he had purchased them in Holland for 2,000 guilders, and that he was obliged to buy the whole case in order to get the particular articles he wanted. The defendant was allowed to remove the plate, but the Customs officials, unknown to him, placed certain marks upon it which enabled them to identify it again, and, being suspicious, they also had his premises watched. It was proved that the plate was subsequently sold in two parcels to Messrs. Jones and Co., silversmiths and plate dealers, at 19, Long Acre, for £289, the defendant representing that he was the agent of a dealer in Amsterdam. Mr. A. W. Starkey, a Custom-house officer, deposed that, in consequence of information that the defendant was offering Dutch plate for sale to a Mr. Davis, he visited the premises in Norton Folgate, and, representing himself as Davis's agent, he was shown the plate for sale, and subsequently purchased, on behalf of the Customs authorities, various articles for £19, which he produced. Afterwards he proceeded to Messrs. Jones's premises and saw other plate of the same kind. It was stated that the plate in question was not up to the English silver standard, but was below it to the extent of one ounce in the pound troy. At the close of the prosecution, Mr. Fillan submitted that his client had committed no indictable offence. Mr. Alderman Davies thought otherwise, and committed the defendant for trial at the Central Criminal Court, admitting him meanwhile to bail.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 2nd November 1891

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An example of a London import mark from 1892, sponsor, Joseph Morpurgo.:


J.M - 1892 - F - London

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An example of London import marks from 1956 and 1957, sponsor, Georg Jensen Ltd.:


G.J Ld - London - 925 - 1956


G.J Ld - London - ·925 - 1957

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An example of London import marks from 1936 and 1937, sponsor, Georg Jensen Ltd.:


G.J Ld - London - ·925 - 1936


G.J Ld - London - ·925 - 1937

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An example of a London import mark from 1897, sponsor, Edwin Thompson Bryant (James Thredder, Son & Co.):


ETB - 1897 - F - London

Noted on a piece made by B. Neresheimer & Söhne of Hanau.

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Foreign Plate

Unless intended for private use and not for sale, foreign plate must be warehoused and then removed in charge of an officer, and at the importer's expense, or under bond to the nearest assay office, and if found equal to the standard, marked with the same marks as if it were British plate, and in addition to these the letter "F." If, on the other hand, it is not equal to standard, it must either be exported within a month, or be "cut, broken, or defaced;" it can then be cleared as bullion. (39 and 40 Victoria, chap. 35, sec. 2, is an authority for marking foreign plate.)

When exemption from assay is claimed on account of plate being "for private use, and not for sale or exchange," a statutory declaration must be made to that effect either before a magistrate, a commissioner to administer oaths, or, in certain cases, a duly authorized officer of customs.

It will be observed that although foreign plate may be thus admitted without being assayed, it can not at any time be sold until assayed.

Such plate as would be injured by assay is exempted.

The weight is to be shown in troy ounces, the pound troy having been abolished.

General Order 47, 1869 (now known as General Order 65, 1890), decrees that patterns and samples of articles of foreign plate imported and requiring to be dealt with for purposes of assay under the provisions of 46 and 47 Victoria, chapter 55, section 10, but delivery of which, without assay, may be desired for the purposes of temporary use in the United Kingdom as patterns and samples only, may be delivered without assay upon the written request of the importer for such delivery to take place under the regulations of this general order and upon a deposit of money being made, such deposit to be approximately equal to the amount of duty which would formerly have been chargeable on such articles. A certificate of such particulars of the patterns or samples imported as will suffice for their subsequent identification, including their weights, is to be given the importer by the collector at the port of importation, and a copy of this certificate is retained at the port. The deposit made by the importer will be returned to him upon the exportation of the articles in question from the country, a certificate of such exportation being first produced to the collector at the port where the articles were imported. If samples and patterns imported under the regulations of this general order be not exported within one year from the date of importation, the amount of money deposited is carried to account as a forfeiture. If, on the other hand, it is intended not to export the patterns or samples of plate, but to have them delivered for use in this country, they must be produced to the collector at the port of importation, and be then taken in charge of an officer to an assay office to be assayed. The articles after assay may be delivered and the deposit returned.

Source: United States Congressional Serial Set - 1902

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The importation into Great Britain of jewelry and all manufactures of gold and silver other than watches and watchcases is now prohibited except under license.

