There are 2 samples on the ring. Samples and hallmarks on items made of precious metals
In this material:
Gold is a metal that lends itself well to all kinds of mechanical damage, corrosion. To preserve the original appearance of the precious metal, other impurities are constantly added to it, in the overwhelming number of cases - metals that are more resistant to damage.
Master alloys are metals used to make gold more durable. Most often, silver or copper is used as a ligature. Pure gold (without containing any impurities) is highly susceptible to deformation, very much like simple plasticine.
Worldwide gold samples
Gold samples are special signs imposed by regulatory authorities around the world to guarantee the presence of gold in a piece of jewelry or other product.
In strict accordance with the current legislative framework, regulatory government bodies conduct strict supervision not only of jewelry stores, but also of all other institutions that are to some extent related to the sale of the precious metal. Therefore, before asking the pawnshop the price of one gram of gold, you should make sure that the institution has all the necessary licenses and certificates.
To date, four operating sampling systems have survived, but the most popular are: metric, carat, spool and lot samples.
Spool Sample System
Until 1927 in Russia, and after that in the USSR, a spool system was used to designate a precious metal sample. The key difference between this test and the carat system was the designation of a pure noble metal through the number 96. All other gold items containing an admixture of other metals were designated by other, lower numbers.
| Try | Spool system | British gold carats | Pure gold content (%) |
| 333 | 32 | 8K | 33.33 |
| 375 | 36 | 9K | 37.50 |
| 417 | 40 | 10K | 41.67 |
| 500 | 48 | 12K | 50.00 |
| 585 | 56 | 14K | 58.33 |
| 625 | 60 | 15K | 62.50 |
| 750 | 72 | 18K | 75.00 |
| 792 | 76 | 19K | 79.17 |
| 800 | 76.8 | 19.2K | 80.00 |
| 833 | 81 | 20K | 83.33 |
| 875 | 84 | 21K | 87.50 |
| 917 | 88 | 22K | 91.67 |
| 958 | 92 | 23K | 95.80 |
| 990 (or higher) | 96 | 24K | 99 (or higher) |
Karat sampling system
Based on the British carat system, one carat (K) is equivalent to the twenty-fourth part of the alloy. A similar sampling system is common in Switzerland, the United States of America, Canada and Western European countries. In Ireland, two sampling systems are used equally: carat and metric. The twenty-four carat (24K) noble metal is considered the purest. It is completely free of any other impurities. This is followed by 14-carat gold, which contains fourteen parts of the precious metal and ten parts of other metals.
Lot system of gold samples
A similar system existed in Germany until 1888 (before the use of the metric system). This type of gold sample is based on the mark circulating in the Middle Ages among the Celtic, Scandinavian and Germanic population of Britain. One stamp contained sixteen lots.
To convert a lot sample into a multiple, the values of the lot system must be divided by two, and then multiplied by three. In the case of conversion to the metric system, the value of the lot sample must be divided by sixteen and then multiplied by 1000.
Metric gold samples
In Russia, it is now customary to use the metric system of samples. This system is characterized by ease of use. In other words, the metric system shows how many grams of the noble metal are in one kilogram of the entire alloy. For example, if there are 415 grams of ligature and 585 grams of pure precious metal per kilogram of alloy, then according to the metric system, this jewelry will have 585 standard.
Russian jewelers use the following samples in the overwhelming majority of cases:
Previously, 583 samples of the precious metal were widely distributed, which, according to the metric system, corresponded to 14K. Then a proposal was made to slightly change the gold standard (due to the difference in the price of gold) from 583 to 585 fineness, so that Russian gold jewelry would not be inferior in value (per gram) to Western samples.
What sample should I buy?
Everyone in his life has visited a jewelry store at least once and bought gold jewelry. If this was not an acquisition for yourself, then it was a gift to loved ones, relatives and friends. In order not to panic and not get confused in jewelry stores, you need to imagine in advance for yourself: the cost of the desired product, its sample, shade and appearance.
Having a clear idea of this, the seller will not be able to take by surprise the question “gold ten carats, what is the sample?” If the store uses not the metric, but the carat sample system. You can always remember that ten carats equals 375 carat.
