Assay
JEWELRY MADE OUT OF NOBLE METALS WHICH ARE PLATINUM, GOLD AND SILVER, IS IN FACT MADE OUT OF ALLOYS OF THESE METALS WITH OTHER METALS.
Ready-made goods are marked with the appropriate number which tells us about the ratio of pure metals added to them.
If you come across a gold ring hallmarked 500, it means that the alloy this ring has been made out of will contain 50% of pure gold.
Gold products may have the following hallmarks:
1. 960, 2. 750, 3. 585, 4. 500, 5. 375, 6. 333
The lower the hallmark is, the lower the price of the products is.
The most popular hallmark in Poland is 585 which means it has the optimal amount of pure gold. That results in very good mixture of use proprieties in the form of beautiful sheen and resistance to scratches. The higher the hallmark is, the softer the metal is making it prone to scratches.
It happens that a hallmark of gold is expressed in carats. One carat equals 1/24 of pure gold so one can assume that
24-carat gold equals hallmark 1000
22-carat - 916
18-carat - 750
14-carat - 585
12-carat - 500
10-carat - 417
8-carat - 333
Platinum occurs in hallmark 950 and silver in hallmarks 925, 875, 830 i 800.
In the ready-made goods the most often used silver is that of hallmark 925. Sensitive people should be extremely careful when buying silver jewelry of a lower hallmark as it may trigger allergic reaction.
