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Last update : 03/08/2011
Geneva (3 August 2010): The Director General of Industrial Policy and Economic Competitiveness at Italy's Ministry of Economic Development has formally declared that Italy intended to accede to the Hallmarking Convention. In his letter dated 15 July, Dr. Andrea Bianchi indicates that the complete membership application will be submitted in due time. The application may already be submitted at the next Standing Committee meeting in Tel Aviv on 11 October 2010.
Stockholm (3 August 2011): The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, acting as Depositary government for the Precious Metals Convention, received today an official communication from the Austrian Government indicating that the Austrian Parliament successfully approved the proposed amendment of Annexes I and II. The Annexes thus enter into force today. For more information, see also press release below.
Tel Aviv (11 October 2010): The 67th meeting of the Standing Committee took place in Tel Aviv (Israel) on 11 October 2010. It was the first time that the Convention was meeting outside Europe. The meeting was hosted by the Standards Institution of Israel (SII) and attended by around 50 officials representing 22 countries of which 18 Contracting States and 4 other States (Croatia, Italy, Moldova, and the Ukraine).
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Ronald W.A. Le Bas (Irish Assay Office). Mr. Le Bas was re-elected Chairman for a period of two years. Ing. Martin Novotny (Czech Republic) was elected Deputy Chairman for the same period.
The Committee took note that Italy would submit a membership application shortly. It also noted that following the entry into force of the 2001 Amendment to the Convention, the first palladium articles were struck with the Common Control Mark (CCM). According to a survey, palladium is considered a precious metal in 10 out of 19 Contracting States. The Committee also noted that the Depositary was in the course of registering the Convention, as modified by the 2001 Amendment, with the UN Secretariat in line with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
The Committee finalised a proposal on the revision of the Convention's Annexes. Under the proposal, Assay Offices, authorised under the Convention, will be able to mark multimetal articles with the CCM. Moreover, they will have the possibility in some cases to apply only 3 instead of 4 minimum marks. The proposed revision will be officially communicated to all Contracting States by the Convention's Depositary, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affaires.
The Committee mandated the Standing Technical Committee (STG), a sub-committee established under the Convention, to review a proposal to revise technical decisions agreed by the Committee. The revised decisions should enter into force at the same time as the revised Convention's Annexes.
The Committee also reviewed statistics on the number of articles marked with the CCM as well as the operation of the Convention in general (e.g. consultations between Assay Offices, fake CCM, etc.). It agreed to conduct a Round Robin on Marking Technique and mandated the STG to elaborate guidelines on the independence of Assay Offices.
Members agreed to reconvene in Geneva (Switzerland) on 21 March 2011. Poland generously offered to host the autumn meeting on 19 September 2011.
The meeting was followed by a meeting of The International Association of Assay Offices (www.theiaao.com).
Geneva (19 May 2011): The Annexes to the Precious Metal Convention have been amended and will enter into force once Austria has ratified them. The main changes are the following: to adapt to technological changes, the desires of consumers and the needs of markets, the marking of multimetal articles will be possible under the Convention. These articles, which are made partly of precious metals and partly of base metals (e.g. gold and stainless steel watches), can be found on all markets. To facilitate their trade, they can be marked with the Convention "Common Control Mark" (CCM) as soon as Austria has ratified the Annexes. The marking rules under the Convention have also been slightly amended and foresee the possibility of exceptions to the rule stipulating that CCM articles must bear 4 marks: the fineness mark, the responsibility mark, the Assay Office mark and the CCM. In certain limited circumstances Assay Offices may drop the fineness mark. The circumstances have been defined by the Standing Committee in the "Compilation of decisions on technical matters", which has also been amended and which will enter into force at the same time as the amended Annexes. The conditions are the following: (i) where there is insufficient space on an article to apply all four marks; and (ii) where there is a risk of damage to an article by applying all four marks. The fineness mark can only be dropped if the fineness indication, contained in the CCM, is legible (i.e. readable with a 10x magnifying glass). The amended Annexes and the amended Compilation of Technical Decisions are available on the web page "Documents & Statistics" (http://www.hallmarkingconvention.org/documents.php)
Tel Aviv (11 October 2010): At its 67th meeting, the Standing Committee:
Geneva (24 March 2011): The Italian Ministry for Economic Development has submitted an official membership application to the Secretariat of the Precious Metals Convention. Italy is now officially an Applicant State to the Convention and enjoys the status of an Observer. An Inspection Team, set up by the Standing Committee, will visit Italy in the coming months. The purpose of the visit is to ensure that Italy can apply the Convention's requirements. The Team's report will be submitted to the Standing Committee at its next meeting in Warsaw (Poland) on 19 September 2011.