You should never chase more expensive gold jewelry, as well as dream of owning the noble metal with the highest fineness (999). It is not in vain that for more than one decade, people have preferred the 585 assay, which has proven itself in matters of strength and durability. 999 fineness items, although they have the highest gold content, are characterized by a strong degree of deformation and can become soft. Such products are short-lived, they are not suitable for permanent use.
Legislative regulation: conclusion
If gold was mined on the territory of the Russian Federation or intended for import, then it must contain a Russian standard and a state assay mark. Specialists of the Federal Assay Center monitor the compliance of the gold composition indicated in the sample, as well as its actual availability.
Responsible for quality control of noble metal in the Russian Federation is the Assay Office, which is an integral part of the Ministry of Finance. The stamp has its own distinctive designations. The Russian hallmark depicts a woman in a kokoshnik.
In addition to the state mark, a nameplate can be set on jewelry made of precious metal. This is a factory mark that confirms the presence of the manufacturer's name. The nameplate also indicates information such as the year the alloy was created, the first letter of the state inspection code.
Coin catalog
All existing coins can be found in our database using a convenient search.
Branding jewelry
Until recently, the necessity of branding the jewelry industry was obligatory, however, a bill was proposed to the State Duma, which provides for the abolition of branding in the Assay Office. How will things now stand on this issue?
Now branding can be done in private assay offices, but they must be accredited by the Ministry of Economic Development. These are not all the changes awaiting jewelers in Russia.
The amendments to this bill provide for a complete exemption from the application of a stamp on jewelry that was produced for export. It was proposed to cancel samples on items made of silver, the weight of which does not exceed 3 grams.
At the moment, all Russian manufacturers must stamp their products in the assay office. Private jewelers pay the state duty, which ranges from 17-45 rubles for one manufactured product. The sample installation period, as well as its verification for each product, is 10 days. It is provided for by the current legislation. However, as practice shows, very often this period is delayed up to one month.
From the side of jewelers there are proposals for the creation of small private laboratories for checking and stamping items made of precious metals. In practice, it will not be possible to achieve a large number of such laboratories. The reason for this is the high cost of organizing such an institution. Only large manufacturing plants and factories can afford such expenses. After passing the accreditation, each laboratory will receive an individual code that will be applied to each test item. This will help in cases of violations to bring an incompetent laboratory to justice. It is proposed to punish such unscrupulous institutions with fines. The amount of fines is not high enough, 30-50 thousand rubles.
For export jewelery, it is suggested that no hallmarks be affixed as they do not meet the standards of other countries. And Russian manufacturers do not have the opportunity to produce products with the required brands of foreign customers, since this is prohibited by law.
Many analysts oppose this bill, as they believe that it will negatively affect the quality of manufactured products. However, more experts support these changes. Organization of your own laboratories will help to avoid huge costs for large factories and plants. It is also believed that this procedure can reduce the price of jewelry by 1.5 - 2%. This is good news for the Russian consumer.
The jewelry business should not provide for poor quality products, as people go to buy jewelry at additional costs. After all, after the purchase, the consumer can double-check the quality of the purchased product from reputable organizations, and if it does not correspond to the declared quality, then the manufacturer may get into trouble, which will lead to mass litigation.
As for silver items and their branding, taking into account the cost of silver in relation to other precious metals, the application of samples to items that do not exceed 3 grams is absolutely not cost-effective. The production of such jewelry is unprofitable for manufacturers, and its purchase, accordingly, is not profitable for the consumer, since the application of the brand increases the price of small items by about two times.
In general, the fate of this bill is not yet known, but something will definitely be done in the near future.
The sale of items made of precious metals and precious stones is carried out only if there are imprints on them of the names of manufacturers and imprints of the state assay marks of the Russian Federation. Foreign-made products imported from abroad must also have imprints of the state assay marks of the Russian Federation.
Certain types of jewelry and other household items made of precious metals and precious stones, which, in accordance with the current legislation, are not subject to the state hallmark of the Russian Federation, but are intended for sale, must have a quality certificate.
Testing and branding of jewelry and other household items made of precious metals in the Russian Federation is carried out by the Russian State Assay Office under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The sale of jewelry and other household items made of precious metals that do not correspond to any of the established samples is not allowed.
