You have spotted a tiny "750" stamped inside a ring. Or a small bird in profile, almost impossible to read. You want to know what it means. Not a lecture on the merits of gold: a clear definition. Here it is. 750 means 750 parts pure gold per 1000, in other words 75 per cent. It is exactly the same thing as "18 carat". The rest of this article explains what that mark guarantees, and above all what it does not.

What 750 means on a piece of jewellery, exactly

A gold piece of jewellery is never made of pure gold. Pure gold, at 24 carat, is far too soft to hold a stone or survive daily wear. So it is alloyed with other metals.

The fineness expresses that proportion. It is read in parts per thousand. Gold at 750 contains 750 parts of fine gold for every 1000 parts of alloy. That is 75 per cent gold. The carat system says the same thing differently: 18 parts out of 24 is indeed 75 per cent. "18 carat gold", "750 gold" and "18K" therefore describe one and the same metal.

What about the remaining 250 parts? That depends on the colour you want. For 18 carat yellow gold, copper and silver, in proportions that make the yellow warmer or cooler. For 18 carat white gold, white metals such as palladium, usually followed by a surface rhodium plating that gives that cool brightness.

The alloy is not a cheap addition. It is what makes the piece wearable. A 24 carat gold band would bend out of shape in your pocket.

The eagle head hallmark, the French guarantee for 750 gold

In France, a gold article sold to the public must carry two distinct marks. They do not say the same thing.

The guarantee hallmark certifies the fineness of the metal. For 750 gold, French law uses an eagle head. That is the mark you are looking for when you want to know whether your piece really is 18 carat gold. It is tiny, usually placed inside the band, on the clasp or on the bail. A loupe is almost always needed.

The maker's mark, also called the responsibility mark, identifies the manufacturer. It is diamond shaped and contains the initials of the professional plus a symbol of their own. It says nothing about fineness. It says who answers for the piece.

An imported piece may instead carry what is known in France as the international mark: a lozenge containing the number 750. It counts as proof of fineness in the countries that signed the relevant convention.

The other French finenesses have their own symbols. Gold at 585 parts per 1000, that is 14 carat, carries a scallop shell. Gold at 375, that is 9 carat, carries a clover. And 925 silver carries a Minerva head, the mark struck on our Faubourg 1925 silver pieces. All of them are struck in the same discreet places: inside the band, on the clasp, on the post of an earring.

Is recycled 18 carat gold really 750 parts per 1000?

This is the question we are asked most often, and nobody answers it plainly online. So let us be clear.

Yes. Recycled 18 carat gold is gold at 750 parts per 1000, and in France it carries the same eagle head hallmark as mined gold.

Here is why. Recycled gold comes from old jewellery, workshop offcuts and industrial waste. That material is sent for refining. Refining separates the gold from everything else and brings it back to fine gold, at 999.9 parts per 1000. What comes out is chemically identical to a bar from a mine. A gold atom has no memory. It is then alloyed again to obtain 18 carat gold at 750 parts per 1000, exactly as with newly mined gold.

The direct consequence: "recycled" does not mean "less pure". It is not a by-product, nor second rate gold. The legal fineness is the same. The hallmark is the same. The strength is the same. The material value is the same.

We also have to say what "recycled" does not guarantee. Once gold has been melted and refined, tracing it back to its origin becomes impossible. Traceability is lost in the crucible. That is a real limitation of recycled metal, and we would rather write it down than keep quiet about it. We go into that debate in our article on recycling old jewellery.

Why some gold jewellery carries no eagle head

You own a pair of gold studs. You hunt for the hallmark with a loupe. All you find is a small lozenge, or nothing at all. Do not panic. There is an exemption threshold, and almost nobody explains it.

According to the French customs authority, the Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, gold and platinum articles weighing less than 3 grams and silver articles weighing less than 30 grams are exempt from the guarantee hallmark. Source: douane.gouv.fr, procedure "Faire marquer ou marquer vos ouvrages d'un poinçon de garantie". This is French law, so it applies to pieces made or sold in France, not to hallmarking rules in your own country.

The exemption removes no substantive obligation. Three things remain true. The piece must meet the legal fineness it claims. It must carry the maker's or responsibility mark of the manufacturer. And the seller remains liable for the conformity of what it sells.

In practice, this means that a stud earring, a very fine ring or a small chain can legally carry no eagle head without being any less genuine. Weight makes the difference, not the quality of the metal. A wide 18 carat gold ring will easily go past 3 grams and will therefore carry the guarantee hallmark.

Other exemptions exist in France: objects made before 1838, pieces already bearing old French hallmarks, articles too fragile to be struck, and certain goods from a European Union or European Economic Area country, or from Turkey, that already carry both marks.

18, 14 or 9 carat: what the number changes

The number changes three concrete things: gold content, colour and how the metal behaves over time.

18 carat gold, 750 parts per 1000. 75 per cent gold. The colour is deep and unambiguous. The metal is hard enough to hold a setting and rich enough in gold not to react on most skins. It is the standard of French fine jewellery.