Source: Metal Record and Electroplater - November 1916

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An example of a London import mark from 1900, sponsor, Singleton, Benda & Co. Ltd. :


SB&Co.Ltd - 1900 - F - London

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British Regulations Regarding Marks on Foreign Goods

Washington, D. C., May 5.—The Department of State is in receipt of a note from the British Embassy, transmitting copy of a memorandum recently prepared by the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s customs, setting forth the general requirements in respect of marks on foreign goods imported into the United Kingdom. The memorandum is as follows:

1. Foreign goods Imported into the United Kingdom which do not bear any marks whatever, either on the goods themselves or on the packages or
wrappers containing them, are not required to bear any qualifying statement or indication, such as “Made abroad,” “Made in Germany,” etc.

2. Foreign manufactured goods bearing a name or trade-mark being, or purporting to be, the name or trade-mark of a manufacturer, etc., in the
United Kingdom, must have that name or trademark accompanied by a definite indication of the country of origin of the goods. The name of the
country is a sufficient indication, without the words “made in,” if a name or trade-mark only appears, e.g., “John Smith, Germany,” would be
satisfactory. If such a mark as “John Smith, Sheffield,” is used, then the qualification must be “Made in Germany” or similar wording.

3. If foreign imported goods bear the name of a place identical with, or a colorable imitation of, the name of a place in the United Kingdom, the
name should be accompanied by the name of the country in which the place is situated. Thus Boston, in Massachusetts, should be accompanied by
the name “United States,” or by the initials “U. S. A.”

4. If a trade description includes the name of a place, and the goods on which it appears are not the produce of that place, or of the country in which it is situated, the trade description must be accompanied by a statement indicating the actual country of production. For instance, a wine, the produce of Germany, and described as “port” or “sherry” (which words include the names of the places Oporto and Xeres), should have that description accompanied by the statement "produced in Germany,” or should he described as “German port,” or “German sherry.” An exception to this rule is made in cases where the name of a place in a trade description is indicative merely of the character of the goods, and is not calculated to mislead as to the country of origin. Thus, such a description as “Brussels carpet” or “Portland cement” need not be accompanied by a statement of the country of actual production.

5. Trade descriptions in the English language applied to foreign goods imported for home consumption from non-English speaking countries are not regarded as indirect indications that the goods are of British or Irish origin, unless the officers have good ground for considering that such trade descriptions are specially designed to convey, and do in fact convey, an impression of British or Irish origin for the goods. Trade descriptions on imported goods in a foreign language, which is not that of the country from which the goods are imported, must be accompanied by a statement of the actual country of production of the goods, e.g., “Made in Germany.”

6. As regards watches, any mark on the case is deemed to extend to the watch. If, therefore, a watch case is made in this country, and bears any
statement or indication of such origin (as, for instance, a British hall mark) and the watch itself is made in Switzerland, then there must appear
on the plate of the watch a statement or indication that it is of Swiss origin.

7. All qualifying statements or indications must be distinct, in equally conspicuous characters with, and in proximity to, the marks they are intended to qualify.

8. Marks on samples or patterns, whether of British or foreign manufacture, are not required to be accompanied by any qualification, provided such samples or patterns are valueless in themselves, do not form whole or complete articles, and can be readily distinguished as samples or patterns.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 11th May1898

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IMPORT DUTY LIST - 1844


London - 1844

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Copy of an import form from 1876:



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Speaking at the annual meeting of the Sheffield Chamber on January 30th, Mr. W. F. Beardshaw in the chair, Mr. Samuel Roberts, M.P., said that the subject of the hall-marking of foreign plate was a very important one. He was told that the practice had increased very much of sending plate from abroad to get the English hall-mark on it, and then palming the goods off in the home and neutral markets as of British origin. By an Act of 1877 it was provided that all gold or silver plate from foreign parts should, in addition to the ordinary marks, have the letter “ F" put upon it. But that had not been effective, the “ F " not being a sufficiently distinctive mark to draw a purchaser's attention to it. It would be remembered that a special exception was made in the matter of foreign watch cases. It was found that foreigners were sending their watches here in large quantities, and getting the English hall-mark placed on them, and then selling them in the home and foreign markets as of English origin. It was provided that there must be a special distinctive mark place on those goods, and the result was immediately effective. In Birmingham the very next year there was a falling off in the number of ounces assayed of foreign silver watch cases, as compared with the corresponding half of the previous year, of 88,122 oz., and in the year following there was not a single silver foreign watch case marked at Birmingham. That showed that the watch cases were being sent to Birmingham for the special purpose of getting the lion on them. He had no doubt the same thing would happen when the law was altered, as he hoped it would be, providing for a distinctive mark put on foreign, plate.