Brands for different precious metals have a different shape, but each must have an identification mark (since 1994 - the profile of a woman's head in a kokoshnik, turned to the right), a digital designation of the alloy sample and the code of the state inspection of assay supervision in the form of a letter, dot or oblique line. The presence of this mark on items made of precious metal alloys indicates the conformity of the alloy to the specified standard. The stamp in the form of a spatula is used for branding jewelry made of gold alloys; in the form of a polyhedron - for branding jewelry made of platinum alloys; in the form of a barrel - for branding jewelry made of silver alloys; in the form of a truncated oval - for branding jewelry made of palladium alloys.
Organizations and individual entrepreneurs that manufacture jewelry from precious metals are required to have names registered with the territorial inspections of assay supervision and to put their impressions on the products they produce.
For example, the first sign of the 2000 name was a letter denoting the code of the state inspection, in the area of operation of which the manufacturer is located, the second sign of the name was the number "0". The next two characters (letters) indicated the manufacturer's code. The last sign was the dot at the top.
Since 2001, the cipher of the nameplate is a combination of four letters of the Russian alphabet. The first character of the name-list should be the initial capital (capital) letter of the Russian alphabet - "A", which is the cipher of the first year of the third millennium. The letters of the Russian alphabet "B", "C", "D" are ciphers of 2002, 2003, 2004, respectively. The second sign of the nameplate is the capital letter of the Russian alphabet, which is the code of the state inspection, in the area of \ u200b \ u200bwhich the manufacturer is located. The next two characters - uppercase letters of the Russian alphabet - are the manufacturer's code. All signs of the nameplate must be enclosed in a single contour, the shape of which is independently determined by the state assay supervision.
According to the state assay marks and the nameplate on the product, it is possible to determine the alloy fineness, the type of precious metal, the year of manufacture of the product, the enterprise-the manufacturer and the regional state inspection of assay supervision, which branded this product.
All jewelry made of precious metals and stones must have all-Russian articles of letters and numbers.
In commercial practice, an article is used to specify the type of product, indicating its alphabetic or numerical designation. With regard to jewelry, the first number of the article means the type of product, the second number of the article means the material of the article; the third digit of the article is the presence of an insert; the fourth digit of the article is the model number of the product.
In this article:
The stamp on gold is a guarantee of quality. Many people think so when buying jewelry in jewelry stores. So it is: the stigma indicates that the product has been checked by state authorities and corresponds to the specified sample, that is, the jewelry does contain gold in the declared amount.
The structure of the stamp
For the first time, the stamp was put on jewelry in France, it happened back in the XIII century. In our country, precious metals began to be sealed later. Thanks for this is Peter the Great - it was he who issued the decree that all items made of silver and gold must have a stamp and a test. It happened in the 18th century. Over the years, the types of samples and the brand itself have changed the appearance several times. Today, you can see a girl in a kokoshnik on the jewelry, or rather, her profile.
Facts from history
It should start with the fact that for the first time steel items made of silver were branded, and this happened even before the beginning of the reign of Peter the Great in the 17th century. Then the brand was a two-headed eagle and a date, which was put in Slavic letters. But Peter's decree changed everything.
In those years, the 96-fold sampling system was in use. That is, the figure 96 indicated the number of gold units in the product. With the onset of the 19th century, the number of samples increased, they began to put not only the number 96, but also 58, 72, 94 and 92 - all these were samples that indicated the percentage of precious metal in the product.
The assay mark changed again already during the Soviet era: it was decided to put a test on the products that was a multiple of the amount of precious metal in the alloy, the numbers started at 0 and ended at 1000. Thus, gold marked 999.9 had the highest purity in the USSR. Such a system was called matrix.
Approximately at the same time, an error of 3 and 5 units was established. That is, according to the legislation, jewelry made of precious metals may have an error - the metal content may vary within the sample, but only by 3 or 5 units less or more.
As an example, let's take a product made of 585 gold: if copper and silver are added to the alloy, then the error is 3 units. This means that the real content of precious metal in the product can vary from 582 to 588, if we are talking about a product with 585 fineness. If nickel is added to the alloy, then the permissible error is 5 units.
Brands on the gold of the USSR In this way, the USSR managed to reduce the number of rejects and control the quality of products. It is worth noting that the 583 sample was used in the Soviet Union, but after it was replaced by 585 - the most popular today.
The reason was trivial: the authorities were afraid that jewelry of 583 assay value in Europe would be valued lower on the carat system. To increase the score and entered.
