Assaying of gold, silver, and platinum objects
Do you sell gold, silver, or platinum objects (precious metals)? These objects need to have a hallmark, if they are above a certain weight. A recognised assay office can assay and hallmark your objects.
What is a hallmark?
A gold, silver, or platinum hallmark proves that the object is made of genuine precious metal. You may not sell objects that are not made out of precious metals as gold, silver, or platinum.
When is a hallmark required?
A hallmark states which precious metal the object is made of and how much of this precious metal it contains. In the Netherlands, a hallmark is required for:
- gold objects of 1 gram and more
- silver objects of 8 grams and more
- platinum objects of 0.5 grams and more
Assay offices inspect the gold, silver, or platinum content of these objects. Upon approval, they issue a hallmark. If the objects do not (yet) have a hallmark, you may have them in your possession for a maximum of 4 weeks. You cannot show them to your customers and you cannot offer to sell these objects during this period.
The hallmark looks different depending on which precious metal the object is made of. You can find a chart of the marks (in Dutch) on the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure (Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur) website. This chart must be visible in your store.
When is a hallmark not required?
A precious metal object does not need to have a hallmark in some cases (in Dutch), for instance:
- the object weighs less than 1 gram (gold), 8 grams (silver), 0.5 grams (platinum)
- the object has a medical, dental, or technical purpose
- gold or silver coins that are not sold as jewellery
- pens from fountain pen holders objects that have medical or technical purposes.
Objects from foreign countries
Do you sell precious metal objects from a foreign country? These objects must have a foreign hallmark that is recognised in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has signed the International Convention on Hallmarks. This means that Dutch assay offices can apply the convention's Common Control Mark, which will then be recognised by all contracting states. Conversely, convention hallmarks applied by other contracting states are recognised in the Netherlands.
Please note: The technical requirements imposed by the Netherlands on precious metals differ from those of other EU Member States. If a gold, silver, or platinum object is already allowed in another EU Member State, the Dutch government may ban its sale in the Netherlands only in exceptional cases.
Assaying precious metal objects
You can have gold, silver, and platinum assayed at 2 assay offices in the Netherlands. The assay office determines how much precious metal is in your object. After approval, they put a hallmark on the object.
Calling objects gold, silver, or platinum
You cannot sell objects that are not made of precious metal as gold, silver, or platinum. This also applies to objects that only have a layer of precious metal. You may say that the object is gold, silver, or platinum coloured, gold-plated, or silver-plated. You must put these items in a different place in your shop than items that are made of precious metal.