Precious metal nuggets in jewelry

In the mid-1990s, nuggets of precious metals could be found in jewelry. Small, but bizarre in shape, nuggets, mostly gold, they were installed in the form of a central insert. However, quite quickly, by the beginning of the 2000s, the artisanal production of "nuggets" for inserts into jewelry and sale as a collection material was established. The gold alloy was cast in ligatures non-standard for the established samples (additions of base metals) according to models close to the shapes of natural nuggets, and then such “nuggets” were subjected to additional mechanical action in an abrasive medium in order to make the metal more similar to natural formations. A well-made forgery of a nugget was difficult enough to detect by conventional gemological methods. At present, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, all nuggets entering retail are accompanied by a Certificate (passport), that is, a document confirming the authenticity of its origin. The certificate can be issued both for a single nugget and for a batch. It provides information on the name of mineral raw materials (nuggets of gold, silver, platinum), batch number of mineral raw materials, weight, content of precious metals and their quantity, content of harmful impurities, as well as other parameters characterizing a nugget as a mineral raw material, including the place of extraction. The manufacturer, on the basis of the certificate, issues a Nugget Passport, or decorates the product with a specially designed label or tag. It is impossible to unambiguously confirm the naturalness of the nugget presented for examination, which does not have any distinctive features confirming its natural origin by non-destructive methods. Remember this and trust only trusted sellers.