Compliance with European markings:
- 23 carats corresponds to a precious metal with a mark of 958.
- 18 ct corresponds to 750 fineness.
- 14 ct corresponds to 585 precious metal.
So, the import standard was not violated with the appearance of 585, but it is not the lowest to date. There are 375 more, where the precious metal content does not exceed 38%.
Gold imported from Turkey is the least trusted among jewelers. The jewelers of this country are able to put any brand on the product at the request of the buyer. When purchasing a jewelry without marking, the owner may demand to put a brand right in the store at his discretion. For this reason, when buying jewelry in other countries, it is worth carefully studying not only the brand and sample, but also the appearance of the product.
Types of gold samples
In our country, there are only 5 quality levels that will help determine the percentage of precious metal in the alloy:
- 375 - an alloy of Au with copper and silver. Products made from such material are not of high quality, the percentage of gold does not exceed 38%. Jewelry is red or tinged due to the high content of copper in the ligature.
- 500 is a test that is put on an alloy containing not only AU, but also copper and silver. Such material is rarely used for the manufacture of jewelry.
- 585 - jewelry made from this alloy is popular in our country. Jewelers claim that when copper, silver or palladium is added to the ligature, the material becomes more durable. Jewelry of this sample does not come into contact with aggressive reagents and environmental factors. They are worn for a long time and are resistant to mechanical damage. In the master alloy, the Au content does not exceed 59%.
- 750 - This alloy is used to make elite jewelry. The color of the metal can be green, yellow or even red. Platinum, palladium, copper, silver and nickel are added to the ligature. The alloy tolerates moisture well, does not darken, and is resistant to scratches and damage. The Au content in the master alloy does not exceed 75.5%. Jewelry made from this alloy is often encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones.
- The 958th assay is used for the manufacture of works of art. The Au content in the alloy is 95.88%. The alloy is ductile, but soft, for this reason it is not used for making jewelry.
Impression of hallmark 585 Coins are minted from, but 999.9 is practically not used, the reason for this is the unreliability of the material.
Within the framework of assay supervision, there is not only control over the quality of products made of precious metals, but also their compliance with the requirements specified in the legislation. And also the state body monitors the sale of metal, which does not have samples and marks on its surface. In our country, trade in such gold is prohibited by law.
Hence, it follows that buying and selling gold, on the surface of which there is no information about the manufacturer, the date of manufacture and the percentage of precious metal in the composition, can lead to problems with the law.
In general, everything is very clear, but in order to examine the sample or stamp on the surface of the jewelry, you should arm yourself with a magnifying glass or a special device, since even in boutiques and large stores you can buy a fake. But if the buyer manages to prove the low quality of the goods, he will be obliged to return the money and apologize.
But in Holland, for example, there is no such rigid framework, there you can sell and produce any product that contains at least a small amount of Au. In this case, it is not necessary to put a sample on the product.
Stamp on metal
Name - this is how jewelers call the stigma. The label contains information about the jewelry manufacturer.
On the territory of Russia and the USSR one could find:
- Stamp in the form of a two-headed eagle and Slavic letters.
- "Tees" are a kind of interweaving of letters.
- Identity sign.
- A girl in a kokoshnik.
- Worker with a hammer.
- Five-pointed star with hammer and sickle.
The double-headed eagle and Slavic letters are the first type of hallmark that can be found on precious metal items. This type of marking can be found on 17th century silver.
"Tees" were used until 1896 in Russia. The marking consisted of a sample intertwined in one pattern, the date of the stamp and the first letters of the manufacturer's name. Until 1897, the signs that were placed on the precious metal had a convex shape, and then they acquired a depressed appearance.
In 1899, the head of a woman in a kokoshnik appeared for the first time, which was called the "identification mark". The woman's head was turned to the left.
After the image of the girl in the kokoshnik changed a little - now the girl was looking in the other direction. And also Greek letters appeared in the hallmark - they indicated the region in which the decoration was made.
If on the metal you can see the head of a worker with a hammer, then this indicates that the jewelry dates from 1927-1958.
But this image was changed, and from July 1, 1958, a star with a hammer and sickle appeared on all items made of precious metals - a characteristic symbolism of the times of the USSR.
