Hallmarking 9K gold in the USA

Jewelry Discussion
21 
It's one of those mysteries to me. Thou must not mark it -- so it
goes unmarked and therefore could be taken for anything really by
the purchaser who might assume 10K. Surely it would be better,
more honest and more forthright just to be able to mark it 9K and
have done with it.

The answer lies in the History of Goldsmithing. It would not be an
exaggeration to say, that quite often, fate of dynasties were
depending on goldsmithing. Nothing was as important to royal families
as jewellery, except may be the wars. So, it was quite natural for
them to maintain tight reins over the industry. Hallmarking laws is
simply one of ways to exercise control.

Leonid Surpin

22

My point is – leaving aside the law for a second - which is SUPPOSED
to be there to regulate producers in favour of the consumers - gold
is gold - whether there is one ounce in something or one pound. And
surely as long as it is correctly stamped as to the “percentage” of
gold if I may term it such, the regulators should not worry about
what is or what is not gold. They are confusing the word gold with
purity - gold is gold - au - gold. But regulators just go on
regulating so that they all have jobls as far as I am concerned. Like
the hospital that won the award one year - before it had any
patients. And it didn’t want patients because they would only mess it
up.

23 
I am not a lawyer but the only times I have read of people being
prosecuted is when someone deliberately sells under karat work in
an attempt to defraud

I’m not any kind of lawyer, either, but that’s actually a very good
question, above. I believe an analogy is in order. The age of
consent (when you can marry) is 18 in the US. I know it’s 16 in a few
countries, and I believe it’s 14 in a few, too. If you marry a 14
year old girl legally in your country, that’s fine. If you travel to
America it’s fine, too, because you’re not a US citizen…
British 9kt is a British product, just as Scotch is a Scottish
product and not subject to American laws that govern American
whiskey - bourbon.

24 
Does not matter what another country does. It is a "deceptive
practice" in the US to use the term "gold" for any alloy less than
10Kt gold.

Maybe mark it as “375 Electrum”. Everyone knows that electrum is an
alloy of gold and something else. It wouldn’t take an accurate leap
of intuition to discern that 375 indicates the ratio of the most
precious metal in the mix.

Similar for Shibumi, mark it as “500 Shibumi”, to indicate the ratio
of silver in the material.

In niether case are the substances being called gold or silver. They
are merely being called materials which imply gold or silver
content.

Would creating a standard like that be helpful?

25

I’m not quite sure how marking a ring 9kt is deceptive to consumers,
when I can’t leave the television on for more than fifteen minutes
without hearing about the newest “investment quality collectible
coin, clad in more than 20 milligrams of the purest .999 24 karat
gold.”

Willis

26

First, under 15 USC 297, addresses affixing Trademark Stamps to gold
and silver. They must be put on them. …

b) Identifying trademark Whenever any person, firm, corporation, or
association, being a manufacturer or dealer subject to section 294 of
this title -

(1) applies or causes to be applied to any article of merchandise
intended for sale or customarily sold as a complete product to
consumers in any State, by stamping, branding, engraving, or
otherwise, any quality mark or stamp indicating or purporting to
indicate that such article is made in whole or in part of gold or
silver or of an alloy of either such metal; or

(2) imports into any State any such article of merchandise bearing
any such quality mark or stamp which indicates or purports to
indicate that such article is made in whole or in

such person, firm, corporation, or association, before depositing any
such article manufactured or imported after six months after the
effective date of this Act in the United States mails, or causing
such article to be so deposited, for transmission thereby, or
delivering such article or causing such article to be delivered to
any common carrier for transportation from one State to any other
State, or transporting such article or causing such article to be
transported from one State to any other State, shall -

(A) Apply or cause to be applied to that article a trademark of such
persons, which has been duly registered or applied for registration
under the laws of the United States within thirty days after an
article bearing the trademark is placed in commerce or imported into
the United States, or the name of such person; and

(B) if such article of merchandise is composed of two or more parts
which are complete in themselves but which are not identical in
quality, and any one of such parts bears such a quality mark or
stamp, apply or cause to be applied to each other part of that
article of merchandise a quality mark or stamp of…

like pattern and size disclosing the quality of that other part.

