Is gold jewelry hallmarked?

Precious metal and other jewelry sold commercially often displays stamped marks such as 10k,14K, 585, 18k, 750, 22k. They are placed there in accordance with United States laws and statutes as a guarantee of the purity or fineness of precious metals such as gold, platinum and silver. Their use and regulation are overseen by the FTC (Federal Trade

Commission), protecting both businesses and consumers from fraud. At silver and gold cash buyer, we can help you understand the hallmarks and value.

How Do I Know If My Item Is Gold, Silver or Platinum?

It can be difficult to know if your items contain gold, silver or platinum. But, don’t worry, there are a couple of things you can do to determine your item’s metal type.

Don’t be discouraged if you cannot find a specific marking or the test you are performing does not work. You are not a trained professional jeweler ! Remember, we will happily do all these tests for you at our facility at 711 S broadway in Edmond OK, for free! All you need to do is come in with your belongings and we will do the rest. 

If you want to examine your items from home, here are some simple tests you can perform:

Use a magnet to test

In addition to looking for hallmarks, another way you can test your item is with the magnet test. A refrigerator magnet may not be strong enough so we recommend a stronger magnet that you can find at your local hardware store.

Hold the magnet to your items

Gold is not magnetic so if the magnet attracts the jewelry, your item does not contain solid gold, silver or platinum. However, if the clasp on a chain is magnetic but the chain is not, it may be real. Regardless, it should still be tested by our expert to be certain since non-magnetic metals are used in counterfeit and costume jewelry as well.

Inspect the Hallmark

Hallmarks are also called assay or standard marking. Hallmarks are distinguishing characteristics that are stamped on gold, silver and platinum items – typically to identify the items purity. There are also hallmarks that can identify where the item was made (called a makers mark), the office the metal was tested in, the year, and the designer. You can find these hallmarks in a variety of places. Common locations are in the inside of a ring or a tag by the clasp of a necklace. If you are selling coins, the stamp is usually on the front face. Frequently, you will need a magnifying glass to clearly see the hallmark.

Purity Markings

The most common hallmark is meant to tell you an item’s precious metal purity. The first thing you want to look for is the shape of the stamp. A rectangular shape with the corners shaved off will tell you immediately that the item is gold. An oval stamp would indicate the item is silver. A ‘house’ shaped mark is used for platinum items.

The number inside the shape is called the millesimal stamp number – this will tell you the actual precious metal content or the purity of the precious metal. Please note – different countries may have different hallmarking standards so the marking you see on your items may differ. Below are some common purity hallmarks:

These markings correspond to different purities in gold, silver and platinum:

Makers Mark

A Makers Mark is the designer, manufacturing firm or representative symbol that is stamped into your precious metal – also called trademarks. This mark provides proof that your jewelry item was made by the designer or jewelry maker and is considered “signed”. All marks need to be registered by an Assay Office.

Assay Office Mark

The Assay Office Mark tells you where your item was tested for its purity. Although manufacturing of precious metals has existed for hundreds of years, it only started in the U.S. around 1840. So many older items in the U.S. will be stamped with European marks – so its important to be aware of them. Even in the U.S., it wasn’t until 1906, that the regulations around hallmarking went into effect.

Some common Assay Office Marks are:

Date Letter

This stamp will tell you the year the purity of the item was tested – not the year the item was manufactured. Be careful – it can be tricky. You will hardly ever find this on a delicate piece of jewelry because there is simply not enough room.

If you do find a date on your piece, it will not look like your typical date. The date will be in the form of a letter. In 1478, London introduced a practice of dating all gold and silver artifacts and had it managed by a governmental controlled body. To prevent fraud every year was assigned a letter in the alphabet. Every 25 years they would then make modifications to the font or design around the letter to prevent confusion.

Other Marks

Aside from gold, silver and platinum there are a lot of other hallmarks you will see stamped in your jewelry that is meant to tell you about the item’s contents and purity.

