GB 11887-2012 is the current revision of China's mandatory national standard governing the fineness, designation, and hallmarking of precious-metal jewellery. Issued under the authority of the Standardisation Administration of China (SAC) and effective from 2012, it supersedes earlier iterations of GB 11887 and represents the most comprehensive codification of precious-metal marking requirements in the world's largest jewellery market by volume. The standard applies to all gold, platinum, palladium, and silver jewellery manufactured, imported, or sold within the People's Republic of China, and compliance is enforced through assay and hallmarking by authorised Chinese testing laboratories.

Background and Legislative Context

China's GB (Guóbiāo, 国标) standards are mandatory national standards administered by the SAC in coordination with relevant industry ministries. The GB 11887 series has governed precious-metal jewellery fineness since its first promulgation, with successive revisions reflecting the rapid growth and increasing sophistication of China's domestic jewellery industry. The 2012 revision was prompted by several converging pressures: the proliferation of new alloy compositions entering the market, inconsistencies in how manufacturers described fineness to consumers, and the need to harmonise Chinese practice more closely with international conventions such as the ISO 9202 standard for fineness designations.

The 2012 edition introduced parts-per-thousand (‰) notation as the primary expression of fineness, replacing or supplementing older karat-derived descriptors that had created ambiguity in retail contexts. This shift aligned Chinese marking practice with the notation used by major European hallmarking authorities and facilitated clearer communication across the supply chain.

Fineness Designations for Gold

GB 11887-2012 specifies six recognised fineness levels for gold jewellery, expressed in parts per thousand:

• 375‰ — equivalent to 9-karat gold; the lowest recognised fineness under the standard.
• 585‰ — equivalent to 14-karat gold.
• 750‰ — equivalent to 18-karat gold; the most commercially significant tier in China's mid-to-premium market segment, typically marked Au750.
• 916‰ — equivalent to 22-karat gold, marked Au916.
• 990‰ — high-fineness gold, marked Au990, often described in retail as 足金 (zú jīn, meaning "full gold" or "pure gold") in common parlance, though the standard draws a precise distinction between this grade and 999‰.
• 999‰ — the highest recognised fineness, equivalent to 24-karat or three-nines fine gold, marked Au999 and also designated 千足金 (qiān zú jīn, "thousand-pure gold").

The standard explicitly regulates the use of the term 足金 (often romanised as Chuk Kam in Cantonese-influenced markets such as Hong Kong and Macau), restricting its application to gold of 990‰ fineness or above. Retailers and manufacturers are prohibited from applying this designation to lower-fineness alloys, a rule intended to prevent the consumer confusion that had arisen when the term was used loosely to imply purity without meeting the defined threshold.

Fineness Designations for Platinum

For platinum jewellery, GB 11887-2012 recognises four fineness levels:

• 850‰ — marked Pt850; used in certain industrial-influenced alloy compositions.
• 900‰ — marked Pt900; a common grade for jewellery requiring greater hardness.
• 950‰ — marked Pt950; the dominant commercial grade for fine platinum jewellery in China, prized for its near-pure appearance and workability.
• 990‰ — marked Pt990; high-fineness platinum used in premium and investment-oriented pieces.

The standard also addresses palladium and silver, though gold and platinum represent the commercially dominant categories subject to the most rigorous enforcement scrutiny.

Marking and Hallmarking Requirements

GB 11887-2012 requires that every piece of precious-metal jewellery bear a mark indicating both the metal type and its fineness. The prescribed format combines the chemical symbol of the metal with the fineness in parts per thousand — hence Au750, Pt950, and so forth. Where a piece incorporates a solder or joining alloy, the standard specifies that the solder must not be of a fineness lower than the minimum permitted for the declared grade of the piece as a whole; this provision closes a longstanding loophole whereby high-fineness items could be joined with substantially lower-fineness solder without disclosure.

Hallmarking is carried out by laboratories authorised under the Chinese quality-supervision framework. The China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) oversees the accreditation of testing bodies, and assay methods prescribed under related GB standards govern the analytical procedures — typically X-ray fluorescence (XRF) screening followed by fire assay or inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis for definitive fineness determination.

Prohibited Descriptors and Consumer Protection

A notable feature of the 2012 revision is its explicit prohibition of misleading descriptors. Manufacturers and retailers may not use terms implying a higher fineness than the piece actually possesses, nor may they employ vague qualitative language — such as "high gold content" or "near pure" — in place of the standardised numerical designation. This provision reflects a broader shift in Chinese consumer-protection legislation during the 2010s, which increasingly required precise, verifiable claims in the marketing of precious materials.

The standard also addresses composite or plated articles, requiring that such pieces be clearly distinguished from solid precious-metal jewellery and that any plating or surface treatment be disclosed in a manner that prevents confusion about the base composition of the item.

Significance for International Trade

For jewellery exporters supplying the Chinese market — including manufacturers in Italy, Thailand, India, and Hong Kong — compliance with GB 11887-2012 is a prerequisite for legal sale within mainland China. Pieces that carry European hallmarks (such as those issued under the Vienna Convention on the Control of Articles of Precious Metals) or marks from other recognised international authorities must still conform to the GB fineness tiers and marking format if they are to be retailed in China without re-hallmarking. This requirement has, in practice, encouraged many international manufacturers to adopt the Au750 and Pt950 designations as standard marks on goods destined for the Chinese market, since these correspond directly to the most commercially active fineness tiers under the standard.

The standard is also relevant to gemstone-set jewellery, since the mounting metal must be correctly identified and marked regardless of the presence of stones. Gemmologists and jewellery appraisers working with Chinese-market pieces should be familiar with the GB 11887-2012 marking conventions, as the metal designation directly affects valuation and insurance assessments.

Relationship to Earlier and Later Revisions

GB 11887-2012 is the current operative version of the standard as of the time of writing, having replaced the previous GB 11887-2008 revision. Amendments and supplementary notices issued by the SAC since 2012 have clarified specific provisions — particularly those relating to palladium alloys and to composite jewellery incorporating non-metallic components — without replacing the core framework. Industry observers have noted that the SAC periodically reviews the standard in response to new alloy technologies and evolving retail practices, and a future revision may address topics such as recycled-metal content disclosure and digital hallmarking traceability.

Further Reading

• GIA Gems & Gemology — China Jewellery Market Overview
• GIA Gem Encyclopedia — Precious Metals