Changes to Standard Marks⁴
Equivalent to the assay and marking service, intended exclusively for articles that have already been legalised but have undergone changes, submitted by the customer with a justified declaration.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Batch analysis¹
Batch testing of articles of precious and/or ordinary metal, using one of the indicated assay methods with the following services: gold alloy cupellation assay, silver alloy potentiometry assay and platinum alloy assay by ICP, as well as by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy.
Non-destructive test (requires scraping the test surface). There may be a need for additional chemical testing (destructive testing).
Document issue
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Storage of articles of precious metal
Storage of articles of precious metal at the request of the economic operator.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Deposit of seized pieces⁶
Deposit of pieces seized by official entities, awaiting judicial decision.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Testing of temporarily imported articles
Testing of articles undergoing finishing processes, or pieces intended for inclusion in articles, temporarily imported and re-exported, after finishing or transformed by domestic industry.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 working days
Urgent – 3 working days
Normal – Up to 10 working days
Assay and marking¹
Testing of articles of precious metal, in accordance with the assay methods and by affixing the Portuguese assay office marks, as determined in the Legal Regime for Goldsmiths and Assay Offices (RJOC).
Document issue
Test report for bars;
Customs note for imports
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Home delivery assay and marking⁴
Equivalent to the Assay and Marking service, but executed outside the assay office.
A justified order must be submitted to obtain authorisation.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
PA (Prior Authorisation) assay and marking⁷
Equivalent to the Assay and Marking service, applied exclusively to articles legally sold in another member state, according to the “Mutual Recognition Regulation”
Document issue
Notifications and Assay Report where applicable
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Convention assay and marking¹
Assay of articles and watches of precious metal, according to assay methods that are used, and affixing of the Common Control Mark, according to the rules approved by the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals².
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Assay and marking of antique articles²
Service equivalent to the Assay and Marking service, applied exclusively to Special Interest Jewellery Artefacts.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Assay and marking of used articles³
Service equivalent to the assay and marking service, applied exclusively to articles of precious metals sold second hand.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Gold alloy assay by cupellation
Assay of gold samples to determine gold content using the cupellation method (fire assay), according to the ISO 11426 standard, or the microcupellation method (fire assay), based on the ISO
11426 standard.
The customer provides the sample or defines the sample collection place, where applicable.
Destructive testing.
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Palladium alloy assay by ICP
Assay of palladium to determine palladium content by Inductive Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (ICP), using yttrium as the internal standard, based on the ISO 11495 standard
The customer provides the sample or defines the sample collection place, where applicable
Destructive testing.
Document issue
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Platinum alloy assay by ICP
Assay of platinum samples to determine platinum content by Inductive Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (ICP), using yttrium as the internal standard, based on the ISO 11494 standard.
The customer provides the sample or defines the sample collection place, where applicable
Destructive testing.
Document issue
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Assay of silver alloys by potentiometry
Test of silver samples to determine silver content by volumetry (potentiometry) with potassium bromide according to the ISO 11427 standard or based on the ISO 11427 standard, in the case of reduced sample assays.
The customer provides the sample or defines the sample collection place, where applicable
Destructive testing.
Document issue
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Metal assay by ICP
Assay of metal alloy samples to determine metal content by Inductive Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (ICP), using yttrium as the internal standard.
The customer provides the sample or defines the sample collection place, where applicable
Destructive testing.
Document issue
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Metal assay by FRXDE
Assay of metal alloy pieces or samples by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. This test is non-destructive, but may require scraping of the surface to be tested.
The client defines the place where the composition and content will be determined.
Non-destructive test (requires scraping the test surface).
Document issue
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Testing of pieces and/or components
Testing of articles of precious metal covered by the weight exemption regime (article 9(4) of the Legal Regime for Goldsmiths and Assay Offices (RJOC)), of precious metal or ordinary metal pieces and/or components covered by the optional assay and marking regime set out in D.L. no. 44/2016, of 17 August.
Document issue
Customs note, if applicable.
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Assay of imported products
Assay of imported articles, for metal and fineness verification.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Examination of articles⁶
Determination of the type and fineness of metals, inspection to determine the origin and authenticity of marks affixed on articles.
Document issue
Expert Examination
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Mark verification examination
Identification and consumer information about assay office marks, for articles submitted with their respective invoices (free service – art. 14(3) of Directive no. 403-B/2015)
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
10 business days.
Mark information and identification¹
Identification and information about marks on articles of precious metal. The metal is not specified.
Document issue
Mark Information
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Inspection of 100% of articles¹
Assay of articles of precious metal and/or ordinary metal, by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy.
Analysis of the component with the lowest precious metal content, for each metal component.
Non-destructive testing (may require surface scraping).
Document issue
Test report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Scrapping of pieces
Scrapping of pieces of precious metal and/or ordinary metal
Document issue
Scrapping report
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Other laser markings
Equivalent to the service of other punch markings, applied to laser engravings in a range of different materials.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Other punch marks¹
Affixing of the sponsor’s mark or other marks.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Deadline to be agreed with the customer.
Home delivery of expert analysis of articles⁵
Verification of marks on articles of precious metal, carried out outside the assay office.
A justified order must be submitted to obtain authorisation.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
Verification of control marks¹
Verification of the origin and authenticity of official assay office marks, Convention marks and assay office marks recognised as equivalent by the Portuguese Quality Institute.
Document issue
No
Delivery Period
Express – 1 business day
Very Urgent – 2 business days
Urgent – 3 business days
Normal – Up to 10 business days
¹ For owners of sponsor’s punches, as well as owners and/or legitimate holders of articles of precious metal, provided for under the terms of the applicable legislation
² Approved, for ratification, by Decree no. 56/82, of 29 April, and amended by Decrees no. 42/92, of 13 October, 39/99, of 19 October, and 2/2006, of 3 January.
³ Exclusively for retailers buying and selling used items, as well as for the purchase and sale of used items by lenders, according to applicable legislation.
⁴ Exclusively for owners of sponsor’s punches under the terms of applicable legislation.
⁵ For licensed economic operators under the terms of applicable legislation.
⁶ Exclusively for official bodies.
⁷ Exclusively for owners of sponsor’s punches under the terms of applicable legislation, who submit articles of precious metal from the common market.
For services with a deadline agreed with the customer, the deadline may never exceed the 20 days established in the Code of Administrative Procedures
