Hallmarks and karats in gold jewellery
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Hallmarks are used to determine the karat, ie the gold content of a jewel. This article presents the main titrations and karat in jewellery.
What is a karat ?
There are two definitions for the term carat:
- Gemological, therefore for a diamond or other gemstone, it is an unit of weight equivalent to 0.2g. Thus, the more carats a gemstone has, the higher its size is and thus its value increases.
- In jewelry, it is used to measure the metal purity in the jewellery. Thus, 99.99% pure gold is 24 karats of gold. The consequence is that the karat is 1 / 24th of the total mass of an alloy. Thus 18k gold means that there is 75 % gold (18/24 * 100 = 75%). A 14 karat gold jewellery contains 58.5% gold.
What is a hallmark ?
Among the hallmarks, we distinguish two types :
- Hallmarks status or legal title, denoting the purity of a jewel. Some examples below :
- French hallmarks enable also to define the titration of a jewel. Below the mains french hallmarks :
|
Seahorse |
Pure gold 99,99% |
|
Eagle 1 |
Gold 22 karats 91,6 % |
|
Eagle |
Gold 18 karats 75 % |
|
Shell |
Gold 14 karats 58,5 % |
|
Clover |
Gold 9 karats 37,5 % |
|
Minerve |
Silver 92,5 % |
|
Minerve 2 |
Silver 80 % |
|
Dog |
Platinum 85 % |
|
Dog 1 |
Platinum 95 % |
|
Dog 2 |
Platinum 90 % |
|
Dog 3 |
Platinum 85 % |
-
Master Hallmarks, designating the manufacturer’s brand of jewelery, goldsmith or Master. It is often hit in a diamond.
The square punches generally means that the jewelry is gold plated or silver.One can find the marks « G », « GALV », « Murat », « GOLD-PLATED » which are often signs plated jewelery brand, or plating by electroplating. This is called galvanic gilding.
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