When purchasing gold items, the first thing to consider is the sample. Gold is a metal that has value at all times.
Countries around the world are interested in hallmarking gold jewelry. And according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, all gold products intended for sale must be marked. But gold without hallmark can still be found. Gold jewelry comes into our lives not only through retail chains. We can receive them as a gift, by inheritance, or purchase them from private jewelers.
Why is there no mark?
Gold without significant additives and without a hallmark remains a precious metal. The hallmark shows the amount of precious metal in the product.
Under Peter I, the level of gold in coins was 98%. After Peter the Great, intensive state support for jewelers in their activities began in the Russian Empire.
For variety (gold changes color in combination with different metals) and to make soft gold more hard, cheaper soft metals began to be mixed into it. There are several valid and not entirely worthy reasons why the ring will not contain a sample.
- The product may turn out to be antique, made in a time when labeling was not strictly followed.
- Prints on old products are erased due to the softness of the metal.
- A product made of yellow precious metal will be without hallmark after alteration or restoration.
- Stamps are not applied to handicraft production of small series.
- Unique handmade items that are not widely traded may also be unmarked.
- Private jewelry collections.
- Products brought from abroad, especially from resorts. Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece are countries where trade in unmarked gold products is not prohibited.
- Possibility of counterfeit.
When is gold without hallmark real?
Why might real gold not have hallmarks? The thing is that many master jewelers who sell handmade jewelry do not stamp their products with hallmarks, since they do not have a standard stamp for applying hallmarks. It is quite difficult to verify the authenticity of a piece of jewelry made by a master jeweler, so if a person takes the risk of buying a designer piece, then he should only take the manufacturer’s word for it.
What’s interesting is that the product can be taken to any pawnshop without testing. The thing is that when accepting any gold product as collateral, an expert appraiser in any case checks its authenticity, and this also applies to products with a hallmark. A specialist will not only confirm (refute) the authenticity of the metal, but will also accurately determine its sample.
Buying gold without purity is a risky step, since in this case no one can guarantee the authenticity of the jewelry to the buyer. To avoid purchasing fake gold jewelry, purchase it from a reputable jewelry store, but only if it is not located in Turkey, Thailand, China and Egypt. The thing is that in these countries fake gold is often sold, including that which has no purity.
Ways to check the authenticity of despicable metal
Having received an amazingly beautiful piece of jewelry as a gift, even having an idea of the considerable cost of acquisition and not finding a sample on it, suspicion involuntarily creeps in, which can be dispelled at home. There are different techniques for testing gold.
- magnet. Gold is weakly attracted to a magnet. If a gold ring sticks to a magnet without hallmark, it means there is not enough precious metal in the ring;
- Iodine and vinegar do not affect gold jewelry. By carrying out a simple test, dipping a ring in vinegar, you can easily identify a fake. This metal does not darken or change color in such solutions;
- bread. Place the product in fresh black bread and leave for several days. Break the already stale bread and look at the metal. There should be no traces of mold or oxidation on the gold;
- lapis pencil. Run it over the wet item. After the metal being tested has dried, no traces should appear;
- smell. Gold does not smell, unlike any other metal.
But even knowing how to check this precious metal at home, it is easier and more reliable to contact a jeweler. He knows exactly how to identify gold. This is done quickly and with a guarantee.
If there is no hallmark on the ring, this does not mean that there is no gold there.
The determination of the sample and the passage of hallmarking are carried out at the Russian State Assay Office. Reception of individuals is also provided there.
Best 2 ways
In all the variety of methods for determining the quality of gold, the two options below are considered to be the best.
Vinegar and iodine
Testing with vinegar is one of the most common and fastest methods. To do this, the product must be immersed in a container with vinegar for a short time (5 minutes). If the jewelry darkens as a result, this is a sign of a fake.
Iodine is considered to be the best marker.
When a drop of iodine is applied to real gold, a chemical reaction occurs between them and a stain is formed. Apart from gold, no metal reacts with iodine. Sometimes to check it is necessary to thoroughly wipe the surface of a product made of such metal.
The stain formed as a result of such a test can be removed with a solution of sodium hyposulfite (sold in pharmacies) or with the help of Schwepps and Coca-Cola drinks. To do this, the product must be immersed in a container with one of these drinks for 30 minutes.
Important! It is not recommended to check jewelry of 585 standard and lower with iodine. After this, they will have to be polished or stains removed using ammonia.
lapis pencil
This is an antiseptic drug based on silver nitrate, the main function of which is to stop bleeding. This drug does not react directly with gold . Instead, it activates a reaction with other metals.
To check the authenticity using such a pencil, you need to make a notch in an inconspicuous place and draw a strip with a lapis pencil previously soaked in water. No traces remain on real gold after such manipulations. If after erasing the strip the mark is noticeable, we can conclude that it is a fake.
