Hallmarks
A hallmark shows that an assay office has analysed the precious metal content of the article and checked its conformity.
The image shows a Finnish hallmark
A hallmark can only be granted by a Tukes-approved impartial assay office, whose operations are supervised by Tukes. Tukes does not grant hallmarks.
There are currently no assay offices in Finland that carry out inspections and granting of hallmarks for articles of precious metal. If your company is interested in setting up an assay office that analyses precious metals and grants hallmarks, please contact Tukes’ registry office.
There are assay offices in other countries and some countries have mandatory hallmarking before articles can be placed on the market. To find the contact details for foreign assay offices please see the CCM website.
An assay office is tasked with examining the conformity of an article with regard to such things as the article’s precious metal content and marks, and it has the right to use the assay hallmark.
An assay office may also submit an application to Tukes for the right to stamp CCM hallmarks (link) in accordance with the Hallmarking Convention for different levels of fineness.
Analytical laboratories may also determine precious metal fineness or study, for example, the dissolution of nickel or heavy metal concentrations in articles. However, analytical laboratories do not have the right to use hallmarks. For more information on testing laboratories in different fields and their areas of competence, see the Finas website.