Sweden was one of the initiators of the Precious Metals Convention, which was formed in 1975. Today, 19 countries are participants in the Convention, and these countries have agreed between themselves on which rules should apply, for example, to hallmarks and that precious metals can be exported freely between the countries.
– Trade in precious metals is a non-harmonised area within the EU. Each country has national rules on how to use hallmarks and the fact that these rules differ hampers trade. The Precious Metals Convention is an international agreement that promotes international trade, says Valentina Valestany, who is responsible for the supervision of precious metals work at Swedac.
She believes that the Precious Metals Convention itself constitutes a hallmark of quality.
One of the main advantages of the Precious Metals Convention is that it increases consumer security.
– Hallmarking itself protects consumers. The harmonised rules make it easy for consumers to recognise the hallmarks. There are also strict controls within the Convention. If you claim that there is a certain amount of gold in a piece of jewellery then it really is the case.
The countries participating in the Precious Metals Convention are, in addition to Sweden: Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.