The Assay Office Prague is warning against false Hallmarks on Gold.
Hello all
Today I’ve find this brief and informative Warning on false Marks on Gold articles, especially on them of look like to be of »585« “fineness”.
Well, this warning is already from 4 March 2003 - but as you know, such a kind of false marked articles live long, very long indeed!
Please read here the original warning; or the following copy:
http://www.puncovniurad.cz/en/zpravy.aspx?aid=55
»The Assay Office Warning Against the False Hallmarks on the Gold Articles
The Assay Office Prague warns of the upward occurrences of the gold goods bearing the false hallmarks. The legal hallmarks represent the state guarantee for the genuine of the gold jewel, i.e. the gold fineness of the item. Forgeries of the hallmarks were found mainly on the goods of foreign origin and they occurred in many stores all over the country. The goods bearing the false hallmarks are often of a lower fineness, or they may well be made of the base metal alloys, usually of bronze or brass. Therefore the purchase of such goods may cause a great financial loss for the customer.
The quality of the forgeries is so perfect, that it may be very difficult to distinguish them. Therefore it is in the customer interest to buy the gold goods at the traditional retailers, and in the case of the purchase at businessmen it is useful to know the manufacturer. If you decide to buy a jewel, don’t buy it outside of the stable shops. If you have any doubts you should consult the experts, or contact directly some workplace of the Assay Office [A very informative photo of the mark in question is added there]«.
There are following also photos of false marks:
Please look here: http://www.puncovniurad.cz/en/zpravy.aspx?aid=56
By the way, it’s a very nice and very useful gesture of the Czech Assay Office Administration, to publish for those who are be also interested in basic laws, these in an English version.
Please look here, if you are interested: http://www.puncovniurad.cz/en/legislativa.aspx
Especially useful is the information on their Hallmarks; published in their »363 Decree« of 15 October 2003.
Please look here for a brief excerpt of genuine Czech Hallmarks: http://www.puncovniurad.cz/en/znacky.aspx
Please look here, if you are more interested: http://www.puncovniurad.cz/en/legislativa/text363.htm
Kind regards silverport