Soon after its creation The Company began to use a ‘balemark,’ which identified its products as they arrived in busy ports or were sold on the trading floor.

Initially a simple mark, this evolved by the 1700s into a heart shaped figure [denoting ‘good luck’] surmounted by a figure four (symbolising Agnus Dei – ‘Lamb of God’] and containing the initials of the company.

This symbol became known as “the chop” a word derived from the Hindi छाप ćhāp – which means stamp.

The chop was not only an easily identifiable mark of The East India Company ownership, used for example on tea crates, it also became a symbol of the quality of those wares.

The Merchant’s Mark is still used today on all our products, now as then, the distinctive mark of The Company and of quality.