Handmade from recycled gold

Hallmarking

In the jewelry sector, hallmarking means a mark engraved into a precious metal. The tool used is a hallmarking iron, a stamp that is applied with the help of a hammer.

Diamant Ohrstecker Punzierung diamond stud earrings with 3 prongs

Hallmarking – then and now

In ancient Greece and during the Middle Ages, hallmarking was used for coins – these were marked with the seal of the ruling king either on the top or bottom.

Nowadays, hallmarking is only used on the edges of coins. However, it is mainly used in goldsmithing. Jewellery made of precious metals as well as gold bars , platinum bars , silver bars and palladium bars are hallmarked as a fineness stamp.

Legal regulations on hallmarking

Most countries have legal regulations for hallmarking precious metals, although these vary from country to country. The most common hallmark is one that indicates the fineness of the precious metal in thousandths. Precious metal bars usually also have a producer's hallmark to ensure that the bar was manufactured by someone.

In some countries, an official hallmark is standard, which provides information about which autonomous control body checks the authenticity of the information. In exceptional cases, such as in Great Britain and the Netherlands, it is also common practice to add a hallmark with the year of production. In Sweden, unlike in Germany, a precious metal may only be hallmarked if it has a fineness of at least 75%.

Hallmarking – the German standards

In Germany, it is common practice to mark all pieces of jewelry made of gold, silver or platinum with a hallmark that provides information about the purity of the precious metal. However, this is not mandatory; the law simply states that a hallmark must indicate the fineness of "whole thousandths" (§2 para. 1, §3, §5 para. 1 FeinGehG), but does not state that it is mandatory to affix a stamp at all. The hallmarks commonly used in Germany are 333, 585 and 750 for gold; 835 and 925 for silver and 950 for platinum.

Gold & Platinschmuck

Precious Metals in the Lexicon

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