Assay

In the terms of the Judicial Regime of the Goldsmiths and Assays, approved by law no. 98/2015, 18 August, an article with precious metal is legally marked when the following markings have been applied:

1. Marking of responsibility, fabrication or equivalent;
2. Marking of the assay and puncture mark of the touch when it is not applied.

The mark of responsibility, fabrication or equivalent is the marking that contains the engraving with the identification of the responsible party that provided the article with precious metal in the market and produce a brand with a privative design and a lettering of their own naming scheme, with their surnames or of their firms, ensuring that the design and lettering are distinctively visible in the contours periphery.
The assay marking produces a mark that guarantees the legal touch of the articles with precious metals, or signifies particular circumstances, and identifies the assay by the specific parameters that were utilized, which consists, respectively, applied on a curved form, or an irregular octagonal shape, depending on the respective Assayers of Lisbon or Porto (see the brand designs below). The symbol varies depending on the metals:

1. Gold – deer head for touches equal or superior to 800 thousandths and a dove in flight for touches inferior to 800 thousandths;
2. Silver – eagle head (turned to the left on legal touches equal to or superior to 925 thousandths and turned to the right on legal touches equal or inferior to 835 thousandths);
3. Platinum – parrot head.
4. Palladium – lynx head (turned to the left) .

Legal Marking of the Assayers of Lisbon and Porto:

Bars

Platinum, gold, palladium or silver – armillary sphere accompanied by the designation of the respective metal

Goldsmith Artifacts of Special Interest

Goldsmith artifacts containing extinct assay markings.

Goldsmith artifacts officially recognized to merit archaeological, historical or artistic standards .

Other Markings

Articles containing precious metals presented individually, signifying the guarantee that the touch was branded to a clean metal.

Articles with precious metals imported for unlicensed entities or in the case where the responsible party is unknown.

Articles comprised of precious metals and common metals .

Convention Markings

Sales in the national territory of goldsmith artifacts is authorized under the convention of the Control and Marking of Artifacts of Precious Metals (Convention of Vienna).

This convention was signed in Vienna, in 1972, between seven European countries, amongst which Portugal, in order to facilitate the international commercialization of precious metal artifacts, aiming for the consumers protection, justified by the particular nature of these artifacts. The others are: Austria, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom.

Over the years, other countries have signed onto the convention, particularly: Ireland, Denmark, The Czech Republic, Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Israel, Poland, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia. Currently, the Convention is comprised of 19 countries, with others planning to join. The Common Control Marking (CCM), or Convention Marking, is comprised by the stylization of a balance indented onto a linear background with the indication of the articles touch with precious metal in Arab numbers in thousandths, encompassed by a design that indicates the nature of the precious metal.

Common Control Markings (CCM):

Marking

The Convention’s marking system is constituted by the positioning of the following markings:

1. Responsibility Marking ;
2. Assay Marking;
3. Common Control Marking (CCM);
4. Touch Numbering, in Arab Numbering.

Markings from Other EU or EEA Countries

Articles with precious metals originating from a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area can be placed on the national market without requiring the inspection and marking by the goldsmiths, as long as the articles comply with the requirements expressed in article 11 of the Judicial Regime of the Goldsmiths and Assays:

• With the following markings applied:

1. Marking of responsibility, fabrication or equivalent;
2. Marking of responsibility, fabrication or equivalent;
3. Document with registered proof of the respective responsibility marking, of fabrication or equivalent from the country that performed the control and guarantee of quality deposited at the assay;
4. Recognition by the Portuguese Quality Institute, inspected favorably by the Director of the Assay, with the following cumulative prerequisites:

1. The informative content markings guaranteed by the touch, mark of assay and mark of touch, are equivalent to the markings of touch guarantee established by Judicial Regime of the Goldsmiths and Assays;
2. The informative content markings guaranteed by the touch, mark of assay and mark of touch, are not susceptible to incorrectly informing the consumer;
3. The conditions of marking of the marks of guarantee of touch, applied by the independent organization of testing and marking of the respective country that oversaw the quality control and guarantee, are equivalent to the established rules by the Judicial Regime of the Goldsmiths and Assays.

For more information related to the entities, the metals and the recognized markings, you may consult the Portuguese Institute of Quality.

Articles with precious metals originating from a member state of the European Union or of the European Economic Area (EEA) that find themselves deprived of the markings related to the respective legislation, but that are not deprived of the markings harbored by Portuguese legislation, should be tested and marked in advance by the Portuguese Assays or the Assay of the recognized country of origin, for the effect of them being placed on the national market

Click here if you would like to know more information in relation to the daily quota of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium, in the terms of the document delineated a) no. 1 & no. 2 in the previous article.