Hallmarks - the guarantee of a good investment

Author: Magdalena Kořínková

Although a small mark on a piece of jewellery doesn't say much to most ordinary person, to a professional it is a practical feature without which a piece of jewellery would not really be a piece of jewellery. So let's take a look at these little symbols under the magnifying glass.

Hallmarks, the small symbols we find on precious metal jewellery, are intended to inform us of the purity and origin of the metal in question, and also that the jewellery has been inspected by a specialist authority. This marking has been used in Czech territory since the Middle Ages, when the value of the jewellery was the responsibility of the manufacturer, then the guild. Over time, it was taken over by the state, which set up hallmarking, so called Assay offices in individual designated towns.

The history of hallmarking

The mandatory hallmarking of precious metals has been in force in Czech territory since 1776. After the establishment of the Austrian Empire (1804) many changes took place, one of which was the obligation to re-mark all jewellery produced before 1806. This meant an increase in hallmarking fees, as this requirement applied to virtually all silver and gold products, both by manufacturers and traders, as well as privately owned items, including those imported from abroad. And when the Austrian Empire became Austria-Hungary (1867-1918), the hallmarks were already valid for that state under Law No 75/1866 of 1 August 1866. All precious metal objects weighing more than 2 grams had to be hallmarked. These marks were used in Bohemia (former Czechia) until 28 February 1921, in Austria until 1922 and in Hungary until 1936.

They were divided into several categories:

• Marks for large goods
  Marked by the head of the Greek god, Apollo with a star in his hair and the appropriate fineness
  
  
• Marks for smaller goods
  Marked with the head of a chamois or fox
  
  
• Marks for foreign goods
  Marked by AV written across. Later changed by decree to mark Z-29, effective from 1st January 1902

For all goods, the symbol of the relevant Assay Office was also stamped inside the mark.

Hallmarks of today

Today, hallmarks are often a "necessary evil" for goldsmiths, detracting from the beauty of their product. Practicality, however, takes priority over aesthetics. Beauty is not beauty, it is always good to be sure that a given piece of jewellery is really made of the material that the seller claims, which is guaranteed by the relevant responsible authority. The latter guarantees that it has carried out a hallmarking check, verified the fineness of the precious metal products and carried out a hallmarking inspection. It is therefore necessary to hallmark all precious metal jewellery manufactured in the Czech Republic.

But what if the jewellery is imported from abroad? It depends on which country the jewellery was imported from. The Czech Assay Office recognises jewellery from Slovakia, countries that have signed the Vienna Convention and those with which the Czech Republic has signed an Agreement on the Mutual Validity of Hallmarks. On such jewellery you will find the conventional hallmark or the mark of the given country and there is no need to mark it with the Czech hallmark.

You may be surprised to learn that not all jewellery has to have a hallmark. Such an exception is jewellery of really low weight - this means 0.5 g for gold and platinum, and 3 g for silver. Such jewellery does not have to be marked with the state hallmark, but it must be marked with the manufacturer's mark and the fineness mark.

What marks can you find on jewellery?

So what symbols can you find on a piece of jewellery? First of all, the state hallmark in combination with the manufacturer's marks: identification/responsibility and fineness markings. The most important are the state hallmarks. You can recognize which metal of which fineness your jewellery is made of by their shape. Nevertheless, the hallmarking office may find discrepancies. What will they do with such a piece of jewellery? They may even devalue it by cutting it in half, for example.

As the name suggests, fineness marks indicate the purity of the metal on which the mark is stamped. You will find the 585 mark on 14-carat gold, the 750 mark on 18-carat gold and the 999 mark on 24-carat gold. This number tells you the proportion of pure gold inside the alloy is, i.e. a given number/1000. For platinum you will find the number 950, for silver 925.

Every goldsmith or company is assigned its own unique identification mark by the Assay Office. This is usually the initials of the company. This designation is usually identical to the liability mark.

Furthermore, you can also find the mark of the city in which the jewellery was hallmarked by the Assay Office. What marks do different regional Assay Offices use? P - Prague, J - Jablonec nad Nisou, B - Brno, O - Ostrava, T - Turnov, R - Tabor, Z - Pilsen, L - Olomouc, H - Hradec Králové, K - Červený Kostelec.

If you would like to see hallmarks with your own eyes and perhaps learn more about them, we would be happy to welcome you in our store in Maiselova Street, where our experienced colleagues are ready to tell you everything about them that might be of interest to you.