Fineness Marks
Fineness Mark on the articles of precious metal in Estonia is compulsory mark. A Fineness Mark indicates the precious metal used for the manufacture of the article of precious metal and its standard of fineness..
According to the Precious Metal Articles Act the precious metal content is presented in thousands parts by weight (1/1000). The karat representation is not permitted.. The shape of fineness marks is different for different articles of precious metal. The shape of fineness marks and combined sponsor’s and fineness marks and the procedure for the marking of articles of precious metal with fineness marks is established by a Regulation No. 47 of the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications of 22 March 2004 “Shape of Fineness Marks and Combined Sponsor’s and Fineness Marks and Procedure for Marking of Articles of Precious Metal with Sponsor’s Marks and Fineness Marks or with Combined Sponsor’s and Fineness Marks”.
The standards of fineness and the background shapes of fineness marks of articles of precious metal are the following *:
| Precious metal | Standard Fineness | Formats for fineness marks |
|---|---|---|
| Gold articles | 375, 500, 585, 750, 916, 999 | 375 500 585 750 916 999 |
| Silver articles | 800, 830, 925, 999 | 800 830 925 999 |
| Platinum articles | 850, 950, 999 | 850 950 999 |
| Palladium articles | 500, 950, 999 | 500 950 999 |
* The fineness marks background shapes on the importing articles may be differ from above mentioned.
Articles consisting of alloys of the same precious metal with different grades of fineness shall be marked by the fineness mark of the alloy of the lowest grade of fineness.. The rights of precious metals article marking with Fineness mark has it’s manufacturer, importer or Assay Office of Estonia. Marks are entered on an article by mechanical means or a laser. Copying marks by mould is not permitted.
The Fineness Marks may be combined with:
Control Mark (combined Control mark and fineness mark):
Sponsor’s Mark (combined Sponsor’s and Fineness mark):
The combined mark’s background shape corresponds to the fineness mark’s shape.