Politics class in high school talked about a topic of "natural gold and silver are not currencies, but the currency is naturally gold and silver." Gold and silver are but two rare metals in nature that are not in themselves currencies. Currency is a historical category, as long as gold and silver existed before the currency appeared, so gold and silver are not natural currencies. When the commodity trade develops to the gradual unification of the equivalent, the heavy responsibilities of the general equivalent often fall naturally on the gold and silver, because the small value of gold and silver is high, inanimate, fragile, portable and appraised, with Many take the advantage of a generic equivalent. When the general equivalent is fixed on gold and silver, money is produced. When gold and silver are used as currency, its "identification" is a very important step. It is easy to understand, if you sell to someone else a commodity, the purity of gold and silver received is not enough, it is a loss! So "to verify the gold and silver coins in the precious metal content" for the purpose of most European countries have implemented a few A hundred years of precious metal identification and control. In addition to being used as currency, precious metal such as gold and silver is often used in jewelry, silverware and watches. Therefore, for this category of goods, the state will also be included in the scope of identification and control. This is why we can see the mark on the precious metal watch. A total of four common markings, namely: "Mark of the host country precious metal" "Precious metal purity mark" "Common control of the precious metal mark" "Factory logo, responsibility mark" In the above Rolex Yacht 2 case back cover, have been separately marked. (Forgive me for my trash shooting ability to make gold into a stainless steel). Precious metal purity mark As we all know, gold is soft. Although this metal can be made case, clasp, but it is easy to damage. So now except for some gimmicks brands that use pure gold for their production, almost all of the brands use alloying materials based on gold. The most popular of these alloys is a mixture of 75% gold and 25% other metals. Such a proportion of alloy material, known as "750" or "18K". What these two numbers represent is precisely the gold-to-alloy ratio of 750, or twenty-four. From left to right are 18k yellow gold, 18k red gold, 18k white gold, PT950 platinum 75% of the mixture of gold due to other types and proportions of different metals produce different colors and hardness. Of the other 25% of the other metals in 18k white gold, nickel, silver, palladium, manganese, etc., the addition of these metals turns the gold color white. The color of the 18k red gold is mainly the metal "copper". People have become accustomed to defining changes in their color with different numbers. 3N red gold (with 75% pure gold, 13% silver and 12% copper) 4N red gold (with 75% pure gold, 9% silver and 16% copper) and 5N red gold (with 75% gold, 4.5% silver and 20.5% copper). As you can see, the less silver added and the more copper, the more reddish the color is. So sometimes, we can also see some brands of imprint processing, in addition to representing the purity of 750, and the 18k gold ratio used on behalf of its "N coefficient." It is worth noting that, 18K red gold will be different because of the brand, origin. Even the same watch of the same brand has a slight color shift because there is a lot of problem with the making of the alloy and it is impossible to guarantee exactly the same. With 18k yellow gold, 18k red gold, 18k white gold, the general mark is "750" or "18K". The noble platinum is an exception, it is marked by "PT950." Where PT is the abbreviation for "Platinum Platinum" and 950 is the meaning of purity. The country of precious metal mark For the identification and control of precious metals, each country is different. They all use their own precious metal control regulations, with independent sampling, testing, marking and technical requirements. Because we are talking about watches, so this time we mainly talk about clocks and watches power "Switzerland" precious metal imprint. Now the official name for the precious metal stamp used in Switzerland is "head of a St. Bernhard dog", which is called "St. Bernard Dog Head" in Chinese translation. Before 1995, Switzerland demanded that precious metal watches be marked to distinguish between different raw materials. The gold watch needs to be marked with "Queen" avatars, while silver is required to have a "duck" stamp. After 1995, Switzerland amended its standard on the use of precious metal stamps, stating that the watch is covered in a "Saint Bernard dog" as long as it is a watch of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and palladium). Many watch friends see "St. Bernard dog head" thought it was gold, but in fact one yuan RMB 4 silver is considered "expensive" metal. For the "St. Bernard dog head" mark is concerned, it is not arbitrary cover up. In Switzerland, it is completely protected by law. "St. Bernard dog head" mark has been severely restricted, even the size is no exception. There are a total of two "St Bernard dogs", one is a big dog, the size is 2 mm wide and 1.6 mm high, the other is a puppy, the size is 1 mm wide and 0.8 mm wide. In Switzerland, testing of precious metals is done by the offices and offices below the Federal Customs Service. Currently they