When it comes to jewelry, you often might wonder, how much gold is in this? For most people, you might have a general understanding of gold contents and different karat weights. But if you don’t know or would like to understand on a deeper level, gold content. Then you must learn about the Gold Hallmarks.
Hallmarks History
In Europe, the first official hallmarks were established in the 14th century by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London, England, at Goldsmiths Hall. This is where the term Hallmark comes from, with this hall and its original markings. In Current times every piece of gold over 1 gram in weight in the U.K must be stamped by one of the assay offices in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, or Edinburgh.
The U.S. has similar rules when it comes to labeling gold content in Jewelry, but it is labeled in a different way. The U.S. also does not require all Jewelry to be stamped with an identifier; it can also be expressed verbally or close to the piece of jewelry. And if the Jewelry is stamped with an identifier, it must also have a trademark stamp to identify its origin.
How to Identify Gold Content
In Europe, the hallmarks are written as one number that represents a percentage of gold content. So, Gold that is very high quality and is 75% gold would be labeled 750. In U.S Terms, this is called 18 Karat gold. Refer to the table above for all markings you might find stamped on gold.