The earliest French hallmark is dated back to 1272, but despite the French state silver standard officially sanctioned in 1378, the hallmarking system taken as a whole developed rather disorderly because the country was fragmented into provinces and because of the Hundred Years' War with England. However, by the second half of the 15th century the territorial unification of this country was completed. The economic policy of Louis XI (protective customs tariffs, exemptions and privileges granted to the trade and handicraft elite) facilitated revival of handicrafts and trade. There appeared new industries, like silk weaving and book printing; a new impact was given to metallurgy and metalworking, to manufacturing woolen cloths and light wool fabrics. Starting from the second half of the 15th century Lyons Fairs gained European significance (gradually shifting the European money market from Geneva to Lyons); Normandy Fairs were also notable for their wholesale trade operations; economic ties between French provinces strengthened. All this facilitated the emergence of a national market. France became a leading country in Europe and in the world.
From the beginning of the 16th century, the flow line production gave impetus to the development of capitalist ways in industry and agriculture. There appeared centralized manufactories in shipbuilding, mining, smelting industry, book printing, etc. The 17th century saw the emergence of manufactories producing mirrors, porcelain, carpets, Gobelin tapestry and jewellery. Luxury articles occupied a large place among export goods.
The absolute monarchy was finalized in the 16th century. The royal financial system acquired complete independence from the nobility representation. Excise tax farmers or state creditors started to play an important role in financial management.
In 1577, a new hallmark was established to control the jewellery industry and taxes. In 1579, the duty collection procedure was changed bringing about a new hallmark. The money for hallmarking was to be paid to the tax farmer, but the Paris gold and silversmiths did not agree with the royal will and gradually this decree turned to be void.
A new tax for the right to hallmark gold and silver was introduced in 1672. The payment for hallmarking was confirmed by a special mark. It was figurate and ascertained the payment of tax to the treasury. The mark was affixed by the tax farmer. However, already in 1681 the tax farmer hallmark was supplemented with other marks. Inventory marks became widely spread. These were used to designate various transactions involving goods. For instance, one may very often come across the “inventory” mark, which was used for control purposes just in case the tax farmer responsible for hallmarking was re-elected ahead of time and his successor introduced a different mark. In this case, the article, which passed tax control supervised by the former tax farmer, was controlled and hallmarked once again by the newly appointed controller and was registered in a special inventory.
All the imported articles had an obligatory “tax mark”, etrange (foreign make), and were hallmarked with letters ET in a rectangular shield.
There was only one permanent hallmarking system turned to be fundamental involving the following obligatory elements:
1. Artisan’s hallmark bearing some initial or symbol.
2. State (royal) hallmark or city hallmark.
3. Tax hallmark.
4. Tax exemption hallmark.
The permanent supervision executed over metal quality compelled to watch the controllers in a strict way too to avoid abuse. Thus, from the 16th century the articles made in Paris had also a year hallmark with a letter and a crown, where the letter designated the hallmarking year. Since the assay master was elected for one year, the date permitted to trace his name and served as his own signature.
In 1750, to make easier the assembly of large objects and their control, there was introduced an “identification” hallmark, which was stamped on all parts of such objects. The artisan was obliged to stamp all the parts of the article before their assembly, using a hallmark bearing his name, and later to assay them at the Guild and get there the tax farmer hallmark confirming that taxes for all the parts were paid, as well as the assay letter-date hallmark confirming silver purity, and only after all this he could assemble the object. After assembly, he was once again obliged to submit his work to the Guild to pay the duty and to obtain an appropriate hallmark. Only after that, the article could be sold. Thus, the article collected a whole “iconostasis” of hallmarks. It should be noted that the tax farmer’s hallmark was supplemented by the hallmark of the area, which collected this tax. There were one thousand areas, so tax farmers’ hallmarks are so far not systematized in scientific literature by the areas they belong.
Generally, the marking procedure itself required permanent hallmarking of things and their parts, which in itself may be recognized as the most complicated system of assay supervision in the world. Evidently, it reflected two things: 1) superstitions related to gold and silver fed by fears of their alchemic production; 2) French leadership in the world of fashion due to which all the hallmarking expenses were imposed on the European elite, including the Russian elite too.
