Jewelry test. Brands on jewelry
Whatever gold jewelry you purchase, first of all, it must be of high quality and made of material corresponding to the stamped sample. What is a fineness and what does the stamp on a gold item mean? Let's try to figure it out.
What do the numbers on gold mean?
Show how much pure gold is contained in the jewelry and how much ligature can be stamped on a solder or lock with a gold sample (photo). The probing system was tested in France in the 30s of the last century. Tsarist Russia began to use samples in their modern sense after the decree of the tsar in 1700, who established four types of samples for silver and gold.
Prior to that, Moscow put down the image of a two-headed eagle as an indicator of the "purity" of the alloy of silver coins.
The modern world uses three types of gold samples:
- metric,
- carat,
- spool valve.
It was the spool test that Tsarist Russia began to use for assaying gold in 1733. Pure gold without impurities had a fineness of 96, over time, others stood out: 94, 92, 82, 72, and 56.
The karat test of gold is used in all developed countries of the world, and 1 carat is equal to 1/24 of the mass of the alloy. For example, a 24-carat ring has no impurities, and according to the spool system, it corresponds to 96 samples. In gold, 14 carat jewelry, pure gold, there are only 14 parts of the total mass of the metal, according to the spool system it corresponds to a fineness of 56.
The metric system came to Russia in 1927 from Germany, and completely replaced the spool markings. The minimum amount of gold shows 375 samples, the maximum - 1000.
- The most elite gold standard metric systems - 1000, 958, 916, and 900, are used in the manufacture of international coin alloys and show the high quality of jewelry.
- Expensive jewelry, fountain pens, pocket watches and wrist watches are made of alloy 750 and 585 tests.
- For cheap jewelry bijouterie, and the production of some watch models, they use gold of 500 and 375 assay value.
Brands on gold
The amount of pure metal depends on which stamp is affixed on a gold product, it is shown in which country it was made. For Belarus, such a stigma is the image of a bison.
In Russia, before the beginning of 1990, impressions were affixed containing several elements: sample numbers, the coat of arms of Russia, the first letter of the name of the responsible employee and the year (photo). For a long time, the hallmarks were convex, and only after the 1990s they became depressed. Since that time, the stamp on any product began to look like the profile of a woman in a traditional headdress - a kokoshnik. The same head, but turned in the other direction, was placed on gold, over the next thirty years, complemented by its first letter of the name of the Russian district in which the ring, earrings or bracelet was made.
The times of the Soviet Union changed the brand and the probing system. Calculus became metric, and the brand took the form of a worker's head with a hammer. Further, the brand was modified once again - precious metals began to be marked with the image of a five-pointed star with a hammer and a sickle inside.
What brand is used on gold today? The Soviet attributes were replaced by a woman in a kokoshnik again. It is precisely this that is affixed to Russian-made jewelry. Also on gold they put a test and a capital letter, which denotes the State Inspectorate that has put the stamp. So, for example, the combined mark of 585 gold may look like this: "s, head in a kokoshnik looking to the right, 585" (photo).
It is also often possible to find a stamp in the form of four capital letters on the decoration. This is a name stamp affixed by the jewelry manufacturing company in order to receive information about the purchased product by the buyer.
The letters are the cipher:
- the first one indicates the year of manufacture,
- the second is the place of testing,
- the third and fourth are unique to each production site.
How gold jewelry is branded
There are three ways to apply stamps:
- Mechanical method. The oldest method invented in the 17th century. It is considered the most rude, since the craftsmen have to use special hammers for it. Despite this, the mechanical method of applying the terminal does not injure the product and is used in almost 100% of cases. Today this method has been improved and put on an automated conveyor.
- Electrospark method. The impression is made by burning the desired pattern with the help of electric sparks. This method is quite modern, it is not yet 50 years old. It is more accurate and holds better even on the thinnest and most fragile items. The electrospark test is applied only on a flat surface of the product.