have a total of 40 inspectors, each year responsible for the detection of more than 1 million pieces of precious metals, assessment. In order to divide the responsibility, each subordinate office dog head seal is nuanced. Under a magnifying glass, we can clearly see that there is a letter "G" in the lower right corner of the St Bernard's head. This "G" represents the "Geneva Geneva" office that originally conducted the precious metal inspection and identification of this case. These are the abbreviations of the branches of accreditation agencies throughout Switzerland, interested friends can take a magnifying glass to see where their watch was certified. Prior to this, the seal of St. Bernard's head was hand-engraved, very fine. Capped over the precious metal, we can see noticeable bumpy changes, even the dog's tongue and hair can be identified. Fake watches, precious metal stamp often can not do so realistic, so many of your friends rely on the mark to identify the true and false watches. However, in recent years, there has been a new way of adding stamps - laser engraving. This "St. Bernard dog head" mark has appeared in the Omega, Earl, celebrities and other brands on top. The depth of its carving is very shallow, it is easy to wear out. At the same time, because it is made of laser, greatly increased the risk of being faked. At present, in the country there are clasp and other precious metal accessories, and then marked with this laser version of the "St. Bernard dog head" posing as genuine. The danger factor is very large, do not know how the Swiss guy think. Self-destructive people to forgery! In addition, "St Bernard dog head" mark is not dedicated to the Swiss-made precious metal watches. In addition to other countries in Switzerland, watches in the local sales in Switzerland also have to go for testing and assessment. Common control of the precious metal imprint Light Swiss precious metal stamp has been troublesome, there are many European countries. The technical and legal requirements in all these countries impede cross-border trade in precious metal products. After prolonged discussions in the 1960s, the Convention on the Control and Indication of Precious Metal Products (abbreviated as the Hallmark Convention or the Vienna Convention) was signed in Vienna in November 1972 and entered into force in 1975. In this contract, all nations reach an agreement to mark precious metals with a fair balance. The numbers above represent the purity of the precious metal, while the balance's outer frame represents the different precious metal species. For example, platinum is the prism frame, gold is two overlapping circles. Factory standard, responsibility mark In addition to the need to monitor and control watches of precious metals at both national and international levels, its original producer is also under the watch. Original producers of precious metal items need to apply for a "Responsibility Mark" at the Precalrous Central Control Office in Berne, capital of Switzerland, which translates as "Mark of Responsibility" or "RM" for short. The common "mark of responsibility" is this, the shape comes from the use of metal processing "iron anvil" or "hammer" frame, which sets a figure. Different numbers represent different manufacturers. Too much trouble is that since the shape and appearance of the Seal of Responsibility have almost no binding provisions as long as it is not similar to or identical to the official emblem, other already registered liability marks, registered trademarks or brand names or the abbreviations of international organizations. So in real life, we can find a variety of "mark of responsibility." Unless you are an old driver inside the industry, it is impossible to remember exactly which factory produced the shell, clasp, strap. In addition to the "Seal of Responsibility" for those wonderful shapes, some watch brands have been able to produce their own precious metal accessories such as housings, so they often use "factory labels" with obvious brand marks to apply for their own "mark of responsibility." Such as the above "responsibility mark" is from "Rolex" and the brand crown similar trademarks, as long as a little knowledge of a little time can recognize friends. For the "responsibility mark", Switzerland's management is also very strict. Once applied, the "mark of responsibility" can not be changed within 20 years, in case a person often changes to cause misunderstanding. Even if a "responsible mark" production company, the plant took place ownership transfer, but also to Berne's Precious Metals Central Control Office to change. Once you have a problem, you can quickly find the person in charge. Behind the little precious metal imprint is a big story, in addition to the story, the imprint to my watch friends in terms of still have a certain role. For example, through the imprint of the complete extent to speculate whether the watch has been polished, watch the true and false ..... Note that the term mentioned is "speculation", not confirmation. Precious metal stamp of the watch because the time span is too long, involving too many countries, and most of the manual stamp, there are new true table of the mark blurred, overlapping stamp cover situation, so can not rely on imprint to determine a Watch the status and true and false. This article is reprinted from watch network, if you have any questions, please send an email to wbsj@wbiao.cn to contact us.