convention on the control and marking of articles of

Convention on the

Control and Marking

of Articles of

Precious Metals

Standard

Presentation (last update: 11 June 2012)

Daniel Brunner

Secretary of the Convention

Geneva (Switzerland)

info@hallmarkingconvention.org

Introduction

Overview of presentation

-I- What is the Convention ?

-II- How does the Convention work ?

-III- How to join the Convention ?

-IV- What are the benefits ?

Part I

What is the

Convention ?

Convention

=

International treaty between

States on cross-border trade in

precious metals

Free trade area

for precious metals articles

« Schengen » for

precious jellewery and watches

Put in other words:

Precious Metals

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Palladium (since 2011)

Convention

signed in Vienna on 15 November

1972

Also referred to as:

Vienna Convention

Hallmarking Convention

Originally signed by 7 States

Today: 19 Contracting States

4 Applicant States

Candidates

Convention Members

Applicants

The Convention in Europe

How is the Convention organised?

Contracting States

Standing Committee

Chairman

Secretariat

Standing

Technical Group

Governing Principles

Dual representation

All decisions by consensus

Elected Chairman

Appointed Secretariat

Meeting in London

Part II

How does the

Convention work?

Goals of Convention

(a) Facilitate international trade

(b) Maintain fair trade

(c) Protect consumers

Preamble

The Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland, the

Kingdom of Norway, the Portuguese Republic, the

Kingdom of Sweden, the Swiss Confederation and the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

Desiring to facilitate international trade in articles of

precious metals while at the same time maintaining

consumer protection justified by the particular nature of

these articles;

Have agreed as follows:

How ?

Instrument: Common Control

Mark

System: Third party control

Common Control Mark (CCM)

Principle:

« Articles marked with the CCM are

imported without further testing or

marking »

Common Control Mark (CCM)

First and only international

hallmark / control mark

Same legal status as national

hallmark / control mark

CCM Statistics

+ 7,000% between 1977 and 2007!

Common Control Mark (CCM)

There are a number of legal &

technical requirements in order to

apply the CCM

Condition No 1

Articles must be assayed &

marked by an authorised Assay

Office (Art. 5)

Principle of independent third-party

verification

Authorised Assay Office

Art. 5 (1): “Each Contracting State shall

appoint one or more authorised assay

offices for the control and marking of

articles of precious metals as provided for

in Annex II.”

Condition No 2: 4 minimum marks

7 5 0

CCM

Assay

Office Mark

(control)

Responsi-

bility mark

Fineness

mark

Marks

Condition No 3:

Fineness must be legal in the

country!

Convention fineness:

Pt: 999, 950, 900, 850

Au: 999, 916, 750, 585, 375

Ag: 999, 925, 830, 800

Fineness

Art. 1 (2): “Nothing in this Convention shall require

a Contracting State to allow the importation or

sale of articles of precious metals which are not

defined in its national legislation or do not comply

with its national standards of fineness.”

Condition No 4:

Responsibility mark

must be registered in the country

applying the CCM – not in the

importing country!

Part III

How to join the

Convention ?

Conditions

1. Only a State can join

2. Must be recognised (United

Nations)

3. Hallmarking system

Hallmarking System

« Arrangements for the independent

assaying and marking of articles of precious

metals »

- - > compulsory (e.g. UK)

- - > voluntary (e.g. Sweden)

- - > mixed (e.g. CH)

Arrangements

=

Legislation

+

Organisation

Legislation

- Law on precious metals

- Law protecting marks against fakes &

forgeries

Organisation

=

Assay Office

+

Laboratory

Membership Procedure

Membership application

Inspection

Invitation

Ratification

Part IV

What are the benefits

?

Main benefits

Export facilitation

Fair & flexible system

Harmonisation of standards

Competitivity

Export facilitation

The Convention eliminates trade barriers and red tape

The CCM (symbol of quality) favours

exports

Fair & flexible system

All operators are treated equally

Win – Win for trade & consumers

(All benefit!)

CCM is purely voluntary

The Convention harmonises

* Control & marking (uniform)

* Standards: Convention = first & only

international agreement regulating

precious metals (see also CIBJO Blue Book)

Competitivity

(i) It gives Convention countries a competitive

advantage in terms of market location

(ii) It increases competition between Assay Offices

(€, h, service)

(iii) It gives CCM articles an advantage in terms of

marketing & quality

Networking

To conclude…

CCM = Passport to …

www.hallmarkingconvention.org

Documents

* Convention & Annexes

* Schedules

* Compilation of Acts

* Information Brochure

THANK YOU FOR

YOUR PRECIOUS

ATTENTION !

All that glitters is

not gold