- 36% of gold jewellery listings had not been advertised as hallmarked
- Quote from Robert Cuomo, Managing Director of Hatton Jewellers
- EXPERT tips for spotting fake gold jewellery
Would you be able to tell the difference between real and fake gold? A 10-day internet sweep found that 36% of gold jewellery listings had not been advertised as hallmarked, duping customers into paying full price for fakes. The British Hallmarking Council are warning that customers could be tricked into buying fake gold jewellery.*
As there are limited amounts of gold available and the current demand for gold jewellery is high, fake gold is a quick way for scammers to make money on customers who don’t know what signs to look out for. That’s why Hatton Jewellers have revealed 5 top tips to spot fake gold jewellery.
Robert Cuomo, Managing Director of Hatton Jewellers, shares his expert advice on how to avoid buying fake gold jewellery;
“When shopping for gold jewellery it’s important to always look out for the key signs that the piece is authentic. The main tell will be the official hallmark stamp on the gold – this tells you that it has been authenticated by an assay office. Real solid gold jewellery is also non-magnetic, whereas fake jewellery typically contains metals that are magnetic. Another tell is a certificate of authenticity which should be supplied with your piece of gold jewellery, which is standard practice for us at Hatton Jewellers.”
5 Ways To Spot Fake Gold Jewellery
When shopping for your next piece of gold jewellery, you need to be able to tell what’s real from what’s fake. If you don’t know what to look for, you could end up being ripped off.
Hatton Jewellers’ jewellery experts give 5 top tips for spotting fake gold jewellery when shopping:
- Hallmark Stamps are your best friend
Always check the gold jewellery piece for a hallmark stamp – if it’s authentic gold, it will have one and if it doesn’t it will be fake. A hallmark stamp shows that the gold has been verified by one of the four assay offices (Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Sheffield) This is one of the clearest and easiest ways to check if a piece of gold jewellery is authentic. If it doesn’t have a hallmark stamp, you can steer clear of paying for fake gold jewellery.
- Appearance is everything
Knowing what to look for in appearance is everything. If a piece is gold-plated but masquerading as solid gold, it will have a much more vibrant yellow colour. This is because solid gold is mixed with alloy metal, diluting the yellow colour. Gold plated pieces will also chip easily, revealing the metal which has been used as the base – it won’t be gold!
- Keep an eye on the price tag
The price is a good indicator of whether or not your piece will be authentic. If it’s priced extremely low, it’s likely that it isn’t solid gold. Don’t let your hunt for a bargain blind you – trust your instincts.
- Read the reviews
Any trustworthy jeweller will have reviews that you can read, which is a great way to learn about other customers’ experiences with this retailer. If there are no reviews in sight, there’s likely a reason for that. After all, why wouldn’t a jeweller want to shout about how great they are?
- Get a feel for it
If you’re shopping on the high street, get hands-on with your gold jewellery. Authentic solid gold pieces will have a noticeable weight to them, whereas fake gold pieces are likely to feel a lot lighter. Testing the weight of various different pieces will give you a good idea of what to expect.
