The Benefits of XRF vs Karating
Karating, or reading the hallmark stamp on a piece of jewelry, takes about two seconds.
It's also one of the least reliable methods in precious metals testing.
Stamps can be faked. Gold-plated and gold-filled pieces are sometimes stamped with karat markings that don't reflect the actual metal content. Imported jewelry can carry stamps that don't follow standard conventions. Older pieces may have worn or missing marks.
A hallmark only tells you what someone claimed at the time of manufacture. Not what independent analysis confirms.
XRF analysis tells you what's actually there.
Point the analyzer at any piece of jewelry and get a complete elemental breakdown in seconds. Gold, silver, copper, zinc, palladium, and every other element present in the alloy, in exact percentages.
That depth of information catches things a karat stamp never will. A piece stamped 18K but containing only 14K gold shows up immediately. A gold-plated piece stamped with a karat mark gets identified for what it actually is — plated base metal, not solid gold.
XRF also identifies what the non-gold metals in the alloy are, which matters for pieces that may contain restricted substances, unusual alloys, or inconsistent compositions that don't match what the stamp implies.
For any professional buying, selling, or appraising precious metals, the question isn't whether XRF is better than karating. It's why you'd ever stop at the stamp when a definitive answer is a trigger pull away.
Karating starts the conversation. XRF finishes it.
Don't stop at the stamp.
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More Precious Metals Resources
There are a lot of ways to save money and time with XRF analysis, especially in industries that buy and sell precious metals. Learn more about the uses and benefits of XRF analysis for your business from an XRF professional.