14 carat gold, 585 parts per 1000. 58.5 per cent gold. The tone is paler. The metal is slightly harder, so slightly more scratch resistant. It is very common in North America and in the United Kingdom, much less so in France.

9 carat gold, 375 parts per 1000. 37.5 per cent gold. In France, that is the minimum legal fineness. The piece contains more alloy than gold. The colour is noticeably duller, and the high proportion of copper and other metals raises the risk of a skin reaction on sensitive skin. Its appeal is the price.

There is another difference, less visible but real: material value. For the same weight, a 750 piece contains twice as much gold as a 375 piece. That matters the day the piece is valued, repaired or remade. Our gold buying guide goes further into those trade offs.

Solid 750 gold or gold plated, the confusion to avoid

This is the most common trap, and it comes from an ambiguity in the wording.

A piece in solid 750 gold is gold all the way through. Cut it in two and you see gold. It carries a guarantee hallmark, the eagle head in France.

A gold plated piece is made of a non precious metal, usually brass, covered with a thin layer of gold. When a product page says "750/1000 gold plated", the 750 describes the fineness of the surface layer, not of the piece. The piece itself is not a gold article. It carries no eagle head. And the day the layer wears through, the grey metal appears.

Vermeil is a case of its own, and often misunderstood. It is 925 silver covered with a gold layer of a regulated minimum thickness. The core of the piece is therefore a precious metal, unlike gold plating. But in law it remains a silver article: it carries a silver hallmark, not an eagle head. A gold coloured piece stamped "925" is not a mistake. It is most likely vermeil.

Simple summary. 750 gold: gold throughout, eagle head hallmark in France. Vermeil: gilded 925 silver, silver hallmark. Gold plated: gilded base metal, no precious metal hallmark at all.

How to tell if a piece is really 750 gold

Four checks, from the simplest to the most serious.

Look for the hallmarks with a loupe. An eagle head or a 750 lozenge, plus the maker's lozenge. Check the inside of the band, the clasp, the post of an earring. A mark struck into the metal is a good sign. A marking printed on the surface is not.

Read the product page and the invoice. A serious seller writes the fineness in full: 18 carat gold, 750 parts per 1000. The invoice must repeat it. That is your evidence if there is ever a dispute.

Do not rely on the magnet test alone. Gold is not magnetic, so a piece attracted by a magnet is not solid gold. The opposite proves nothing: plenty of base metals are not magnetic either.

When in doubt, have it tested. A jeweller tests fineness on a touchstone or by X ray analysis. It is quick, often free, and it is the only reliable verdict on a piece of unknown origin.

For a new purchase, one last reflex: look at where the piece is made. A French workshop falls under French regulation on the guarantee of precious metals. A control framework, not a marketing line. We talk about it in our article on French quality.

The short version

750 on a piece of jewellery means 750 parts pure gold per 1000, so 18 carat, so 75 per cent gold. In France, that fineness is proved by an eagle head hallmark, except for pieces under 3 grams, which are exempt. Recycled 18 carat gold falls under exactly the same fineness and the same hallmark: recycled does not mean less pure. And "750 gold plated" does not mean 750 gold. If you want to go further into the qualities of the metal itself, read our article on 18 carat gold.

Going further. To compare recycled 18 carat gold with the other metals in concrete terms, see silver, vermeil or recycled 18 carat gold. And on what a hallmark does not tell you about where the metal came from, read ethical jewellery, what the word guarantees.

FAQ

What does 750 mean on gold jewellery?

750 means the metal contains 750 parts pure gold per 1000, that is 75 per cent. It is the modern way of writing "18 carat gold". The remaining 250 parts are other metals: copper and silver for yellow gold, white metals for white gold.

What is the difference between 18 carat and 9 carat gold?

18 carat gold contains 75 per cent gold, 9 carat contains 37.5 per cent. So 18 carat has a deeper colour, better skin tolerance and twice the material value for the same weight. 9 carat is a little harder and considerably cheaper.

My gold ring has no eagle head hallmark, is it fake?

Not necessarily. Under French rules, gold articles weighing less than 3 grams are exempt from the guarantee hallmark, according to French customs. They must still carry the maker's mark and meet the fineness claimed. Look for the small lozenge before drawing conclusions. Note that hallmarking rules differ from one country to another, and many countries have no compulsory hallmarking at all.

Is recycled 18 carat gold worth the same as mined gold?

Yes. After refining, recycled gold is brought back to fine gold, then alloyed again to 750 parts per 1000. It is chemically identical to gold from a mine. Same fineness, same hallmark, same material value.

Is 750/1000 gold plated the same as 18 carat gold?

No. On a gold plated piece, the 750 describes only the fineness of the thin gold layer deposited on the surface. The body of the piece is a non precious metal, usually brass. It is not a gold article and it carries no guarantee hallmark.

Is vermeil 18 carat gold?

No. Vermeil is 925 silver covered with a layer of gold. In law the piece is a silver article and carries a silver hallmark. It is genuinely precious material, but the gold layer wears with time, unlike solid gold.

Fiona