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 | about us | activities & departments | standardization | quality assurance | | testing services & testing laboratories | department of metrology | contacts | All contents © copyright 2001 Ministry of Commerce and Industry. All rights reserved. |
| PRECIOUS
METALS ASSAYING LABORATORY Introduction The Precious Metal Assaying Laboratory was established in 1981 through the Present system of control on quality of jewellery requires all jewellery shops to register a "sponsor" mark and all articles offered for sale by them to be stamped by " sponsor" mark along with the "Fineness" mark, except when the articles are marked with accredited (recognized) Hallmark. a) Ministerial Decree to focus on consumer protection by: Controlling the Quality of jewellery by regular inspection and drawl of precious metal articles and testing from jewellery shops. b) Providing reliable and affordable testing for the purity of precious metals. The fineness of gold in terms of karat and percentages, where the fineness of silver is expressed in term of percentages. Assaying 1. Gold is assayed in this laboratory by Fire assay "Cupellation" which is the most common, reliable, sample and low cost method recognizes employed around the world. There is another less common method for gold assaying called Touch Stone Test which is used as a reference test 2. Silver: is assayed in this laboratory by potentiometric titration which is the most common, reliable, sample and low cost method recognizes employed around the world. Hallmarking Law On 18 Sha'aban 1421 H corresponding to 15 November 2000 Royal decree No. 109/2000 was issued, Promulgating the Law of Precious Metals Control (Hallmarking Law). The Hallmarking will be soon introduced and operated in this country by the DGSM. applied to all articles in country. Hallmark is a quality control mark placed on an article of precious metal. Sometimes called assay or standard mark. It is applied after accurate independent testing by an approved and authorized assaying laboratory in this case Precious Metal Assaying laboratory of the DGSM under a wall defined and clearly specified scheme for quality assurance procedures and system is a third purity assurance guarantee to the consumer that the article has been independently assayed and certified that the metal used conforms to national and international standards of fineness ( purity). Jewellery Exhibitions For precipitins in any precious metal and jewellery exhibitions organized in sultanate Oman the following conditions are required. Observe the ministerial decision No. 12/83 & stipulate the followings: - All the products should have the standard and producer's name stamped on it and accompanied by an attested certificate confirming the correctness of the standards. - Standards for exhibits should not be less than the legal standards as follows: Gold :999 or 24 karat Gold :916 or 22 karat Gold :875 or 21 karat Gold :750 or 18 karat Silver :925 Silver :800 Platinum :950 - Soldering material should be of the same Karat as that of the Article. Every article having a precious stone in it should be accompanied by a card with the following information: - Stone name and whether its natural or synthetic. - Stone weight in carat. - The grade, in case of diamond. A sale invoice should be issued for each item clarifying the following: - The item description and its mass in gm/m gm. - The karat and carat of the article. The inspectors of the Directorate General for Specification and Measurements (DGSM) shall be given access to the exhibition, and shall have the right to take any samples for inspection and confirmation of the above conditions. The DGSM shall be in formed in advance of any change in the date and place of inspection. A list of number and names and addressee of the shops participating in the exhibition shall be provided to Directorate General for Specification and Measurements ( DGSM) in advance. Gemstones The gemstone are mainly classified in to three categories: 1) Natural stones. 2) Synthetic stones. 3) Imitation stones. The laboratory provides written and verbal reports on gemstones for customers which can be invaluable when selling and buying items of jewellery. The gemstone report mainly consists of: - Weight, dimensions and cut. - Description of the colour and transparency. - Identification ,for example (Ruby, Sapphire,…..) , and nature of the stone. - Comments, for example, external damage, special phenomena ( asterism, chatoyancy,….) Fees Currently Fees for precious metal assaying and gemstone testing are as below:
+ DGSM reserves the right to revise the fees without prior notice.
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