Connecting the trust of the hallmark to the digital world.
For over five and a half centuries, hallmarking at Edinburgh Assay Office has provided independent assurance of precious metal purity and provenance.
Today, consumers, regulators and markets expect this trust to extend into the digital world. SmartMark, a new service launched by Edinburgh Assay Office, evolves traditional hallmarking for the modern market. This enables a transparent and traceable digital economy by securely connecting physical hallmarks to relevant, verifiable product information.
What is SmartMark?
SmartMark is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)-ready enhancement to traditional hallmarking. It enables a trusted link between the physical jewellery product in customers’ hands and the digital records and supply chain information that exists about the product. SmartMark is designed to support traceability and transparency without replacing existing systems.
An Enhancement to Digital Product Passports
At the core of SmartMark is its integration with the Digital Product Passport (DPP). Hallmarking becomes an immutable recorded event, enhancing existing information contained within a product’s DPP. This blockchain-based, independently verified “digital twin” of each product records key details throughout its journey. Alongside traditional hallmarks, a unique identifier is applied to the item and simultaneously uploaded to its blockchain record. At the point of purchase, consumers receive a QR code granting access to their product’s Digital Product Passport, which is securely transferred to them at sale.
SmartMark supports:
- Asset-level traceability across the product lifestyle
- Independently verified product information
- Inter-operability across platforms, partners and juridisctions
- Digital Product Passport readiness
- Consumer access to relevant information via QR or digital lookup
The hallmark is no longer just seen—it can be scanned, searched and trusted, anywhere in the world.
A Proof-of-Concept Pilot
The integration of SmartMark in a live DPP proof-of concept pilot demonstrates how SmartMark operates in a live jewellery supply chain. The pilot was delivered by Edinburgh Assay Office, in partnership with Everledger and Purejewels by Bhanji Gokaldas, using Purejewels’ Lotus Collection, a line of 22ct gold jewellery. As part of this pilot, jewellery was independently tested and hallmarked by the Edinburgh Assay Office. A SmartMark identifier was linked to existing product references for the Lotus Collection. Product data about each piece was recorded within Everledger’s blockchain-powered DPP, with the unique SmartMark data incorporated into each one.
For more information or to enquire about SmartMark for your business, please contact enquiries@edinburghassayoffice.co.uk.