Geneva (28 May 2010): Following the entry into force of the amended Convention on 27 February 2010, the Standing Committee (SC) is now empowered to take "decisions on technical matters" (Article 10, paragraph 2 of the Convention). At the last SC meeting in Zurich on 13 April 2010, the SC made use of this new power and adopted in principle a number of "technical decisions" (previously referred to as "Recommendations" or "Schedules"). The compilation of all these technical decisions enters (entered) into force on 1 June 2010. It is available on the link below.
> Site webGeneva (24 March 2011): The 68th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC) took place in Geneva (Switzerland) on 21 March 2011 under the chairmanship of Mr. Ronald W.A. Le Bas (Irish Assay Office). The meeting was attended by 57 officials representing 25 countries of which all 19 Contracting States, 2 Applicant States (Italy and Ukraine) and 4 other States (Croatia, Iceland, India, and Macedonia).
Italy officially submitted a membership application and invited an Inspection Team, set up by the SC, to visit Italy in the coming months. The Team, led by the SC's Chairman, comprises experts from the Czech Republic, Portugal, Switzerland and the Secretariat. Both Croatia and India indicated that they were actively working on a membership application with the backing of their respective governments.
The SC adopted a revision of the Compilation of Technical Decisions, which will enter into force on 3 June 2011, i.e. at the same as the amended Convention's Annexes. From this date on, Assay Offices, authorised under the Convention, will be able to mark multimetal articles with the CCM. Moreover, they will have the possibility not to apply the fineness mark for small and fragile articles (the CCM already contains a fineness indication).
The SC agreed on a further amendment of the Compilation of Acts in order to include Explanatory Notes to the Convention and Guidelines on the Assessment Requirements for authorised, independent Assay Offices. The SC also agreed in principle on a revision of the election procedure of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. A formal proposal will be discussed at the next meeting. The SC also mandated the Standing Technical Group to review the Glossary contained in the Compilation of Acts.
The SC reviewed statistics on the number of articles marked with the CCM as well as the operation of the Convention in general (e.g. consultations between Assay Offices, fake CCM, etc.). It discussed a Dutch proposal to introduce compulsory accreditation to ISO 17025 for authorised Assay Offices. Although 18 out of 23 Assay Offices are already accredited, Members preferred to consider other tools in order to monitor non-accredited Assay Offices. These tools will be discussed at the next SC meeting.
The SC noted the various investigations and corrective actions taken by Assay Offices following last year's Round Robin (inter-laboratory proficiency testing scheme) on platinum, gold and silver. It also discussed two practical cases on "Assaying and Marking Practices". The Chairman of the Standing Technical Group (STG), Mr. Ashley Carson (Sheffield Assay Office), gave an outstanding presentation on the recently conducted Round Robin on Marking Technique, which attracted much attention. The SC re-elected all Members of the Standing Technical Group for another term of two years.
At the invitation of Poland, Members agreed to reconvene in Warsaw on 19 September 2011. The spring 2012 meeting will be held in Geneva on 26 March 2012.
The SC meeting was followed by a meeting of The International Association of Assay Offices (www.theiaao.com).
Zurich (14 April 2010): The 66th meeting of the Standing Committee, set up under the Hallmarking Convention, too place in Zurich (Switzerland) on 13 April 2010. The meeting was hosted by the Swiss Assay Office and chaired by Mr. Ronald W.A. Le Bas (Irish Assay Office), assisted by Mr. Bjarne Bang Christensen (Denmark), Deputy Chairman.
