Diamond Point only sells 14 or 18 carat gold jewellery, unless stated otherwise. After we have crafted our jewellery in our atelier, each piece of jewellery goes to a guarantee institution (Stichting Edelmetaal Waarborg Nederland), except for gold jewellery under 1 gram and silver jewellery under 8 grams. The guarantee institution inspects each piece of jewellery before sale for its precious metal content. If the item meets the legal requirements, the guarantee institution stamps it with an assay mark. The fineness mark indicates how much gold, silver or platinum is in the jewellery.
Hallmarking Act
For centuries, hallmarks have been applied to gold, silver and platinum jewellery. These hallmarks are among the oldest forms of consumer protection. The Hallmarking Act of 1986 guarantees that, above a certain weight and bearing legally prescribed hallmarks, an item contains the correct fineness of platinum, gold or silver. In the Netherlands, this act makes it mandatory to hallmark gold jewellery weighing 1 gram or more. For silver, this applies from 8 grams.
Gold content and karat
Gold is the easiest of all precious metals to work with. Gold is therefore ideal for making jewelry. Pure gold is naturally a soft metal and therefore difficult to work into a piece of jewelry. To make the gold harder, other metals such as silver, palladium, or copper are added. In Europe, the amount of pure gold present in a piece of jewelry is expressed in karats. Pure gold is called 24-karat gold; this means a value of 100% gold. 18-karat gold is a combination of 75% gold and 25% other metals.
14 karat (585/1000)
18 karat (750/1000)
20 karat (833/1000)
22 karat (916/1000)
Alloys below 14 karat may not be called gold in the Netherlands.
Gold irritation
It is very rare, but in some people, a black mark can appear on the skin after wearing gold. There are two simple explanations for this:
- A change in the amount and composition of skin acids can cause a reaction to the gold alloy. This can happen, for example, during pregnancy.
- The use of medication and cosmetics such as hairspray, gel, and perfume can cause irritation. Anti-dandruff shampoo, in particular, leaves a residue on the skin. This affects the jewellery.