27

Second, Violations of gold and silver stamping laws fall under 15
USC 298

TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 8 - FALSELY STAMPED GOLD OR SILVER OR GOODS MANUFACTURED
THEREFROM

-HEAD- Sec. 298. Violations of law

-STATUTE- (a) Criminal prosecutions; penalties; jurisdiction Each and
every person, firm, corporation, or association, being a manufacturer
of or a wholesale or retail dealer in gold or silver jewelry, gold
ware, silver goods, or silverware, who or which shall knowingly
violate any of the provisions of sections 294 to 300 of this title,
and every officer, manager, director, or managing agent of any such
corporation or association having knowledge of such violation and
directly participating in such violation or consenting thereto, shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof in any
court of the United States having jurisdiction of crimes within the
district in which such violation was committed or through which has
been conducted the transportation of the article in respect to which
such violation has been committed, shall be punished by a fine of not
more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than three months, or
both, at the discretion of the court. Whenever the offense is begun
in one jurisdiction and completed in another it may be dealt with,
inquired of, tried, determined, and punished in either jurisdiction
in the same manner as if the offense had been actually and wholly
committed therein.

(b) Suits by competitors, customers, or subsequent purchasers for
injunctive relief; damages and costs Any competitor, customer, or
competitor of a customer of any person in violation of section 294,
295, 296, or 297 of this title, or any subsequent purchaser of an
article of merchandise which has been the subject of a violation of
section 294, 295, 296, or 297 of this title, shall be entitled to
injunctive relief restraining further violation of sections 294 to
300 of this title and may sue therefor in any district court of the
United States in the district in which the defendant resides or has
an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall
recover damages and the cost of suit, including a reasonable
attorney’s fee.

© Suits by jewelry trade associations for injunctive relief;
damages and costs Any duly organized and existing jewelry trade
association shall be entitled to injunctive relief restraining any
person in violation of section 294, 295, 296, or 297 of this title
from further violation of sections 294 to 300 of this title and may
sue therefor as the real party in interest in any district court of
the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or
has an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and if
successful shall recover the cost of suit, including a reasonable
attorney’s fee. If the court determines that the action has been
brought frivolously, for purposes of harassment, or in implementation
of any scheme in restraint of trade, it may award punitive damages to
the defendant.

(d) Award of costs to defendant Any defendant against whom a civil
action is brought under the provisions of sections 294 to 300 of this
title shall be entitled to recover the cost of defending the suit,
including a reasonable attorney’s fee, in the event such action is
terminated without a finding by the court that such defendant is or
has been in violation of sections 294 to 300 of this title.

(e) Jurisdiction of civil actions The district courts shall have
exclusive original jurisdiction of any civil action arising under the
provisions of sections 294 to 300 of this title.

-SOURCE-

(June 13, 1906, ch. 3289, Sec. 5, 34 Stat. 262; Pub. L. 91-366, Sec.
1(a), (b), July 31, 1970, 84 Stat. 690.)

-MISC1-

AMENDMENTS 1970 - Pub. L. 91-366 designated existing provisions as
subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) to (e).

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1970 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 91-366
effective three months after July 31, 1970, see section 4 of Pub. L.
91-366, set out as a note under section 297 of this title.

SEPARABILITY For separability provision of Pub. L. 91-366, see
section 2 of Pub. L. 91-366, set out as a note under section 297 of
this title.

CONSTRUCTION OF 1970 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 91-366 to be held
to be in addition to and not in substitution for or limitation of the
provisions of any other Act of the United States, see section 3 of
Pub. L. 91-366, set out as a note under section 297 of this title.

28 
CHAPTER 8 - FALSELY STAMPED GOLD OR SILVER OR GOODS MANUFACTURED
THEREFROM

Hold on a tick, 9k stamped as 9k, is not false stamping is it? CIA

29 
How do you go with stamping Mokume in the US?

I dont stamp it as it does not fit within the stamping regulations.

James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

30 
In niether case are the substances being called gold or silver.
They are merely being called materials which imply gold or silver
content. Would creating a standard like that be helpful?