- Laser method. You can make an impression with a laser, or put a convex stamp. The latter type is not applied to the inside of the jewelry, since after a short time it will wear off. Laser marking is considered the most costly and difficult method.
Methods for applying stamps are selected individually for each decoration. This is done in order not to spoil the quality and appearance of jewelry, especially for gold adorned with precious stones.
Despite the fact that gold sampling is subject to state supervision, there are craftsmen who can bypass the laws and make a high-quality counterfeit. When buying jewelry, check for quality certificates and try not to buy gold in Turkey. In this country, the affixing of samples and brands is not regulated by the government.
Concepts about samples and brands, assay supervision.
Assay supervision and hallmarks.
All jewelry made of precious metals
appendix 1 intended for sale on the territory of the Russian Federation, must correspond to one of the samples
Table 1 operating in Russia and have a stigma. Control over this is carried out by the state service, the assay supervision inspectorate, which, when branding jewelry, uses state assay marks of the established form. Main assay marks
fig. 1 , certify the compliance of products with the requirements of assay supervision. Additional hallmarks are used to mark detachable and easily detachable secondary parts of jewelry made of precious metals or jewelry that does not correspond to the declared sample. Jewelry made from parts of precious metals and non-precious metals must bear the sign "meth" - metal, otherwise such jewelry is not subject to branding. In addition to the brand, all jewelry made of precious metals must have an imprint of the company's nameplate.
rice2 , which is a framed combination of letters of the abbreviated name of the company or master of the manufacturer and the year of manufacture of the decoration
Table 1
Samples of jewelry made of precious metal valid in Russia
Fig 1.1
The structure of the stamp
The main assay marks on gold items
Fig 1.2 Main assay marks on silver items
Fig 1.3 Main assay marks on platinum items
Fig 1.4. The main assay marks on palladium products 
Fig 2
BMTK |
The first character is the code of the year of manufacture of the product
B (year code)
| A | B | V | G | D | E | Z | AND | TO |
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| L | M | N | O | NS | R | WITH | T | Have |
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2018 | 2018 |
The second character is the code of the state inspection of assay supervision
M
(code of the state inspection of assay supervision)
| Inspection code | Inspection name | Inspection address | Areas of activity of the inspectorate |
| V | Verkhne-Volzhskaya | p.g.t. Krasnoe-on-Volga, Kostroma region | Ivanovskaya, Kostroma, Yaroslavl regions |
| G | Volgo-Vyatka | Nizhny Novgorod, | Republic of Mordovia, Republic of Mari El, Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan), Chuvash Republic - Chuvashia, Vladimir, Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions |
| I AM | East Siberian | Krasnoyarsk | Republic of Tyva, Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk Region, Ust-Orda Buryat, Evenk, Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Districts |
| NS | Far Eastern | Khabarovsk | Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, Amur, Kamchatka, Magadan and Sakhalin Regions, Koryak and Chukotka Autonomous Districts, Jewish Autonomous Region |
| TO | Donskaya | Rostov-on-Don | Republic of Adygea (Adygea), Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Republic of North Ossetia - Alania, Chechen Republic, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Rostov Region, Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in Ukraine |
| F | Transbaikal | Buryatia Ulan-Ude | Republic of Buryatia, Chita region, Aginsky Buryat Autonomous District |
| F | Western | Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad region |
| N | West Siberian | Novosibirsk city | Altai Republic, Altai Territory, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tomsk Regions |
| O | Orlovskaya | Oryol | Belgorod, Kursk, Lipetsk and Oryol regions |
| Have | Povolzhskaya | Bashkortostan, Ufa | Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg and Ulyanovsk regions |
| B | Podmoskovnaya | Bronnitsy, Moscow region | Moscow region (Voskresensky, Domodedovsky, Egoryevsky, Zaraisky, Kashirsky, Kolomensky, Lukhovitsky, Lyuberetsky *, Noginsky, Ozersky, Orekhovo-Zuevsky, Pavlovo-Posadsky, Podolsky, Ramensky, Serebryano-Prudsky, Serpukhovsky, Stupinsky, Chekhovsky raions) Ryazan and Tambov regions * Except for OJSC "Moscow Production Association for the production of diamond tools" (MPO for VAI) |
