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If you have a collection of precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum or some precious stones that you want or need to sell, then you will obviously want the best price possible in return for your cherished items. With such valuable goods, it is unsurprising that in these tough economic times, all manner of outlets, bricks and mortar, shopping centre concessions and even on-line have sprung up, to offer an instant value for your goods and they cash in return, often the very same day. Whilst that sounds great if you really need the money quickly, you must also be sure to take the time to ensure that the value you are being given is not only fair, but accurately measured and of course most importantly, legal. Did you know that jewellery scales that are used to value your goods not only have to be regularly calibrated but also, Approved for Trade use sometime referred to as a Class II Approved Balance? Calibration on one hand is a routine testing of the jewellers scales with a known test weight, whereas Trade Approved Balances are signified by a sticker bearing black letter 'M' on a green background. This means that this model of trade approved balance has been rigorously tested and certified at the point of design and the subsequent manufacture as Approved for Trade Use. If the scales your retailer is using don't have the black 'M' sticker on them, then they are trading illegally and you should walk away from the sale. If your retailer is working in a mobile type environment, i.e. a shopping centre stand or house to house seller, ask them if their jewellers balance has internal calibration. If they answer yes, then ask then to demonstrate it. Another part of the trading Standards law in the UK is that if the scales are going to be used in more than one location then the balance must be equipped with an internal calibration system. This is so that the electronics of the scale can compensate and reset the balance in the vent of any environment changes such as temperature, whilst also recalibrating each time the unit is powered up. Did you also know that when jewellers use the term 'carat' they mean two different things, depending upon whether they are discussing gold, or stones? In the case of stones a carat is simply a unit of weight and 5 carats are equal to 1g. In the case of gold, a carat is a measure of purity. 24 carat gold is considered to be pure gold with 9 and 18 carat gold being gold alloys. 9 carat gold is 9/24 pure gold, or 37.5% in new money. Where did such a funny unit of purity come from? It turns out that a German gold coin called a mark was common about a thousand years ago. It weighed 24 carats (4.8 grams). The purity of the gold in the coin was expressed in the number of carats of gold present in this 24-carat coin. We will be talking more about Trade Approved Scales in an upcoming article discussing approval requirements in Industrial Scales. For now, take a look at our jewellery scales.
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