Irish Gold Hallmarks
The gold hallmark is used to denote the purity of the gold content of an item. Pure gold is to soft to withstand daily wear and so for the manufacture of jewellery gold is alloyed with silver, copper, zinc and palladium to give it strength.
Gold readily creates alloys with other metals.
The gold hallmark means that the item has been independantly tested and conforms to a legal standard of purity.
A hallmark has three compulsory marks consisting of the;
Makers mark
The Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin have their own assay office mark.
The carat value or the millesimal finess mark.
A Hallmark may also show the Common Control Mark applied by countries which are signatories to the International Convention on Hallmarking.
The test of purity can only be carried out by an assay office. In Ireand it is the Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin in Dublin Castle.
It is illegal to describe a precious metal item as gold if it does not display an assay office hallmark.
Scrap Gold Buyers will show the Irish hallmarks and convention hallmarks, but much foreign gold does not comply to hallmarking conventions.
If you have any doubt about the carat value or gold hallmark of your gold please send it to us and one of our trained consultants will test your gold for you.
9 carat gold hallmark
10 carat gold hallmark
14 carat gold hallmark
18 carat gold hallmark
20 carat gold hallmark
22 carat gold hallmark
24 carat gold hallmark
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