| Z | Caspian | The Republic of Dagestan, Makhachkala |
Republic of Dagestan, Republic of Ingushetia, Republic of Kalmykia - Khalmg Tangch |
| D | In the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) | Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk | The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) |
| R | Saratov | Saratov | Astrakhan, Volgograd, Penza, Samara and Saratov regions |
| A | North | Veliky Ustyug, Vologda region | Komi Republic, Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions, Nenets Autonomous District |
| L | Northwest | St. Petersburg | Republic of Karelia, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod and Pskov regions, St. Petersburg |
| WITH | Ural | Yekaterinburg city | Udmurt Republic, Kurgan, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions, Khanty-Mansiysk - Yugra and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, Perm Territory |
| M | GIPN in Moscow and the Moscow region | Moscow city | Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Tula, Smolensk and Tver regions, Leninsk and the Baikonur complex on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan (for the period of validity of the status of the Russian Federation in these territories), Moscow, Moscow region (Balashikhinsky, Volokolamsky, Dmitrovsky, Istrinsky, Klinsky, Krasnogorsky, Leninsky, Lotoshinsky, Mozhaisky, Mytishchinsky, Naro-Fominsky, Odintsovsky, Pushkinsky, Ruzsky, Sergiev-Posadsky, Solnechnogorsky, Taldomsky, Khimkinsky, Shakhovskoy, Shchelkovsky districts), JSC "Moscow Production Association" for the production of diamond (IGO for VAI) |
T third character manufacturer code
TC (manufacturer code)
In conclusion, we can say that when purchasing a piece of jewelry, you should pay attention to the name and sample. It is the presence of these impressions, applied by any means, a classic stamp or modern, laser or electric spark, that the product really corresponds to the declared sample and has passed the state inspection. The main, of course, is the stamp that is put in the state inspection of assay supervision and only there, the master or the enterprise puts only its own name and in no case does not the stamp. The presence of only one nameplate on the product and the absence of a sample can speak volumes, and most importantly, the master did not begin to test the products, and, accordingly, it is impossible to guarantee the content of the precious metal in the declared jewelry. In addition, by the name and stamp, using the above tables and figures, you can determine the manufacturer, the place of testing and even the year of manufacture of the product. As for other information about the product, it must be on the product tag, it must be sealed and is a product passport. The tag must contain all information about the product, namely: manufacturer, manufacturer's address, product price, price per gram, size, fineness, weight, name and carat of stones or inserts, etc., OTK stamp and date of manufacture and other necessary information. Attention: When purchasing jewelry made of precious metals of foreign production, from hands (official sale without the hallmark of the assay office on the territory of the Russian Federation is not legal), please note that in different countries there are different samples (for example, carat) and alloys, the rules for branding products, and accordingly different brands, that is why, be careful and do not make a deal without a clear understanding of all the information reflected on the brands of the product, otherwise you can purchase jewelry made of an alloy of a much smaller sample than you expect.
Precious metals and alloys, samples.
The materials used for the production of jewelry are divided into metallic and non-metallic. Metallic includes both precious metals and their alloys, and non-ferrous metals and their alloys. In this article, we will describe in more detail about precious metals and precious metal alloys used in jewelry production.
In our country, products made of alloys of the following precious metals are subject to mandatory branding:
Gold is a metal of a beautiful yellow color with a strong luster, tough, soft, malleable ductile.
Silver is a shiny white metal with a very high (up to 95%) reflectivity, ductile, malleable, ductile, well polished, cut, curled.
Platinum is a silver-white metal, soft and malleable, refractory, harder than gold and silver, easy to roll, stamp, and draw. Chemically resistant.