Today, as before, the image of a girl in a kokoshnik, who looks to the right, is applied to the jewelry. The numbers can be applied separately from the image of the girl. And also the brand can be divided, if we are talking, for example, about earrings.
If you look at the sample, you can see a girl in a kokoshnik, her image is in a frame; there are also numbers denoting samples, and letters speaking about the state inspection, which put a stamp on the surface of the metal.
You can find the markings on:
- the back of the ring;
- on the clasp of earrings or chains;
- on the pendant holder.
In most cases, manufacturers put the sample in such a way as not to harm the appearance of the jewelry. Therefore, the brand is small and is not capable of harming the external appearance of the jewelry.
If we are talking about a chain or bracelet, then look for markings on the clasp or nearby links.
When studying a test or a stamp, do not forget that jewelry with markings must fully comply with the specified information. This is a quality guarantee provided by the state. The stigma says that a person really buys gold, and does not buy an alloy of unknown elements, which is not of different quality, and, accordingly, cannot be used to make jewelry.
Irina Babkina
Jewelry is a welcome but also exciting purchase. It is worthwhile to prepare especially carefully, arm yourself with knowledge and go to a trustworthy store to avoid encountering fakes. In such a responsible matter, an author's print will help - a stamp that confirms the authenticity.
Today, the brand, in addition to the author's mark, is more often the imprint of the state inspection, confirming the legality of the sale of the product and the content of pure precious metal. By the way, the now well-known 925 silver standard was once introduced into circulation by the Tiffany jewelry house. Over the years, variants of the test mark were used, by which it is possible to determine in which country the jeweler worked and what is the composition of the product. For example, the stamp with the image of a horse's head indicates the 750th sample and sends us to France between 1838 and 1919. And the dog's head, the platinum indicator, appeared on the back of jewelry later - it began to be widely used since 1912. A star, a sickle and a hammer, a girl in a kokoshnik are signs of Soviet-Russian times. When buying jewelry, it is worth paying special attention to the “nameplate” - some kind of encryption, which actually contains the year of manufacture and the master's code.
Even though the Faberge team in the best years consisted of more than 500 craftsmen, who worked out every piece of jewelry in detail (from packaging to precious stones), Carl Faberge himself controlled all orders. Although historians have no evidence, whether he ever personally created jewelry delights. But Carl Faberge definitely had a stigma. And in several versions - St. Petersburg and Moscow. The items created in the northern capital had the Faberge mark, written in Cyrillic and without initials. Moscow production put the brand “K. Faberge ”, complementing it with a two-headed eagle. Items for sale in Europe were branded in the Latin alphabet. The craftsmen who worked in St. Petersburg also had their own brands at their disposal, sometimes replacing the brand of the master. Occasionally, products were left unmarked. The reason is simple - there is no space on the product or its particular fragility.
It is customary to start the history of the Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry house not from the official date - the opening of the boutique at 22 Place Vendôme and the registration of the brand, but from the registration of the marriage union between the cutter Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels, the daughter of a gem dealer. For accuracy and completeness of the picture, we will name both dates: the wedding was played in 1896, and the jewelry store opened 10 years later, that is, in 1906. But there is one more year that keeps the memory of an important event for the brand - 1938! It was in this year that the Van Cleef & Arpels brand was officially registered - a diamond with a Vendome column.
Number
By the way, in addition to their own brand, jewelers often put an inventory number on products. For example, the craftsmen of the Carrera y Carrera jewelry brand, who also create jewelry for the Spanish royal family, number all the pieces. Which is not so difficult when you think about the limited editions of this brand's products.
And Chopard representatives advise everyone who has doubts about the authenticity of the watches they buy, not to waste time looking at parts and studying certificates, but to urgently call the brand's employees. The inventory number engraved on the watch will help you quickly get an unambiguous answer. Chaumet experts also provide services to the clients of the brand, but primarily in determining the authenticity of products created before the introduction of the brand. Since the company's employees carefully keep the archive, organized a museum of the brand on the Place Vendôme, where sketches of products from the 18th century are presented, the issue is resolved quite quickly - in case of a positive answer, the owner of the jewelry receives a certificate of authenticity.
The Graff Jewelry House, which, unlike the brands already mentioned above, was founded not so long ago, or rather in 1966, nevertheless firmly holds one of the leading positions in diamond and gold issues. A distinctive feature of the jewelry, published under the Graff brand, is the identification number affixed by the firm's craftsmen on each diamond, which is noticeable only with multiple magnifications.
