Legal Context:

Under the terms of the Legal Regime of Goldsmithing and Assay Offices (RJOC), approved by Law No. 98/2015, of August 18, an article made of precious metal is legally marked when it bears the marks of the following punches:

• · Responsibility Mark, Manufacturing Mark, or Equivalent: This mark indicates the responsibility of the manufacturer or the entity that produced the article.;
• · Assay Office Mark and Quality Mark: This includes the assay office mark and the quality mark (also known as the fineness mark) when the assay office mark does not include the quality mark.

The responsibility mark, manufacturing mark, or equivalent is the mark that contains the identifying engraving of the entity responsible for placing the article made of precious metal on the market. It reproduces a mark with a distinctive design and a letter from the first name, surname, or business name, with the design and letter being visibly distinct and enclosed in a peripheral outline.
The assay office mark reproduces a guarantee mark of the legal quality of articles made of precious metals or indicates certain circumstances, and identifies the assay office that uses it by the definition of the perimeter, which consists, respectively, of a curved figure or a symmetrical irregular octagon, depending on whether it is the Assay Offices of Lisbon or Porto. The symbol varies according to the metal.

Legal Marks of the Assay Office:

Additional information on the marks from other EU or EEA countries:

Articles made of precious metal from a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area may be placed on the national market without the need for testing and marking by the Assay Office, provided they bear the following marks (as stated in Article 11 of the RJOC):

• · Responsibility mark of manufacture or equivalent;
• · Assay office mark and quality mark, when the former does not include the quality mark;
• · Deposit at the assay office of the document proving the registration of the respective responsibility mark, manufacture or equivalent in the country that performed the control and quality assurance;
• · Recognition by the Portuguese Institute of Quality, based on a favorable opinion from the Director of the Assay Office, of the following cumulative requirements:

• · The informative content of the quality marks, assay office mark, and quality mark is equivalent to that of the quality marks established in the RJOC;
• · The informative content of the quality marks, assay office mark, and quality mark does not mislead the consumer;
• · The marking conditions of the quality marks, applied by the independent testing and marking body in the country that performed the control and quality assurance, are equivalent to those established in the RJOC.

For more information about the entities, metals, and recognized quality marks, you can consult the Portuguese Institute of Quality.

Articles made of precious metals from a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area (EEA) that are exempt from marking under the respective legislation, but are not exempt from marking under Portuguese legislation, must be previously tested and marked at a Portuguese Assay Office or at a recognized assay office in the country of origin in order to be placed on the national market.

All articles may be physically viewed by the competent authorities at:

Torres Distribuição, S. A.,
Avenida Almirante Reis, 39
1169-039 Lisbon

For access to the daily quotation of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, click here (in accordance with the provisions of paragraph a) of no. 1 and no. 2 of the previous article.