Source: The Chamber of Commerce Journal - March 1903

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Marking Of Foreign-made Watches

The important decision given by Mr. Justice Channell in the case of The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths in the City of London v. Wyatt, that certain foreign gold and silver watch cases did not require to be marked, which will be found noted in the Chamher Of Commerce Journal for October, 1905, page 236, has been reversed by the Court of Appeal. Section 59 of the Customs Act, 1842, provides that all gold and silver plate, not being battered, imported from abroad and sold or exposed for sale within the United Kingdom must be of the standard required for any plate made in England, and that no such gold or silver plate when imported is to be sold or exposed for sale until it has been assayed, stamped and marked in England, Scotland or Ireland, as if it were made in the United Kingdom; and Section 60 provides that gold and silver plate so imported may be assayed, tested, stamped, and marked at any assay office in the United Kingdom as if it were British plate. Section 1 of 12 Geo. II., chap. 26, enacts that no one shall make or sell any gold plate of a less fineness than 22 carats of fine gold to every pound weight troy, or any silver plate of less fineness than 11 ounces, 2 pennyweights of fine silver to every pound weight troy; and Section 5 enacts that no gold or silver plate shall be sold or exposed for sale before it is marked, which may be done at the assay office of the Goldsmiths' Company, or at assay offices at York, Exeter, Bristol, Chester, Norwich, or Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In March, 1905, the defendant, who is a watchmaker, sold two silver watches and two gold watches to the plaintiff's agent. These watch cases were made in Switzerland, and were stamped with Swiss Government hall-marks denoting the true standard of the gold and silver used, but were not assayed, stamped, or marked in England. The plaintiffs brought this action for £40, for penalties under the above-named Acts, and the question was whether the watch cases were gold or silver plate. Mr. Justice Channell decided this question in the negative, but the Court of Appeal have reversed his decision, and Lord Justice Farwell said that the question was whether gold and silver watches imported from abroad as completed articles must be assayed and stamped under Section 59 of the Customs Act, 1842. It was not disputed that the watch cases, if imported without works, must be assayed and stamped; but it was contended that the completed article need not. The prevention of adulteration of gold and silver and the preservation of a fixed standard, authenticated by test and marked, had been the subject of statutes beginning in the reign of Edward I. The object of Section 59 of the Customs Act, 1842, was to extend the provisions of 12 Geo. II., chap. 26, with respect to assaying and marking to gold and silver plate, not battered, imported from abroad. It was apparent that the object of the Acts was to set up and preserve standards for all gold and silver manufactured articles in England, except some small articles like rings, sleeve buttons, rims of snuff boxes, stoppers to glass bottles, etc. If a gold watch case was plate, he could not see why the insertion of works made it any less plate than before. It had been argued that since 1842 watches imported from abroad had been treated as exempt from assay; but the Act was too modern for such usage to be applied to its construction. Judgment therefore must be given for the plaintiffs against the defendant. (Nov. 30th, 1906.)

Source: The Chamber of Commerce Journal - January 1907

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Imported Watch Cases

It will be remembered that in the case of the Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths in the City of London v. Wyatt, which was noted in The Chamber Of Commerce Journal for January last, the Court of Appeal, reversing the decision of Mr. Justice Channell, decided that gold and silver watch cases imported from abroad must conform with our standards and be assayed and stamped. As the practice had been the opposite for about 50 years, an Act has been passed which protects such watch cases imported before June 1st of this year, but the onus is put on the person alleging that they were imported before that date of proving that fact, and in the case of such watch cases being exported and re-imported, they must be identified according to regulations to be made by the Commissioners of Customs. The Act is called The Assay of Imported Watch Cases (Existing Stocks Exemption) Act, 1907, and came into operation on August 2nd, 1907.

Source: The Chamber of Commerce Journal - October 1907

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An example of a London import mark from 1898, sponsor, Rosina Gertrude Alexander (R.G. Birch):


R.G.A. - 1898 - F - London

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