I agree it would be very helpful if some new standards emerged, but
it doesn’t seem likely that they will outside of trademark branding
promoted by individual producers. originally “sterling silver” was a
brand, not one of corporate ownership, but a regional/national
standard like “Scotch” or “Bourbon” whisky (as mentioned
already)Sterling and gold karat standards attained legal status when
the powers-that-be wanted to keep the goldsmiths from putting one
over on them. Argentium is a brand for a special kind of sterling
silver, but that is a brand with legal trademark ownership.
Unfortunately in todays legal/marketing environment establishing a
new standard that seeks consumer recognition is unlikely to emerge as
a word shared by several competing producers. It doesn’t seem very
likely that Argentium and the competing alloys from United and
Stuller are going to cooperate to market de-ox silver as a brand any
more than Pepsi and Coke would cooperate to promote Cola rather than
their own exclusive brands.

I find it interesting that the hallmarking debate in the UK is being
presented as consumer protection for the average guy, as if it was
such enlightened, progressive and benevolent government policy when
medieval kings introduced it as a means to audit their treasuries.
As Willis Hance has pointed out with some slick word-smithing you can
still keep within the letter of the law and still flim-flam the
uninformed consumer into thinking gold plate contains some serious
precious metal value that might be a good investment.

31 
Regardless of the law, no one should ever use gold alloy of less
than 10 karat.

Leonid, I think I’ve said this before, but my 9K gold pinkie ring,
worn 24/7 for over 30 years, looks great and has worn at least as
well as my 14K gold wedding ring (worn for 45 years). I think the
Brits are ahead of us on this issue.

Judy Bjorkman

32 
Hold on a tick, 9k stamped as 9k, is not false stamping is it?

It is in that the US does not recognize 9k as being gold. I know
this is silly but we are talking about laws and legislation which are
often quite silly.

James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

33

In US, rolled gold, plated, filled, etc., and silver falls under 15
USC 297. I imagine Mokume gane would fall under that since it is
neither solid gold nor solid silver and the law states "made in
whole or or in part of an inferior metal, having deposited or
plated thereon… affixed thereto a plating, covering, _or sheet
composed of gold or silver, _…

Val

34 
Maybe mark it as "375 Electrum". Everyone knows that electrum is an
alloy of gold and something else. It wouldn't take an accurate leap
of intuition to discern that 375 indicates the ratio of the most
precious metal in the mix.

Please buy some 10K gold or switch to gold front, 10K, 14K with
nickel back. Thanks

35 
The answer lies in the History of Goldsmithing.

But that doesn’t explain why 9K is accepted in Europe and not the
USA - one place had (has) royalty and one place didn’t and doesn’t
I’m all for standards - because how else does one measure excellence?

36 
I dont stamp it as it does not fit within the stamping
regulations.

That could open up some interesting problems, or do you find not
being able to stamp a problem, an inconvenience, or not important?

Regards Charles A.

37 
It is in that the US does not recognize 9k as being gold. I know
this is silly but we are talking about laws and legislation which
are often quite silly.

That’s weird isn’t it, it’s not like you’re trying to pass off the
gold as anything more than it is.

Meh, the law’s the law. We have to uphold it or take steps to change
it.

Regards Charles A.

38 
But that doesn't explain why 9K is accepted in Europe and not the
USA - one place had (has) royalty and one place didn't and doesn't
I'm all for standards - because how else does one measure
excellence?

USA laws allow for tolerance and Europeans do not. USA tightened it’s
rules and it created the discrepancy. In 70’s, one could stamp 10k on
8.5k alloy, and get away with it.

Leonid Surpin

39 
I think I've said this before, but my 9K gold pinkie ring, worn
24/7 for over 30 years, looks great and has worn at least as well
as my 14K gold wedding ring (worn for 45 years). I think the Brits
are ahead of us on this issue.

Your ring may be hallmarked 9k, but the actual alloy can be higher.
In US, government allows some tolerance in hallmarking. 10k does not
always exactly 10k. In Europe, laws are much stricter, and 9k is the
lowest allowable limit. So it could be than jewellery stamped 9k are
actually higher in gold content, than the one stamped 10k.

Leonid Surpin

40 
Hold on a tick, 9k stamped as 9k, is not false stamping is it? CIA

It’s not false stamping, but it can’t be sold as gold in the US.
It’s just a yellow metal.

Dave