Purity & Alloys

333 Gold is a gold alloy with a fineness of 333 parts per thousand (33.3%), equivalent to 8 karat, and is used primarily in the jewellery industry.

375 Gold refers to a gold alloy with a fineness of 375 parts per thousand (37.5%), known in the Anglo-Saxon world as 9-karat gold and used primarily in the jewellery sector.

585 Gold is a gold alloy with a fineness of 585 parts per thousand (58.5%), internationally equivalent to the 14-karat standard, and is widely used especially in the jewellery sector.

750 Gold refers to a gold alloy with a fineness of 750 parts per thousand (75.0%), corresponding to 18 karat, and is the most widely used quality in the jewellery and watch industry.

800 Silver is a silver alloy with a fineness of 800 parts per thousand (80%), widespread especially in German and European flatware and cutlery.

835 silver is a silver alloy with a fineness of 835 parts per thousand (83.5%), particularly characteristic of Germany and Central Europe for cutlery and jewellery of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

900 gold refers to a gold alloy with a fineness of 900 parts per thousand (90%), equivalent to 21.6 karats – a historically significant standard for European and American circulation coins.

916 gold refers to a gold alloy with a fineness of 916.6 parts per thousand (22 karats), used worldwide primarily for high-quality jewellery and bullion coins.

An alloy is a mixture of a primary metal and one or more additional metals (alloying metals), resulting in deliberately altered physical or chemical properties.

An alloying metal is a base or noble metal added to a precious metal in a defined quantity in order to deliberately alter hardness, colour, melting behaviour or other properties.

Britannia Silver denotes a silver alloy with a fineness of 958 ‰ (95.8%), introduced in England in 1697 as a higher standard alongside sterling silver (925 ‰).

Fine gold denotes gold with a fineness of at least 999 thousandths (999 ‰), i.e. a purity of 99.9 per cent or higher.

Fine gold content indicates what proportion of a gold alloy consists of pure gold, expressed in thousandths (per mille) or karats.

Fineness indicates how much pure precious metal is contained in an alloy — expressed in thousandths (e.g. 999) or in karats (e.g. 585 = 14 karat).

Gold filled (gold double) is a base metal core (usually brass or copper) mechanically bonded to a thick gold layer by hot-rolling — in contrast to electrolytic gold plating.

Gold plating refers to the application of a thin layer of gold onto a base of non-precious or precious metal, glass, or ceramic in order to improve appearance, corrosion protection, or electrical properties.

Green gold is a gold alloy with a high silver content that gives the metal a characteristic greenish-yellow hue.

Nickel silver is a silver-coloured copper-nickel-zinc alloy containing no silver whatsoever, which was historically used as a silver substitute because of its appearance.

Nickel white gold is a gold alloy in which nickel serves as the primary bleaching metal to give yellow gold a silvery-white colour.

Palladium white gold is a gold alloy in which palladium serves as the primary alloying metal, giving gold its characteristic silver-white colour.

Red gold is a gold alloy with a high copper content that gives the metal its characteristic reddish to warm bronze-coloured hue.

An electroplated layer of rhodium applied to jewellery or coins to enhance brilliance, scratch resistance, and tarnish protection.

Rose gold is a gold alloy with a characteristic pink to reddish hue created by a deliberate copper content.

Sterling silver is a silver alloy containing 92.5 % fine silver (925/1000) – the standard for cutlery, jewellery, and many collectibles.

Tombac is a copper-zinc alloy with a copper content of 67–90%, known for its gold-like colour as a decorative material and historic coin metal.

Vermeil refers to gold-plated sterling silver with a minimum gold coating of 2.5 micrometres, positioned as a distinct jewellery category between solid gold and simple gold plating.

White gold is a gold alloy to which white metals such as palladium, nickel or silver are added to create the characteristic silvery-white colour.

Yellow gold is the classic gold alloy made from gold, silver, and copper, whose warm yellowish colour most closely resembles the pure metal.