The Scotia Silver Workshop
Nic Odling lives and works in the small village of Port Seton, East Lothian that lies about 15km to the east of Scotland’s Capital city, Edinburgh. He moved there with his family in 1990 and established a silversmithing and jewellery workshop. Having a long-standing interest in heraldry, the products on this site are a combination of two of his many interests.
He writes: “about two years ago I wanted to buy some clan crested jewellery as presents for family members (my mother’s maiden name was Jamieson the crest of which consists of s ship in full sail with the motto ‘Ad littora tendit’). I was very disappointed with the quality of what was available and set out to see if I could develop a method to produce high quality clan crest in silver. After numerous experiments and ‘false leads’ I have a unique technique that produces the very high quality crests that you can see on this site.
All the designs are heraldically accurate and produced ‘in-house’ and so are solely a Scotia silver product’’
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Our Hand Crafted Silverware
Our crest designs are embossed in high relief on heavy gauge sterling silver giving you an authentic and elegant version of your clan or family crest. Each piece bears the Edinburgh assay office hall mark, guaranteeing for you the quality of the silver used in manufacture. Each of our pieces of crested jewellery comes complete with its own presentation box making each piece an ideal gift for a birthday, anniversary or christening gift, or simply for you to wear as a mark of your clan aliegance. |
Hall marking and Assaying
All the pieces illustrated here are made of Sterling Silver. In the United Kingdom, any article offered for sale as being made of sterling silver, gold or platinum must be independently tested by an Assay Office and, provided it passes the quality tests, marked with a series of marks collectively known as a hallmark. Thus, the hallmark is a guarantee of the quality of the metals used in the construction of a precious metal piece.
The practice of hallmarking began in 1300 when Edward I passed a statute requiring that all precious metal articles be tested and marked with ‘the King's mark'- a leopard's head. The testing or assaying was done at the Goldsmiths Hall and the mark became known as the Hallmark and is perhaps one of the earliest forms of consumer protection.
Today the Hallmark consists of five marks that identify the maker, the quality of the precious metal used, the assay office responsible for testing the articles and a date stamp. In the past makers were identified by simple designs (e.g. a fleur de lit) but today the makers mark normally consists of the maker's initials arranged within a distinctive shape or ground. The Scotia Silver mark is that of designer/silversmith Nic Odling, the originator of Scotia Silver and consists of his initials, N.W.A.O, arranged within a ‘darted square' and is registered with the Edinburgh Assay Office. To the right of the makers mark is the Standard mark . For articles made of sterling silver, an alloy of at least 92.5% silver, this mark consists of a lion, en passant , a device taken from ancient heraldry. Recently, EU legislation has stipulated that sterling silver articles should be marked with the number 925 and this mark is usually included next to the lion passant. To the right of the standard mark is the Assay Office stamp . As I am registered with the Edinburgh Assay office all of my pieces bear the Edinburgh mark of a three-turreted castle derived from the Edinburgh City coat of arms. Finally, there is the date stamp that now consists of a letter enclosed in a shield. This letter is advanced each year makes it possible to determine the year in which the article was made. |
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