Palladium - Soft malleable platinum group metal, darker than silver but lighter than platinum, easily rolled and stretched. Considerably inferior to platinum in its chemical properties.
In addition, the following types of metals are considered precious: rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, osmium.
The dignity of jewelry made of alloys of gold, silver, platinum, palladium is determined by the fineness, i.e. the amount of precious metals contained in these alloys.
For example: 585 standard and a stamp with the number 585 means that in the alloy from which the jewelry is made 585 of 1000 parts is a precious metal (for example gold) and 415 parts of other metals.
The following jewelry samples have been introduced and are in operation in Russia Tab. 1.
However, alloys of the same sample differ in composition, appearance and mechanical properties. Using the example of 585-carat gold alloys (the most demanded in Russia), these differences can be demonstrated. T ab. 2.
The characteristics of other samples can always be found in specialized literature or websites.
table 2
Composition and color of alloys of 585 assay value
| Colour | silver | copper | zinc | cadmium | nickel |
| Pale yellow | 382,5 | 32,5 | - | - | - |
| Green yellow | 310 | 35 | 70 | ||
| Yellow | 280 | 135 | |||
| Medium yellow | 188 | 277 | |||
| Medium yellow | 110 | 184 | 71 | 50 | |
| Orange | 90 | 325 | |||
| Red | 415 |
Note: Classic Russian gold of 585 assay value is red.
In England and the USA, for example, not a metric, but a carat system of samples is adopted. Carat is a unit of mass of precious stones equal to 200 mg. Under this system, a metric sample with a value of 1000 corresponds to 24 carats.
Hence, to transfer to the carat system, the ratio 24/1000 = x / y is used.
For example: 750 proof corresponds to 18-carat proof,
and 583 - 14 carat fineness.
In Russia until 1927, there was a spool sample,
1 carat sample = 4 spool samples = 41.666 metric samples, hence 1 spool sample = 10.4166 metric samples.
For clarity, it can be presented in the form of a table.
Table 3 Compliance of samples of jewelry alloys with valid samples on the territory of Russia.
| Metal | Metric | Zolotnikovaya | Karat |
| Gold | 375 | - | - |
| Gold | 500 | - | - |
| Gold | 585 | 56 | 14 |
| Gold | 750 | 72 | 18 |
| Gold | 958 | 92 | - |
| Silver | 750 | - | - |
| Silver | 800 | - | - |
| Silver | 875 | 84 | - |
| Silver | 916 | 88 | - |
| Silver | 925 | - | - |
| Silver | 960 | - | - |
| Platinum | 950 | - | - |
| Palladium | 500 | - | - |
| Palladium | 850 | - | - |
Earlier in the article it was said that when purchasing jewelry made of precious metals "from hands" you may encounter samples not only metric, but also carat, and when buying antiques, and with spool samples. In each individual case, there are a huge number of nuances, so we recommend that you do not make purchases without first finding out what the brand is and how it is deciphered. Of course, you can contact any jeweler who can explain to you the meaning of symbols, brands and names. If you do not have a jeweler whom you can trust, contact a pawnshop, where you can, at least reliably, determine the sample of the product. However, be careful because it is almost impossible for a non-specialist to distinguish platinum and palladium products by brands and appearance, and the pawnshop is unlikely to be able to help you with this, in view of the simple lack of reagents for such checks. In addition, in this case, you will not be protected from other types of fraud, electroplating, bases made of non-precious metals, etc., so we repeat that without clear confidence in the purity of the transaction, full knowledge of the alloy and the product as a whole and in the correctness of your actions, abandon the deal until you are sure of the opposite. 
The brand on gold is the most important information that you should pay attention to when purchasing any jewelry. A fineness is a stamp that jewelers put down to confirm a specific amount of gold in a piece of jewelry or other product, since precious metals are not used in their pure form.
