Themarkofquality

THESHEFFIELDASSAYOFFICEISONEOFFOURINTHECOUNTRYAND CELEBRATESITS250-YEARANNIVERSARYLATERTHISYEAR.WESPOKETO ASSAYMASTERASHLEYCARSONABOUTTHECORONATION,PRECIOUS METALSANDTHEIMPORTANCEOFHALLMARKING.

heCoronationofHis Majesty

TheKing and Her Majesty

TheQueenConsor t will take place at WestminsterAbbey on Saturday6 May.To celebratethe coronationofKingCharles III, a commemorative hallmarkhasbeen approvedby theBritish Hallmarking Counciland thefour UK Assay

Offices,oneof whichisright here in Sheffield

Based on amedalby IanRankBroadleyFRBSandusing ar twork suppliedby ThomasFattorini,the mark depicts theKing’sheadagainst anoval backg round.It can be applied togold, silver,platinum or palladiumitemsby request.

The hallmarkcame ‘live ’ on1March andwillbe available until theend of December 2024.It can beplaced anywhere viableonthe itembeing hallmarkedandcan differin sizefrom the compulsorycomponent marks

“We’ve alreadyseen ahuge amount of interest,thingslikethiscan really boost business,” saidAshley Carson, Assay Masterat SheffieldAssay Office.

“We’reproud of it, we reallywantto promote it andwillbeputting iton all our products.”

Ashleyis nowin his 46thyearat SheffieldAssay Office,30of whichhe’s servedasAssay Master – he’llcelebrate hisanniversarylater thisyear.

The Assay Office isresponsiblefor testingthepurity ofpreciousmetalsit isimpossibletotell theprecious metalcontentof an item just by looking at it.Gold, silver,platinumand palladiumaretoo softto use alonefor makingjewellery, cutleryand other goodsand need to be alloyedwith othermetals formanufacturing.To protectthe consumer,the Assay Office will test ar ticles to make surethattoo muchbase metalhas not been used, at the sametimeensuringthe manufacturer’s peaceof mindby providing an independent assessment ofqualityandcontent.

The SheffieldAssay Office dates back to1773 when an Actof Parliamentthepreviousyearappointed 30 localmen as‘Guardians ofthe Standard of WroughtPlate intheTown of Sheffield’ to supervisethe work of theoffice andassayandhallmarksilver. Thisworkcontinues tothisdayand, as the13thAssay Master, Ashleyhasbeen instrumentalinthe developmentofthe business, which nowhasaworldwide reputation.

AshleyisaSheffieldman bor n and bredwho holds the distinctionof beingthe youngest Assay Master ever appointed.Hejoined theoffice in 1977, continuedhis education at Chesterfield College where he studied silversmithing and then workedhisway through theorganisation–from sampler, marker, computermanager and generalmanager, before being appointedAssay Master 1993 atthe ageofonly 32.

Oneof hisbiggest achievementsin his tenure was the relocatingoftheir offices from Por tobello Streettonew pur posebuiltpremises onBeulah RoadinHillsborough

“We’d essentially outg rownthe building,” Ashleysaid ofthe decisionto move.“We star ted off withahouse thenput anextensionon it,then a g ranny flat,then anotherstoreyand you endup withabuildingthat’s just a total nightmaretoget workround.It wasn ’tproductive.

“I reckon itneededabout£1million justtogetthingsupto speedso,on the back of quite abigproper tyboominthe city centre in2005/6, we sold the whole one-acre sitefor £4million, bought this pieceof land for £800,000 and for justover £3millionputthisin. We’ve neverlookedback, it’s perfectforus.”

Fur therwork to improvethe building hasincluded the installationof solar panelsand LED lighting throughout.

Ashley oversees65staff atthe SheffieldAssay Office, many of which almost rival the Assay Master for longevity of service.

“Outofthe 65 I’vegot12 staff who have been hereover 25years,” he said. “OutofthatI’vegotthreethat’sbeen over 30 years,one who’s nearly 40… so we’vegot areally good team.”

Goodcustomerrelationsareessential tothe servicethe Assay Officeprovides andAshleyis proud ofthe consistently highstandardshisstaff set.

“Outofthe last month, wephoned 12 customersandall ofthembar one gave us tenoutoften,” he commented “Theonethat didn ’t isacustomerin Leicesterandhe said‘I’m only g iving you nineoutoften.I would g ive you ten if you open an Assay office in Leicester nextto myshop!’We’vegot sucha goodrappor t withcustomers andit’sdowntoourstaff.”

UnderAshley’sleadership, Sheffield Assay Office has g rown itsreputation as oneofthe leading,proactive and efficientoffices.He hasalso been responsibleforbroadeningthe scopeof the Assay Office work, having identified theoppor tunities for g rowth in analyticalservices

In additionto hallmarking,thisservice notonly providesmetalsanalysisand cer tification but alsooperatesin areas asdiverse assmelting andassay of bullion, mineralanalysisandland contamination investigations, mercury screening andmedicalresearch,plating thicknessmeasurement and nickel testing.

Clients for these servicesare drawn fromadiverse rangeof businessand industrybuttheyshare acommon need- forabsolute integ rity of service and evaluation.

SheffieldAssay Office was oneof thefirst laboratories to beg iven UKASaccreditation andis proud to have retained that accreditation continuously for 40 years,eachyear satisfyingthe stringent demands ofthe standard

Hallmarking remains the coreof theirbusinessandaswellworking with jewellery, silverware and the like

CLOCKWISEFROMTOPLEFT: AlistofAssayMastersat SheffieldAssayOffice;The workshopsatBeulahRoad;The SheffieldAssayOfficecelebrates its250thanniversarylaterthisyear; Thehallmarkdesign,whichis availableuntilDecember2024 theydoget requests that can be deemed‘outoftheordinary’

“Weonce hadasilverbed quite a fewyearsago -we had totakethe window outtoget itthrough,” said Ashley.“We also hada 42-levelcake stand forSultanof somethingor other We requested to actuallysee it made and theonly place it couldbe done wasaschoolspor tshall because it went so high.”

Back tothe coronation andaswell being instrumentalinthe developmentofthenewhallmark, the SheffieldAssay Office hasalso made averyspecial g iftfor King Charles III, whichwillbepresented after the coronation has takenplace.

“To commemoratethePlatinum

Jubilee we sentHer Majestya g iftof asolidsilversardinetin, whichwas made by Rebecca Jocelyn,” added Ashley.“I didsome researchand found [His Majesty] likes gardening soI’mhaving asilverwatering can made.It’sasmall one witha nice big hallmarkdown it.”

The roleof Assay Masterstill remainsverymuchhands-onfor Ashleybut afteralmostfive decades of service, hashethought about winding down?

“InOctobermychairman here [Charles Tur ner] becomes Master

Cutler,” commentedAshley.“He said to me, ‘you’regoingnowhere’sothat takesmetoOctober 2024 and I’m thinking by thetimeIgetthere,I’ll benearly64, ifI can do something here in arolethattakes twoor three days,that’smyideal plangoing forward.”

No doubt it willbe welldeserved but inthe meantimethere’s the small matter of his 30thanniversaryas

Assay Master to consideraswellas theoffice’s 250thanniversary.It’s tur ning intoquite ayear of celebration.