Precious Metal & Hallmarks

PRECIOUS METALS & HALLMARKS

 

All Gemondo jewellery is appropriately hallmarked by the Sheffield Assay Office, assuring not only the quality of your jewellery but compliance with UK and EU standards.

 

GEMONDO METAL ALLOYS

Precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum in their rawest forms are usually soft and for this reason they are mixed with harder metals, or ‘alloyed’ together to make them durable enough to be used in jewellery and other items and also for tints of colour.

GOLD CARAT

Gold carat is used to mark the purity or gold content in an alloyed metal. Purity levels are measured in units of fineness per 1000 parts from highest concentration to lowest. They are reported as follows:

 

CARAT CONTENT

22ct

999,990,916

18ct

750

14ct

585

10ct

417

9ct

375

 

For example, 9ct gold with 375 per 1000 parts is equivalent to 37.5% of the alloy being gold content. Gemondo yellow gold is alloyed with silver, zinc and a touch of copper with the amounts of each varying in 9ct, 14ct and 18ct. All Gemondo metal composition complies with UK and EU laws.

Gemondo uses 925 sterling silver as standard. 925 sterling silver is 92.5% sterling silver alloyed with 7.5% zinc and copper. Our yellow gold plated jewellery is 925 sterling silver coated with 9ct gold unless otherwise stated as a higher gold carat.

 

HALLMARKING

Hallmarks are small stamps made on items like jewellery pieces that contain precious metals. They identify and categorise the purity of the precious metal used in any given piece. Hallmarking is one of the earliest forms of consumer protection as it provided a way to regulate precious metal content in products that could have otherwise just been base metal disguised with thin plating.

Hallmarked products usually require a certain amount of a given metal to be stamped. Items containing less than one gram of gold, less than 7.78 grams of silver or 0.5 grams of platinum do not legally require a hallmark in the UK.

With all the choice available now to customers it is more important than ever to protect your purchase and ensure that it has been adequately tested and hallmarked. Gemondo jewellery is hallmarked at the Sheffield Assay Office.

 

LASERMARKING

Lasermarking is the act of hallmarking but with the use of lasers rather than traditional stamps. This method prevents unnecessary distortion of the metal structure in the jewellery. The majority of Gemondo items have incorporated this new hallmarking method with a look to phase in on all items in the near future.

Hallmark information