The quality of the metal from which gold items sold or manufactured in the territory of the Russian Federation are made must correspond to one of the samples accepted by the law and be certified by a stamp. If you want to buy a product made in another country on the territory of Russia, it may no longer have one stamp, but two. Depending on the percentage of gold in the alloy, the following samples exist in the Russian Federation:
- 999 is pure gold, without the addition of any accompanying metals.
- 750 - 75.5% gold mixed with nickel, platinum and silver. This alloy can be yellow to reddish in color. Since it is easy to process, it is used for the production of jewelry and more precise work.
- 585 is an alloy with 58.5% metals. This combination makes it ideal for production, as it becomes strong, dense.
- 500 - 50.5% gold mixed with silver and copper.
- 375 is an alloy containing 38% impurities of other metals. The color ranges from almost white to red. This alloy tarnishes over time.
The method of application depends on what kind of sample is on the product. 999 gold is used for casting ingots, 375 is used in dentistry, the rest is used for making jewelry. Alloys with a fineness above 750 do not tarnish when exposed to air. For works of art, 958 tests are most suitable, for minting - 900, and 585 are actively used for jewelry.
Only employees of assay supervision can put a stamp, which confirms the sample of products, including those manufactured and imported from other countries. State territorial services stigmatize not only gold, but also other metals that are made at jewelry factories or workshops.
Thus, the sample on gold is the percentage designation of its impurities in the product. It looks like this: the sample shows a girl in a kokoshnik looking to the right, then the assay supervision code and at the end a sample of the product, according to the standard.
The shape of the stamp shows what kind of metal it is. For example, the stamp on platinum products is an elongated octagon. Gold items are stamped in the form of 2 blades. This new shape has been in use from 1994 to the present day.
Gold jewelry made during the Soviet era has a star-shaped mark.
What is a nameplate
Consider what a nameplate is. Sometimes on jewelry you can find the brand of the master, which is also called the nameplate, but it is not a proof of quality.
The nameplate refers more to the personal signature of some jeweler and the company that produced the item from the precious metal. If you make a decryption, then it should contain additional information about him.
For an inexperienced buyer, the information entered in the nameplate will not say much. Only specialists or other jewelers will be able to tell at a glance at the personalized seal who made the jewelry, where and in what year. Since 1986, all jewelry manufacturers are required to affix them themselves.
After a year has passed, the old nameplate must be destroyed. Its re-registration is carried out annually and differs from the previous one by the code of the year of manufacture. Many workshops can, at the request of the customer, put any inscription on the gold jewelry. This can be both an important word for him, and a date of birth or wedding. This is especially true for people who are going to get married.
How gold is marked
There are slide, carat and metric systems of gold samples in the world. Carat and metric are used more often, of which the second is the most popular. In the legislation of different countries, the branding and assaying procedure is controlled in different ways, and there are also such countries where the production of gold of any quality is allowed. Nowadays, jewelry of East Asian manufacture, produced in Turkey and Egypt, is very cheaply valued. Due to the fact that the quality of jewelry is not controlled by the state, especially cunning entrepreneurs can put a 585 test stamp on an alloy that barely stretches over 500 tests.
Jewelry is branded in different ways, which are selected specifically for each item, based on many factors.
The most rude is the mechanical method. The sample is placed with jackhammers, while the product is firmly fixed in a vice. It is the oldest and most durable, it does not spoil the decoration, because of this it is used in 80% of cases. Currently, this process is fully automated and conveyor.
In cases where there is a possibility of damage and scratches, more gentle methods are used, for example, electric spark. When this method is chosen, the brand is applied using sparks. It is placed only on a flat surface and belongs to the young methods of branding, it was invented only in 1967.
Branding with a laser is considered the most expensive and difficult, it comes out durable. With its help, a convex stamp can be put on gold items. But it is not placed in those places that are in close contact with the skin, otherwise it can wear off earlier than after 5 years.
Thus, which method to apply the stamp is decided in each case on an individual basis, taking into account all the pros and cons. This is especially true for products with graceful patterns and precious stones, because an important condition is not to spoil the appearance, so that the jewelry does not lose its value and individuality.
