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What is a precious metal?

  A precious metal is a rare metallic chemical element which is of high economic value.

List of  precious metals in their raw state are:

1. gold
2. silver
3. platinum and
4. palladium

When discussing precious metals, an alloy is a mixture of metals. So for example, red gold is an alloy of gold and copper, which gives the gold its red hue. A precious metal alloy is a solid solution containing at least one precious metal.

Marking and Hallmarking

Because precious metals are extremely expensive, it is very important for members of the public and all those involved in the jewellery supply chain to know how much precious metal is contained in any precious metal alloy used for making jewellery. It is impossible for anyone to know how much precious metal there is in a piece of jewellery simply by looking at it or touching it. The precious metal content must be declared in some meaningful way. All jewellery should therefore be marked or hallmarked with a stamp so that the consumer knows what they are buying.

Marking

All items of jewellery should be stamped with a ‘fineness mark’ declaring the content of precious metal in the alloy, and a registered ‘responsibility mark’ indicating the name of the trader who has first placed that piece of jewellery on the market. This mark is not an independent third party guarantee of the content of the precious metal.

Hallmarking

Some countries have independent third party Assay Offices who test precious metal jewellery and then strike a ‘Hallmark’ on the article to guarantee its’ fineness. A hallmark, is a mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals – platinum, gold, silver and, in some nations, palladium. Hallmarks are applied by an assay office and they guarantee a certain purity or fineness of the metal. As a pre-requisite to official hallmarking, the maker or sponsor of a piece of jewellery must usually mark a responsibility mark and lodge a claim of fineness. The hallmarking by an assay office is to confirm this claim. “Assaying” is the term used to describe the testing and measurement of the precious metal content in an item such as jewellery. Hallmarking systems differ from country to country. The Vienna Convention of 1973 was an attempt to standardise the legislation on the inspection of precious metals and to facilitate international trade. It is a good example to illustrate how an independent third party hallmarking system works. Articles which are assayed and found to be in conformity by the qualifying office of a signatory country receive a hallmark, known as the Common Control Mark.