Palladium Hallmark – Now It’s Compulsory

Palladium was first discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston and has been used as a precious metal for manufacturing jewelry since 1939. It is also used for manufacturing a variety of other products, such as computers, cellular phones and component plating.

Palladium is a silvery-white metal and joins platinum, rhodium, iridium, and osmium in making up the platinum metal group (PMG).

Palladium Facts

• Over half of the supply of palladium is used in the manufacturing of catalytic converters, which converts over 80{b73dba2f17de0d6747e2a4e2a5d8cd71a65ae593e6462933d3c03b3044ece260} of the poisonous gases produced by automobile exhaust into less harmful substances.
• When palladium was first introduced into jewelry, it was primarily used as a substitute for platinum and white gold, although it was more expensive.
• It is less dense than platinum and 12{b73dba2f17de0d6747e2a4e2a5d8cd71a65ae593e6462933d3c03b3044ece260} harder.
• In 2004, when the prices of gold and platinum soared, palladium became more popular and Chinese jewelers began using it in the manufacturing of rings and bracelets to such an extent that it accounted for 14{b73dba2f17de0d6747e2a4e2a5d8cd71a65ae593e6462933d3c03b3044ece260} of the total palladium demand. And by 2007, jewelry demand for palladium was 1.4 million ounces or 21{b73dba2f17de0d6747e2a4e2a5d8cd71a65ae593e6462933d3c03b3044ece260} of the total demand.
• It’s chemical symbol is PD

The Palladium Hallmark is Made Compulsory For Rings & Jewellery

In July 2009, a voluntary hallmark (unique marking) was awarded for palladium and on 1 January 2010, became compulsory. Now it is a legal requirement on all pieces of palladium jewelry weighing one gram or more to display the hallmark, which can only be obtained from one of the four assay officers in the U.K.

This compulsory hallmark makes it an illegal act to sell palladium jewelry without the hallmark. To receive the hallmark, the jewelry must be tested for a minimum of 500, 950 or 999 parts per thousand.

The hallmark has received a warm welcome from U.K. jewelers as 40,000 pieces have been hallmarked in the past six months.

Until the palladium hallmark, the U.K. had only three metals that fell under the Hallmark Act of 1973, platinum, gold and silver.

The palladium hallmark was established for two important reasons, to protect consumers as well as jewelers and to increase the production of palladium.

Because it is impossible to assess the purity of palladium without technical means, the actual palladium content of a piece of jewelry was unknown. Consumers were purchasing items without knowing its true value.

The absence of this information made many consumers skeptical of palladium. By awarding palladium a hallmark, which makes testing mandatory, consumers now know the purity of an item, thus increasing demand for palladium jewelry and in turn, increasing production.

The hallmark also protects jewelers from unfair trade practices and consumers from rogue traders. The palladium hallmark is an image of Pallas Athene (Goddess of War) and Wisdom of Craft (after whom palladium was named) is also available.