The latest hallmarking statistics from the Assay Offices of Great Britain show platinum jewellery continues to shine in the UK market.

The figures reveal platinum enjoyed another period of double digit growth between April and June this year.  Across the four UK Assay offices 86,000 pieces were hallmarked in the second quarter of the year, bringing the total for the first half of 2004 to 173,000 pieces.  This represents a 27.5 per cent increase over the second quarter in 2003 and a 20.9 per cent improvement against the first half of last year.

The figures by weight showed similar increases.  At 22,800 oz (709 kg), the second quarter was up 27.2 per cent against April to June last year, whilst at 44,400 oz (1,381 Kg) the first half of 2004 outperformed the same period last year by nearly 19 per cent.  In terms of location of manufacture, the Assay Offices report that pieces manufactured in the UK outnumbered those imported from overseas by just under five to one in the first half of the year.