The Great French Revolution put an end to this system. From 1791, the revolutionary government cancelled tax farmers’ hallmarks and paid-tax hallmarks as being “a humiliating legacy of the royal past.” However, real life brought forth its own problems. Starting from January 1795, the Council of 500 was heatedly debating the matters of the Association of Gold and Silversmiths, gradually restoring the former system of state control.
The government of Napoleon I sanctioned a new system of assay hallmarks, “quality” hallmarks, and that of tax payment hallmarks, “guarantee hallmarks”. The Gallic Rooster bearing a letter date and an assay number took the place of honor in the state guarantee hallmark; later various hallmarks obtained symbolic identification signs depicting a boar, a horse and birds. Still later Paris and provincial hallmarks started to reflect the revolutionary epoch depicting a profiled head wearing a Phrygian cap.
Gradually, the country was again swept over with an avalanche of guarantee and tax control hallmarks. Thus, everything came full circle once again. Already in the 18th century, as in good old days, there were discovered forgeries of tax and duty hallmarks, especially on articles submitted for secondary control – the so-called commission hallmarks.
After the restoration of monarchy in France, from 1819 the royal and antic symbols were returning into assay and control hallmarks. Even the hallmarks belonging to control agencies in various departments received new identification signs and numbers. And from 1813 the hallmark of the assay office turned to be more unitized. It depicted the head of Minerva on a figurate shield with a letter date and an assay number. There were inventory marks with a bulldog and a hound. In 1840, there was approved a new state guarantee hallmark bearing a profile of Hermes, which was to guarantee assays .950 and .800.
At present time, there is in force a package of decrees issued in 1984-1995.
Table 5. French hallmarking decrees
Decree No. Regulation subject
84-623 Regulation on guarantees of assaying silver ingots and gold, silver and platinum items
84-624 Hallmark arrangement and hallmarking method (including amendments as of 1986)
94-433 Hallmarking of imported items in accordance with Article 527 of the Import Code
95-212 Rules of hallmarking by manufacturers under state guarantees
95-342 Hallmarking of low-grade gold
95-612 Obligatory hallmarking of gold items
95-1137 Export procedure for precious metal items
Note: Refer to http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/RechercheSimpleJorf.jsp for copies of these documents.
The major feature of the French system is its two-channel pattern.
1. Gold items with assay numbers .750 and .915 are to be hallmarked under the state guarantees. Hallmarking is performed by the Guarantee Chamber at the Customs Directorate (Direction Nationale de la Garantie et des Services Industriels, 14, Rue Perrée - 75141 PARIS CEDEX 03 M. PERRET - Tél. 01.44.54.56.61) as well as by authorized manufacturers. The business procedure of the authorized manufacturers is rather complicated. In the first place, it is necessary to collect a whole case file of documents and to submit it to the Customs Directorate. In the second place, it is necessary to take up the obligation to do the detailed reporting. In the third place, it is necessary to inform the authorities about all the changes in the product range, company re-organizations, new assay masters, changes of company owners, production problems and failures and transfers to new locations one day before the scheduled event, keeping in mind that the administration has the right to suspend the fulfillment of its decision for 30 days. In the fourth place, manufacturers may use only those hallmarks, which were produced by the Mint Directorate. In the fifth place, the agreement may be suspended or cancelled at any time, and the manufacturer is immediately obliged to return the hallmarks and to sumbit a full report.
2. Gold items with assay numbers .375 and .585 are to be hallmarked by manufacturers in accordance with the “public guarantee” right. The following three organizations have the right to certify such assay centers: 1) Guarantee Service (le Service de la garantie); 2) Watchmaking Industry Technical Center (le Centre technique de l'industrie horlogère (CETEHOR); 3) Anonym Association of Laboratories (la Société anonyme Laboratoire Pourquery).
The payment for hallmarking in France corresponds to the all-European level and on average amounts to $0.45.