If there is no stamp on gold, then the product that was made from it is definitely a fake. Calling it a piece of jewelry, the seller violates the procedure established by the state for the sale of products and precious metals, since it is forbidden to sell and mortgage them. Therefore, if you want to please yourself with a precious gift, then you need to ask the seller for documents for it and carefully examine the sample, since instead of the sample there may simply be someone's name. There is also a special marking of gold, which serves to ensure that a person, buying foreign-made gold, does not accidentally buy gold-plated metal products.
Not everyone will dare to forge the stigma, since this is associated with huge risks.
The main method of fraud is a fake of a high standard on a product of a lower quality. Such jewelry is sold most often in small shops around the world, but large jewelry stores are not immune from this.
Since 1971, gold and silver medals of various competitions that do not have the status of state awards, including Olympic medals, are subject to branding and testing.
In Russia, assaying, indicating the amount of gold in the alloy, began to be produced in 1700 during the reign of Peter the Great. The sample was shaped like an eagle. The coins then consisted of 98% gold and 2-3% copper.
In the life of every person there is a situation when he needs to check the authenticity of jewelry at home. Moreover, in the modern world, fraudsters have learned to counterfeit gold jewelry in such a way that a professional will not always tell the difference. Let's take a look at 14 of the most popular ways to do it at home.
How to distinguish from a fake
Of course, the surest way to tell gold from fake is to visit a jeweler. Only he can give a 100% guarantee. However, many workshops charge a decent amount of money for this service. If you are not ready to throw money down the drain, try to do it yourself using one of the proposed methods.
By the tooth
One of the easiest ways to verify the authenticity of gold jewelry is the method of our ancestors. You just need to bite him. Your teeth marks will always remain on the real precious metal. The danger of this experiment is that it can damage your teeth. Sometimes very hard metals are found in fakes.
Brand and test
Pick up the piece of jewelry you want to test. Each gold piece bears a quality mark - a test. In order to view it, you will most likely need a magnifying glass.
According to worldwide requirements, the sample is placed in the following places:
- Sample on chains and bracelets most often put on a clasp.
- Earrings with an English lock are branded on the outside or inside of the clasp (bow).
- (if the ring is with a stone or has a figured addition, the sample should be in the middle).
- On a gold watch, the test is on the inside of the dial itself. In the case when the watch is completely made of gold (both the dial and the strap), the sample is placed inside the clasp.
- On stud earrings, the test is on the clasp, or very rarely on the stem itself.
Important: the stamp always clearly indicates the gold fineness in numbers (for example, 585).
Interesting fact! In stores, we almost always buy 585 gold. However, no one knows that the fineness of pure gold without admixtures of other metals is 999. All other samples indicate an alloy. The higher the purity, the more gold it contains.
Look for the stamp inside the product on the rings. Look and sound
In order to check the quality of a gold decoration at home, you just need to throw it on a flat table surface:
- When real gold rings, it should resemble crystal. Its sound should be very clear.
- You can only test for sound with small decorations: earrings, brooches and rings. Bracelets and rings will not work for this experiment.
- If you have problems with the table, it can be replaced with a glass beaker.
In appearance, gold can be difficult to identify. Its color often depends on its subspecies. There are white, yellow, red and rose gold in the world. Moreover, alloys of some less valuable metals give precisely a golden color.
The main external sign of counterfeiting is excessive yellow color. However, there are also pitfalls here: Turkish gold also has a rich yellow color.
Checking with improvised means
Of course, checking by the above methods does not always give a 100% guarantee that it is not a fake in front of you. Perhaps you yourself did the experiment incorrectly (you did not see the sample or the top of your table was too soft) or you still have doubts about the quality of the gold product.
Then such improvised means as iodine, vinegar and ordinary black bread will come to your aid. How to check, read on.
