STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 
2009 No.  
HALLMARK 
THE HALLMARKING ACT 1973 (APPLICATION TO 
PALLADIUM AND MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) 
ORDER 2009 
Made - - - - *** 
Laid before Parliament *** 
Coming into force - - 6th April 2009 
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 17(1) of the Hallmarking Act 1973 
and after consultation with the British Hallmarking Council, makes the following Order: 
Citation and commencement 
1. This Order may be cited as the Hallmarking Act 1973 (Application to Palladium 
and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2009 an d shall come into force on 6th April 
2009. 
Interpretation 
2. In this Order “the Act” means the Hallmarking Act 1973 and references to a 
numbered section are to the sect ion so numbered in the Act. 
Application of the Act to palladium 
3. The Act applies to palladium subject to the modifications in Schedule 1. 
Consequential amendments to the Act 
4. The Act is amended as set out in Schedule 2 
 
  Name  
 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State 
……….2009 Department for Innova tion, Universities and Skills 
 
                                                 
(1) 1973 c.43  SCHEDULE 1 Article 3 
MODIFICATIONS OF THE ACT IN ITS APPLICATION TO PALLADIUM 
Modification to section 1 of the Act 
1.In section 1(1)(a) after  “silver” insert “, palladium”. 
Modification to section 4 of the Act 
2. In section 4 after sect ion 4(3)(b)(iii) insert: 
 “(iv) palladium, is gold, silver, platinum or palladium, or a combination of 
two or more thereof, and is of a fineness or of a combined fineness 
not less than the standard of fineness of the article, provided that 
solder used in an article of a st andard of fineness of 950 or above 
may be of a fineness of not less than 700.” 
Modification to section 5 of the Act 
3. Section 5 is amended as follows: 
(a) in section 5(4)(c)(i) after “silver” insert “, 1 gram of palladium”; 
(b) for section 5(5) substitute– 
“(5) It shall not be an offence under subsection (1) above to add a coating, of 
a thickness not exceeding 2 micrometres at  any point, to the whole or any part 
of– 
(a) an article of gold, if the coating is  of gold of a fineness not less than the 
standard fineness of the article: or 
(b) an article of gold, if the coating is of platinum of a standard not less than 
the minimum fineness; or 
(c) an article of silver, if the coating is of silver of a fineness not less than 
the standard fineness of the article; or 
(d) an article of silver, if the coating is of gold, palladium or platinum of a 
standard not less than the minimum fineness; or 
(e) an article of palladium, if the coating is of palladium of a standard not 
less than the fineness of the article; or 
(f) an article of palladium, if the coating is of platinum or gold of a standard 
not less than the minimum fineness; or 
(g) an article of platinum, if the coating is of platinum of  a standard not less 
than the fineness of the article; or 
(h) an article of gold, silver, palladium or platinum if the coating is of 
rhodium.”. 
Modification to section 13 of the Act 
4. In section 13(2)(a) after “silv er”, insert “, palladium”. 
Modification to section 17 of the Act 
5. In section 17(1) after “silv er” insert “, palladium,”. Modification to section 22 of the Act 
6. In section 22–  
(1) in the definition of “finene ss” after “for silver the stan dard of 800, ”  insert “for 
palladium the standard of  500, ”; 
(2) in the definition of “precious metal” after “silver,” insert “, palladium,” . 
Modification to Schedule 1 of the Act 
7. Schedule 1 is amended as follows: 
(a) in paragraph 1(1) of Part 1 after ““plati num” is permissible if qualified by the 
word “plated”” add 
“and 
(d) “palladium” is permissible if qualified by the word “plated””; 
(b) After paragraph 9 of  Part II of Schedule 1 insert: 
“9A. Any article which is wholly or mainly of palladium, and which was 
manufactured before 1st  January 2010.”; 
(c) In paragraph 12(1) of Part II of Schedu le 1 beneath the entry in respect of 
platinum add: 
“palladium……………………..1 gram”; 
(d) In paragraph 12A(2)(a) after “gold” insert “, palladium”; 
(e) After paragraph 12C insert: 
“12D.—(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article which: 
(a) which contains palladium of a minimum fineness, and (b) in which the total weight of the metal is less than 1 gram. 
(2) This paragraph does not apply to any article which contains 
(a) gold or platinum of the minimum fineness; 
(b) any precious metal that is not of the minimum fineness or (c) materials other than precious metal unless the article satisfies the 
conditions for hallmarking of Part 3 of Schedule 2 to this Act.”; 
(f) For paragraph 14A substitute– 
“14A.  
(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA and su bject to the provisions of this 
paragraph, any article, any precious me tal in which is of minimum fineness, 
and which either: 
(a) contains gold and palladium, but no t silver, and the combined weight of 
the gold and palladium 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 gold and platinum, or palladium and platinum, but not silver, 
and the combined weight of the gold and platinum parts or the palladium 
and platinum parts of which exceeds 50 per cent of the total weight of the precious metals in the article, that total weight being less than 0.5 
grams; or 
(c) contains gold, palladium or platinum alone or in any combination, and 
silver 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.”. 
 SCHEDULE 2 Article 4 
Amendments to Schedule 2 
8. Schedule 2 is amended as follows: 
(a) In paragraph 2 beneath the final entry in respect of platinum insert– 
“Palladium 999  The figures 999 
Palladium  950  The figures 950 Palladium  500  The figures 500”; 
(b) For paragraph 13 substitute– 
“13. Where any article of precious metal is coated in whole or in part with 
rhodium or a precious metal ranked high er under paragraph 15(a) of this Part, 
the coating shall be ignored for the purpose of determining which hallmarks are 
to be struck.”; 
(c) Delete paragraph 14; 
(d) For paragraph 15(a) substitute– 
“(a) The ranking in decreasing order of preciousness is as follows with 
silver being the least precious and “least precious” and “less precious” 
shall be construed accordingly:– 
 (i) platinum 
 (ii) gold 
 (iii) palladium  (iv) silver.”; 
 
(e) In paragraph 19(a) of Part III after “silver” insert “, palladium”. 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
(This note is not part of the Order) 
This Order applies the provisions of the Hallmarking Act 1973 to the precious metal 
palladium. 
The Order also makes two corrections to the Act. The first is to permit a platinum 
coating to be applied to gold or silver su bstrates and extends the permitted coatings 
to those of the same type of precious metal as the substrate but having a greater 
fineness and the second is to provide fo r an exemption weight of 0.5grams for 
platinum which was previously omitted. 
A full impact assessment of the effect th at this Order will have on the costs to 
business is available from [] and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which 
is available alongside the instrument on th e OPSI website. Copies have been placed 
in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.