The meeting was attended by 63 officials representing 30 countries of which 18 Contracting States to the Convention (Cyprus was not represented), 1 Applicant State (the Ukraine) as well as 11 guests (a record number) coming from Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina (first-time attendance), Bulgaria (first-time attendance), China, Croatia, Iceland, Italy, Mauritius (first-time attendance), Romania, Serbia and South Africa (first-time attendance). Croatia, Italy and Serbia reported that they were currently consulting their respective governments on the possibility to lodge a membership application.
The Committee took note that the 2001 Amendment to the Convention had entered into force on 27 February 2010 following the successful ratification by Lithuania, the last of the 19 Contracting States to ratify the Amendment. The latter introduces amongst other matters palladium as a precious metal under the Convention (the new palladium Common Control Mark [CCM] was notified to the World Intellectual Property Organisation [WIPO]). The amendment also entitles the Standing Committee to adopt decisions on technical matter. Based on the amended Article 10(2) of the Convention, the Committee adopted a compilation of technical recommendations (formerly known as "Schedules") as "decisions on technical matter".
The Committee also agreed in principle on a revision of the Convention's Annexes, which will have to be submitted to the consent of all Contracting States. Denmark expressed reservations on one particular point of the revision (the combined CCM-fineness mark), where a compromise text must first be agreed before the proposed revision is officially communicated to all Contracting States by the Convention's Depositary, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affaires.
As the Convention's Annexes define the main technical principles under the Convention, the related compilation of technical decisions was also revised and agreed upon in principle. The revised decisions will enter into force at a later stage together with the revised Convention's Annexes.
These two revisions will allow the hallmarking of multimetal articles under the Convention. They will also introduce the possibility to combine the CCM & fineness marks (subject to conditions), a minimum size for all CCM, solder for palladium, etc.
The Committee also reviewed statistics on the number of articles marked with the CCM as well as the operation of the Convention in general (e.g. consultations between Assay Offices, fake CCM, etc.). Members also agreed on a checklist of requirements, which an independent Assay Office, authorised under the Convention, must fulfil as well as on a list of essential analytical and marking equipment. The Committee mandated the Standing Technical Group, a Sub-Committee under the Convention, to elaborate good practices for XRF marking.
Members agreed to reconvene in Tel Aviv (Israel) on 11 October 2010 and then in Geneva (Switzerland) on 21 March 2011.
The meeting was followed by a meeting of The International Association of Assay Offices (www.theiaao.com).
Vilnius (19 November 2009): The Lithuanian Parliament ratified today the 2001 Amendment to the Hallmarking Convention. Lithuania is the last of the 19 Contracting States to have ratified. Once the Lithuanian instruments of acceptance will have been deposited with the Convention's Depositary (the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs), the amended Convention will enter into force one months later. The amended Convention provides, inter alia, for the introduction of palladium and entitles the Standing Committee (the main decision-taking body under the Convention) to take binding decisions on technical matter.
Ipswich (6 October 2009): Dr. Frank W. Bennett, Chairman of the Standing Committee from 1990 to 1995, died today at the age of 81 years.
Dr. Bennett, who was Deputy Warden at the Assay Office London, first attended a Standing Committee meeting in October 1982 and served for 14 years as Member of the Standing Committee. During all these years, he greatly contributed to both hallmarking and the expansion of the Convention. He was instrumental in bringing the Czech Republic into the Convention in 1994 – only a few years after the Velvet Revolution and the collapse of the communist regime. All other Eastern European and Baltic countries (except Estonia) have since then joined the Convention.
The Chairman of the Standing Committee, Ronald Le Bas, attended the memorial service at Ipswich Crematorium on 23 October and represented the Convention.
Stockholm (28 January 2010): The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, acting as Depositary to the Hallmarking Convention, has announced that on 27 January 2010, the original Instrument of Acceptance of Lithuania was delivered to the MFA. Lithuania is the last Contracting State to ratify the 2001 Amendment to the Hallmarking Convention. Since all (19) Contracting States have ratified the 2001 Amendment, the Amendment will enter into force on 27 February 2010.