So what does the sample show, and what should you look for when buying jewelry? We turned to the SUNLIGHT expert for a comment:
“If a piece of jewelry is made of precious metal, it usually has a purity. The test shows how much of the main precious metal is in the alloy from which the jewelry is made. Jewelry is not made of pure platinum, gold, or silver. Platinum is very expensive, and gold and silver are too soft metals for this: scratches quickly form on such items and they lose their attractive appearance. Therefore, precious metal alloys are used in jewelry.
Different countries have their own sample standard. Metric and carat sampling systems are most commonly used in the world today. The carat system is considered more accurate and only applies to gold jewelry. In Russia, the metric system of samples is used. In it, a test, or rather a brand, is a special sign that carries information about what metal the jewelry is made of and how much of it is included in the alloy. The shape of the stamp speaks of the type of metal: if it is in the shape of a barrel, then it is silver, in the shape of an octagon - platinum, and if it is in the shape of a spatula, then you have a gold ornament.
The numbers of the stamp (digital designation of the sample) show the amount in grams of the main precious metal in 1 kg of the alloy. For example, SUNLIGHT offers its customers gold jewelry of 585 assay value, which means that 1 kg of the alloy from which they are made contains 585 g of pure gold. The presence of a stamp on a piece of jewelry is a guarantee that it is really made of precious metal and corresponds to the declared standard. Such verification and branding is carried out by the State Assay Supervision Inspectorate.
There is no concept of good or bad sample, it all depends on the priorities of the buyer. In gold jewelry of 375 assay value, you can safely engage in any activity, even dig a garden - this will not damage their appearance due to the low gold content. Jewelry of 585 assay value is the optimal combination of product quality and their price, but they require more respect for themselves. The 750-carat jewelry is very aesthetically pleasing and, thanks to its high gold content, is a good investment. ” 
Gold ring with diamonds and emeralds SL (price by link)
To determine the quality of such a precious metal as gold, a sampling system was invented, showing the amount of pure metal in the product.
The need for this system came with the advent of gold jewelry and merchandise. Due to the fact that pure gold is very soft and brittle, various impurities (copper, zinc, silver, palladium) are added to it. In general, several basic probing systems are used. In Russia and neighboring countries, the metric system of samples is used, in the European Union and Western countries, preference is given to the carat system. Until 1927, the Soviet Union used a spool probing system.
Classification of gold samples
In general, two main systems of samples are distinguished, these are metric and carat, but very often on old antiques you can also find a spool sample. 
Spool system
The spool sample system was created in Russia in 1711, and was in use for over two hundred years, until 1927. This system, like others, indicated the exact number of the noble metal in the alloy, for gold the maximum indicator was 96. In general, the following gold samples were established: 56, 72, 82, 92, 94.
To convert a spool sample to metric, you can use the following formula:
X / 96 * 1000 = Y, where X - spool sample, and Y - metric72/96 * 1000 = 750 It turns out that 72 samples in spools = 750 gold samples
Metric system
The metric probing system replaced the zolotnik one in 1927, and has been operating in the Russian Federation and neighboring countries to this day. There are the following metric tests for gold used in Russia: 375, 500, 583, 585, 750, 958, 999. It is measured very simply - let's say you have a gold jewelry with a total weight of 1,000 grams of 585 standard, which means that it is pure it contains 585 grams of gold, the rest is ligature additives (copper, zinc, etc.).
Karat sampling system
The karat sampling system is used mainly in the USA, Canada and some countries of Western Europe. Therefore, questions are often asked: 18 carat gold, what is the fineness? Or 14 karat gold, what is the fineness?
So, the basis of the carat system is the number of carats of the noble metal in a 24-carat alloy.
That is, in simple words: if you have 18 carat gold and you want to know in the metric system how much it is, then you need 18/24 * 1000 = 750. This means that 18 carat gold corresponds to 750 carat.
Marking and stamping of gold jewelry
In Russia, on all jewelry according to GOST, next to the numbers that 
denote a test, a brand is put. The stigma looks like a woman's head in a kokoshnik, which looks to the right. In the USSR, the stamp looked like a star with a hammer and sickle icon inside.