GoldPaq

If you’ve ever found a piece of jewelry that appeared to be gold, but wondered whether or not it was genuine, a hallmark could have helped you. Or, if you’ve ever noticed the tiny numbers, letters, and even designs stamped on gold jewelry, then you have seen gold hallmarks, whether or not you recognized them. Gold hallmarking helps consumers to know details about their gold jewelry that can not only tell what the gold content in the jewelry is, but can also give other clues as to the provenance of the jewelry itself.

Many people with gold questions are confused about this. Hallmark is simply the catch-all term for the markings on jewelry that identify its gold ? or silver, if the piece is silver ? content and manufacturing information. However, the term hallmark actually refers to the gold content marking on the jewelry piece; the other markings are just that ? markings.

The hallmark that identifies the gold content in a piece of jewelry is often the most important mark placed on the piece. This mark will often determine not only the worth of the piece, but the rarity of the piece. That is important if you when you sell your gold jewelry

The following table explains the hallmarks that detail the amount of gold in a jewelry piece. As you can see, these hallmarks will change from country to country, and sometimes within the same country. However, all these hallmarks are generally acceptable around the world.

Gold Percentage	North America	Europe	Britain
37.5%	9k or 9kt	375	9ct or 9kt
41.6%	10k or 10kt	416 or 417	10ct or 10kt
58.5%	14k or 14 kt	585	14ct or 14kt
75 %	18k or 18kt	750	18ct or 18kt
91.6	22k or 22kt	916 or 917	22ct or 22kt
99.9%	24k or 24kt	999	24ct or 24kt

Not included in this table are markings for gold-filled and gold plated jewelry. By general definition, the minimum layer of karat gold in an item marked GF must equal at least 1/20th the weight of the total item. 10, 12, and 14 karat gold are the gold weights typically used for gold-filled jewelry, while gold plated jewelry often uses 18 or 14 karat gold. Gold-filled and gold plated jewelry can often be identified by the following marks:

• 10ktGF
• 12ktGF
• 14ktGF
• 18kt HGE
• 24kt HGE
• 18kt HGP
• 24kt HGP

The “GF” in these hallmarks refers to “gold filled,” while the “HGE” and “HGP” refer to “heavy gold electroplate” and “heavy gold plate” respectively. For more information read our previous post about gold weights and markings

Obviously, knowing these karatage hallmarks can help you from purchasing a jewelry piece that is not genuine gold or is a lower karat weight than you desire. However, keep in mind that a hallmark is not always a determinate of true gold content in a piece, and here’s why:

Many countries throughout the world, particularly in Europe, require all jewelry to be independently assayed by a government assaying office to determine the amount of gold in a manufacturers gold jewelry. This assaying, or determining of the fineness of gold in a jewelry piece, is a form of consumer protection that prevents unscrupulous jewelers from selling gold filled or plated items as genuine gold, or from assigning a higher karat designation to a lower karat grade gold.

However, the United States, for one, does not require independent gold assaying of the gold products it manufacturers, and furthermore, gold jewelry and other items produced in foreign countries for sale exclusively in countries where assaying is not required is also often exempt from assaying.

The other marks on a piece of gold jewelry can often tell a great deal about the origin of the item. In the United Kingdom, there are hallmarks that indicate the region in the country where the gold item was manufactured. For the Swiss, this regional hallmark is a St. Bernard. In most countries, however, a different hallmark is used by each manufacturer. Called a “responsibility mark,” this mark allows the consumer, armed with a guide to hallmarks, to determine not only who manufactured the jewelry piece, but also a general idea of when the item was produced. For instance, in Europe in 1999-2000, a “millennium” mark was placed upon jewelry and other precious metal items manufactured during the millennial time period.

Gold hallmarks not only protect the consumer, but allow those who are interested to decipher many details about the jewelry piece from these marks. Not only can the consumer determine with some certainty the fineness of the gold the piece is made of, but he or she can also determine the country and even region of manufacture, the piece’s manufacturer, and the time in which the item was produced.

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