Iodine
In order to verify the authenticity with iodine, you need:
- Drop on the jewelry you want to test, one drop of iodine and wait five minutes.
- Wipe the iodine with a tissue or rinse with water. If the jewelry has changed color (darkened) - in front of you is a fake. When darkening, the color of the product changes to gray or black with a greenish undertone.
Put one drop of iodine on the jewelry you want to test and wait five minutes Vinegar
Another easy way to verify authenticity is to use regular table vinegar:
- To do this, you need to pour into a ceramic or plastic dish(in no case in iron) a small amount of vinegar.
- Place decoration in it and leave for a few minutes (at least 5).
- Gold will not change its appearance in any way and the fake will darken.
Nitric acid
Another method of chemical verification of gold for authenticity is the reaction to nitric acid:
- To experiment, place the jewelry to be tested in a deep metal bowl. and put just one drop of nitric acid on it.
- If the product does not change color to green or milky- it means that there is not a fake in front of you.
To conduct the experiment, place the jewelry to be tested in a deep metal bowl and drip just one drop of nitric acid on it. Scratch with a needle
You can also check the authenticity of a gold product using a regular needle. To do this, it is necessary to forcefully scrape the checked jewelry with a needle. There will be nothing for real gold. But the gilding will peel off with ease.
Contact with gold
Each person has a gold piece, the authenticity of which he does not doubt:
- In order to check it is necessary: on a hard surface, draw a line with real gold.
- Carry out a similar action on the same surface. and with a subject in which you doubt.
- There should be no differences between the lines.
Magnet
Everyone knows that pure gold does not magnetise in any way:
- Place the item under test on the magnet and watch what will come of it all.
- If the product is even slightly attracted to the magnet, you have an alloy of metals in front of you. Most often, copper can be given for gold. However, metals such as aluminum, copper and tin are very often involved in counterfeiting gold items. They also do not respond to magnetic testing, but are lighter in weight than similar products made of gold.
Lapis pencil
Pencil is a drug for stopping blood and treating wounds. You can easily buy it at a pharmacy.
In order to check the jewelry you need:
- Dampen the product with running water.
- Draw a line on the wet garment with a lapis pencil.
- Wipe off the mark with a dry cloth.
If a trace of a pencil remains on the surface of the product, you have another fake in front of you.
Black bread
For this experiment, you will need a crumb of fresh bread. You can check absolutely any product in this way:
- We take the crumb and wrap it in it a gold product.
- Roll up the ball and leave for a couple of days until it gets stale.
- When this happens, we remove the product from the bread. The appearance of gold will not change in any way, but the alloys will undergo oxidation and change color.
Ceramic tile
If you have untreated ceramic tiles in your home, you can use them as a gold test:
- To do this, you need to draw on the tile with various metals and products. that you want to check.
- The trace from it should be golden. The rest of the metals will leave behind black and gray streaks.
Sun reaction
For this method of checking, you will have to tell fortunes a little with nature. Requires a bright sunny day:
- First, take a close look at the item under test in the shade. Remember how it shines, what color it has.
- Now we do the same in direct sunlight. Standing on the street, look how your product looks bright and presentable, as it did in the shade.
- Real gold, never loses its appearance in all weather conditions.
Archimedes method
This verification method is more suitable for large gold items (for example, gold bars). However, it requires some effort and knowledge.
This experiment will require a deep container and water:
- We fill the container with water to the brim. You should first find out how much water you have collected.
- Slowly and carefully immerse the gold item in the container and let the water flow over the edges (flow out).
- Now let's remember Archimedes' law of pushing out:"A body immersed in a liquid is subjected to a buoyant force equal to the weight of the liquid in the volume of the immersed object."
- Using the formula F A = pgV, where p is the density of the liquid, g is the acceleration of gravity and V is the volume of the submerged body, we find out the mass of the gold item. The density of water is 900 kilograms per cubic meter.
According to Archimedes' law, gold should sink. Since its weight is greater than the volume of the displaced liquid.