Geneva (13 September 2010): The background information brochure on the Hallmarking Convention has been updated and now includes the new palladium CCM marks. The brochure is available in English, French and German. It is available for free download at the following link:
http://www.hallmarkingconvention.org/documents.php
Geneva (10 June 2009): The 2001 Amendment to the Convention has been ratified by Finland (7 May) and the Netherlands (9 June), thus increasing the number of Contracting States having ratified the Amendment to 18. The Amendment, which considerably modernises the Convention and introduces palladium as a new precious metal, will enter into force once it has been ratified by all Contracting States. There is only one State left, which still needs to ratify: it is Lithuania.
Geneva (22 September 2009): The 65th meeting of the Standing Committee, set up under the Hallmarking Convention, was held in Geneva (Switzerland) on 21 September 2009. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Ronald W.A. Le Bas (Irish Assay Office), assisted by Mr. Bjarne Bang Christensen (Denmark), Deputy Chairman. The meeting was attended by 53 officials representing the Convention’s nineteen Contracting States, two Applicants State (Sri Lanka and Ukraine) as well as guests from CIBJO - the World Jewellery Confederation, Croatia, and Serbia.
It was the first time that the World Jewellery Confederation (www.cibjo.org), represented by its President, Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, attended a meeting. Dr. Cavalieri made several proposals for closer co-operation between CIBJO and the Convention - including the possibility of organising back-to-back meetings in the future.
The Croatian Metrology Institute informed the Committee that it would shortly request the Croatian Government to submit a membership application. The Sri Lankan Assay Office made a progress report on the various actions undertaken by Sri Lanka to comply with the Convention's requirements.
The Committee reviewed the ratification process of the 2001 Amendment to the Convention, which will - amongst other matters - recognise palladium as a precious metal. It noted that Lithuania, the last Contracting State to ratify the Amendment, had just started the ratification process. The Lithuanian Parliament is expected to complete the ratification by November. An entry into force of the Amendment is thus expected by early 2010.
Members discussed a number of technical matters such as the introduction of multimetal articles, permissible platings (including base metal intermediate layers), guidelines on offsite marking, and whether to accept partial hallmarks. Most of these matters were referred back to the Standing Technical Group (the STG is a Sub-Committee of the Standing Committee). The latter should meet in February 2010.
The Committee also reviewed the results of the last two Round Robins on gold and silver (interlaboratory testing scheme on precious metals). The results of the chemical analyses were considered to be good to very good.
Members agreed to reconvene in Zurich (Switzerland) on 13 April 2010.
The meeting was followed by a meeting of The International Association of Assay Offices (www.theiaao.com).
Stockholm (16 January 2009): The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, acting as the Convention's Depositary, has officially notified all Contracting States that Slovenia will become the Hallmarking Convention's 19th Contracting State on 5 March 2009. Slovenia successfully deposited its instrument of ratification with the Depositary on 5 December 2008. The Parliament of Slovenia ratified on 15 July 2008 the Hallmarking Convention as well as the 2001 Amendment to the Convention.
Kiev (22 Sept 2008): The 63rd meeting of the Standing Committee, set up under the Hallmarking Convention, took place in Kiev (Ukraine) on 22 September 2008. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Ronald W.A. Le Bas (Irish Assay Office) and attended by 58 officials representing the Convention's eighteen Contracting States, three Applicant States (Slovenia, Sri Lanka & Ukraine) as well as guests from Italy, Moldova (first-time attendance), Romania, Russia (last attendance: 1994), and Spain.
Read moreLondon (15 April 2008): The 62nd meeting of the Standing Committee, set up under the Hallmarking Convention, was held at Goldsmiths' Hall on 14 April 2008. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Ronald W.A. Le Bas (Irish Assay Office) and attended by 67 officials representing the Convention's eighteen Contracting States, three Applicant States (Slovenia, Sri Lanka & Ukraine) as well as a number of guests from China, Estonia, Italy, Romania, Singapore (first-time attendance), and Spain.
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