Advice! To obtain the most reliable result when checking the authenticity of a product in this way, you need to spend at least 5 minutes on the process. Different metals react at different times.
About samples for gold products
Gold is undeniably loved for its sheer beauty, exceptional ability to defy chemical reactions with other substances in nature, and its high level of density. Pure gold can only dissolve in human-made acids. Therefore, gold rings are preferable; they do not have to be removed when working around the house.
At the same time, pure natural gold does not have acceptable properties for the production of products. This is a very soft metal that is difficult to shape into desired shapes. To achieve the desired quality, gold alloys are used. They are called hallmarks of gold. These samples are used in industry, dental practice, banking and, of course, in jewelry practice.
To understand the quality of the precious metal content in a piece of jewelry, a sample table appeared. There is no specific method in the world, therefore, knowing the country of origin of the product, you can determine the content of precious metals in the products by the mark.
Gold sample correspondence table.
| Metric | 375 | 500 | 583 | 585 | 750 | 958 | 999 |
| Carats | 9 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 24 |
| Pure gold alloy (%) | 37,5 | 50 | 58,3 | 58,5 | 75 | 95,8 | 99,9 |
Determination of gold purity in a pawnshop
In order to sell precious metal without assay at a favorable price, you must trust only experts to determine the percentage of gold in the alloy. Work to verify the authenticity of gold is carried out only if the person handing over the jewelry has agreed to determine the sample.
The specialist carefully examines and checks the product and only then sets the price. In order to recognize the sample, a small cut is made with a needle file in the most inconspicuous area of the decoration and acid reagents are applied.
Sales of unbranded jewelry
Since ancient times, people have collected gold objects for sale and exchange. This is a strategic reserve not only of the state as a whole, but also of each cell of society individually. Gold is the most traded commodity of all times.
If you need to sell gold items without identification marks, it is better to contact a pawnshop. They will determine how much the product costs. Pawnshops willingly accept gold without hallmarks. In general, pawnshops are created to lend money, but on security. In this case, the collateral is products made of precious metals.
You must understand that you cannot get the true value at a pawnshop. Especially pawn shop receivers evaluate whether the client can return for the collateral. This is the specificity of this enterprise. In the event that the client does not return (he has 1 month to do this), the employees must realize the deposit. But before selling, the pawnshop is obliged to present all precious goods without samples to the State Assay Office for testing and hallmarking.
How will the lack of hallmark affect the price of jewelry?
In some pawnshops, workers underestimate the price of gold items, explaining that there are many impurities in it. After all, they understand that the owners themselves will not be able to determine the gold content in the alloy.
It is recommended to show the jewelry to several experts at different pawn shops. And you definitely need to find a pawnshop where they accept gold on fair terms, so as not to encounter fraud.
So, now you know that you can take jewelry even without a stamp to a pawnshop. You just need to take it to a pawnshop where you won’t be deceived in the cost of the jewelry.
To do this, you can contact the Charoit pawnshop, which has fair prices. Experts working there will determine the gold content in the alloy in your presence and, depending on the price per gram of metal, will calculate the price of the product.
Fakes
Jewelry made of gold without purity, as a rule, causes mistrust. But fake jewelry with samples and certificates creates greater disappointment. In fact, the sample is not a guarantee of the desired alloy in the product. According to Russian law, all imported precious jewelry must be presented to the Assay Office.
And Russian businessmen often hand over for testing not the entire product, but a part, and, as a rule, a small one. Locks for chains and earrings. This applies to imported goods. There are a lot of unscrupulous businessmen abroad.
Israel, China, and Italy are especially dangerous in this regard. This is explained by the shadow gold business. When purchasing products abroad, keep in mind that only a portion of the goods arrives at the Assay Office. It’s good if you come across a fake, but if not, then certificates will be issued for the entire batch. These are fakes purchased in our country.
But an even greater risk is buying them at popular resorts in Israel, Turkey, and Spain. How to check gold at the resort? No way! And there, in huge, reputable-looking stores, you often find simply forgery. An alloy of copper and zinc, passed off as a precious metal, is freely available for sale with all samples, stamps, and certificates. In Russia, some jewelers do not even undertake to repair chains and earrings from Turkey, because it is impossible to do it efficiently due to the high fragility of the alloy.
ADVICE: If a thing is pleasing to the eye, pleasant to the body, tested for its composition, and, moreover, received from dear or respected hands, you only need to do one thing - use it.
Well, if it doesn’t please the eye, it scratches on the body, even though it has been tested for its composition and it doesn’t matter how it was purchased, put it in a long box for a rainy day. It's never too late to sell gold.