The value of gold is growing every year. Along with it, the methods of fraud and counterfeiting are also growing. In order to reduce the risk of acquiring a fake, when buying, use the following tips:
- Buy jewelry only from trusted stores. You should not buy the product from your hands or on the street. You should also avoid pawnshops and stores of dubious appearance.
- Precious metals are always expensive. If you see a suspiciously cheap product, then most likely in front of you is a fake.
- Pay attention to the appearance of the product. It should shine, have an even color. It should be free of scratches, dents and stains.
- Oddly enough, but gold has no smell. If you are overwhelmed by doubts, no one will forbid you to smell the jewelry in the store. It's better to look stupid than to throw money down the drain.
Using these tips, you run the risk of stumbling upon a fake several times less. Well, if you still have doubts, you know how to check the authenticity.
What is a nameplate on a gold item, what does a nameplate look like and what information does it contain about a manufacturer (a jewelry factory or a private jewelry enterprise)?
Name- This is an imprint on a piece of jewelry (be it gold or other precious metal), which is put by the manufacturer. The nameplate contains information about the manufacturer (individual code), the year of manufacture of the product and the territorial inspection to which the manufacturer belongs. Next to the nameplate must be stigma .
Model year code: each letter corresponds to a specific year.
A - 2001
B - 2002
B - 2003
G - 2004
D - 2005
E - 2006
H - 2007
I - 2008
K - 2009
L - 2010
Code of the State Inspection of Assay Supervision: in the region of which the manufacturer is located. By the letter denoting the territorial state inspection, you can easily determine where the decoration was made.
List of ciphers of state inspections of assay supervision
| № | Name of GIPN | Mailing address | Cipher |
| 1 | Verkhnevolzhskaya | 157940, p. Krasnoe-on-Volga, Kostroma region, st. Krasnaya pl., 7 | V |
| 2 | Volgo-Vyatka | 603006, Nizhny Novgorod, st. Georgian, 416 | G |
| 3 | East Siberian | 660021, Krasnoyarsk, st. Lenin, 126 | I AM |
| 4 | Far Eastern | 680009, Khabarovsk, st. Industrial, 20 | NS |
| 5 | Donskaya | 344018, Rostov-on-Don, pr-t Budennovsky 104/91 | TO |
| 6 | Transbaikal | 670031 Buryatia, Ulan-Ude, st. Tereshkova, 9 | F |
| 7 | Western | 236040, Kaliningrad, Gvardeisky pr-t, 15 | F |
| 8 | West Siberian | 630005, Novosibirsk, st. Frunze 57/2 | N |
| 9 | Povolzhskaya | 450076 Bashkortostan, Ufa, st. Zentsova, 47 | NS |
| 10 | Podmoskovnaya | 540170 Bronnitsy, Moscow region, Komsomolsky peru, 53 | B |
| 11 | Caspian | 367026 Dagestan, Makhachkala, Kalinin Ave., 42 | Z |
| 12 | in the Republic of Sakha | 677027 Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, st. Oktyabrskaya, 30 | D |
| 13 | North | 162340, Veliky Ustyug, Vologda region, st. A. Uglovsky, 1 | A |
| 14 | Northwest | 195272, St. Petersburg, pl. K. Faberge, 8, building 2 | L |
| 15 | Ural | 620089, Yekaterinburg, st. Tchaikovsky, 75 | WITH |
| 16 | Central | 103104, Moscow, st. M. Bronnaya, 18 | M |
Manufacturer code- this is an individual code of the manufacturer, which is registered with the Assay Office on a mandatory basis.
All organizations (factories) and individual entrepreneurs (private jewelers) must have their own unique names, the forms of which are registered and approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation (Assay Office) annually.
The main requirements of the Assay Service for names are: compliance with shapes and sizes, a clear outline of the established sample, readable letters. If the manufacturer has violated the standards, the state inspection has the right to refuse to register such a name.