Ultimately, rest easy knowing that if you’re not sure you can always bring your items to us   and we’ll test them for you

Do you buy broken gold or silver jewelry?

As long as it contains gold, silver or platinum, we will purchase it. The material’s value is based on its weight and purity – not its condition.

What Do You Pay for Gold, Silver, and Platinum?

Silver and gold cash buyer of Edmond Oklahoma utilizes a number of different factors to determine how much we pay for gold, silver and platinum. The factors include:

• Current Market Prices
• Weight
• Purity
• Item Specific Characteristics

Of these factors, the most important is the current market price of gold. Silver & gold cash buyer uses elemetal.com prices of gold, silver and platinum to calculate the cash value of the precious metals we receive. We constantly watch the precious metal markets and update our prices every day to ensure our offers are the most accurate in the industry.Weight and purity are the next most significant factors. The more precious metal contained in your jewelry, the more cash value it has. In fact, the more precious metal you bring in, the more we can pay you for it. It’s called efficiency and it helps Silver & gold cash buyer make the highest, most accurate offers in the industry.

However, be careful, just because a necklace is heavy does not mean it contains a lot of gold.

Take gold for example. In most of the world, the purity of gold is expressed as carats (“ct” or “K”). An item’s made of 100% pure gold is called 24 carat gold. However, gold is a very soft metal and is frequently mixed with alloy elements, like copper, zinc and silver, to make it easier to work with and change its color. When this is done, it reduces the purity of the gold below 24 carats. However, it also makes the items less pure.The most common gold purities are.

• 24 carat: 99+% Pure Gold
• 22 carat: 91.6% Pure Gold
• 18 carat: 75.0% Pure Gold
• 14 carat: 58.5% Pure Gold
• 10 carat: 41.7% Pure Gold

The most common silver purities is.

Sterling: 92.5% Pure Silver

The most common platinum purities are.

• 950: 95.0% Pure Platinum
• 900: 90.0% Pure Platinum
• 750: 75.0% Pure Platinum.

(Note: Platinum is commonly mixed with copper, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and titanium.)

Most jewelry is “marked” with its purity with a stamp or a laser engraving. Since purity is such a big component to cash value, this mark is legally required by the government to ensure that buyers are aware of the purity they are purchasing. Unfortunately, these marks can wear off or be fake. So, that heavy necklace may contain less than 50% pure gold!

This is why accurate testing performed by trained professionals is so important. Take advantage of our expertise and our state of the art equipment – remember,  Silver & gold cash buyer always give you free, no commitment appraisals.

Do you buy dental scrap? Because it has no hallmarks..

Silver & gold cash buyer buys all Gold Crowns, Bridges, PFM’s, PFG’s, Inlays, and Caps with or without the bone or porcelain. We are one of the places with an x-Ray analyzer and can accurately assess the value of your dental scrap instantly and pay you top dollar.

Do you buy silver, silver coins, silver flatware?

Yes. We buy Sterling Silver Jewelry, Flatware & Serving Pieces. Keep in mind silver color doesn’t necessarily mean Sterling silver. Per federal stamping act of 1906, requires that articles made of gold or silver marked for quality must also be trademarked or stamped with the full name of the maker. Most sterling silver flatware and jewelry will have a ” Sterling” or “925” hallmark on them. If you are unsure, bring your items in and we will gladly evaluate your belongings for free.

Do I need to make an appointment to bring in my valuables?

No. Walk ins are most welcome. Most of silver & gold cash buyer of edmond’s customers are walk-in visits. Just stop by our location at 711 S broadway anytime between 10 and 6 Monday through Friday, or between 9 and 4 on Saturday

will i get the same price for gold as i saw on the news?

The price of gold on the news is based on pure .999 gold at the stock market for 1000 ounce contracts. If you have 24k (pure) gold, you will get close to that amount as per the weight of the item. If your gold is a lower karat, it will have a lower value compared to that price per ounce.

Also, the price of gold varies on a daily and hourly basis. The simplest way to tell you what your gold is worth is to come in with what you have and we can give you an estimate free of charge.