Patti enjoys watching Hallmark movies, especially in the Christmas season. She has a connection with Jeff Beesley, the Canadian movie director, who directed 3 of the 42 Hallmark Christmas movies for 2023. I think she has watched most of the Hallmark 2023 Christmas movies over the past few weeks.
Hallmark Christmas movies exemplify the holiday spirit by including lessons in forgiveness, generosity, and acceptance. They carefully provide color-coordinated art direction, beautiful cinematography, and vibrant costumes. There are charismatic leads in cozy outfits, majestic landscapes, magical elements like Santa and his helpers, and quaint little towns. Millions of people snuggle up to both classic and new releases of Hallmark Christmas movies with their favorite snacks and beverages.
The Hallmark Channel uses the word hallmark because its movies all have a similar ‘feel good’ characteristic. The word ‘hallmark’ means a distinguishing trait or feature. A no-confidence vote is one of the hallmarks of the parliamentary system. The hallmarks of responsible business practices include transparency, veracity, and accountability. One of the hallmarks of justice is that people should be treated individually and not assumed to possess the negative characteristics of others in their group. This meaning of the word hallmark has been derived from a very specific event in history.
In the year 1300, King Edward I (Edward Longshanks) established a standard for gold and silver to ensure quality and prevent fraud in England. The precious metals had to be tested and approved by master craftsmen before being sold. Authorized gold and silver were stamped with the mark of a leopard’s head. Over the subsequent centuries, many London artisans brought their finished metal goods to Goldsmiths' Hall, where the Goldsmiths' Company had a charter to grant the unique mark of approval to commodities that met the royal standards of purity. In 1721 people began to use the word hallmark to label that mark of excellence from Goldsmiths' Hall.
In 1915 Joyce Clyde Hall, and his brother Rollie Hall, started Hall Brothers Company in Kansas City, Missouri to sell greeting cards. J.C. Hall was intrigued by the word hallmark, as used by goldsmiths as a mark of approved value. He liked that it not only implied quality, but also included his family name. So, in 1928, the company began marketing its brand by using the Hallmark name on the back of every card. In 1954 the company became Hallmark Cards Inc.
Over the years hallmark came to refer to any mark guaranteeing purity or genuineness. It indicated a mark or device placed or stamped on an article of trade to indicate origin and authenticity. Hallmarks were applied by a trusted party, the guardians of the craft. Now hallmarks for precious metals are applied by an assay office. Assay offices are institutions set up to test the purity of precious metals (assay). This is done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay, that is if the metallurgical content conforms to the prevailing law, the assay offices stamp a hallmark on the item to certify it. Frequently the hallmarks include a date mark.
A hallmark is not the mark of a manufacturer to distinguish their products from other manufacturers' products: that is the function of trademarks or makers' marks. To be a true hallmark, it must be the guarantee of an independent body or authority that the contents are as marked. Interestingly, in England, the new year of markings commences on May 19th, the feast day of St. Dunstan, the patron saint of gold- and silversmiths, not January 1st.
Traditionally, hallmarks are struck using steel punches. Punches are made in different sizes, suitable for tiny pieces of jewellery to large platters. The problem with traditional punching is that the process displaces metal, causing some distortion of the article being marked. This means that re-finishing of the article is required after hallmarking. A new method of marking using lasers is now available, making the re-finishing step unnecessary, and especially valuable for holloware items.
Eventually hallmark became associated with any distinguishing characteristic, even cable channels and Christmas movies.
I hope that 2024 may be known as a hallmark of forgiveness, generosity, and peace. We can only pray.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
