British Jewellers' Association

The Gold Standard

The Gold Standard is a voluntary code of conduct for the face to face purchase of second hand precious metal and jewellery.

It has been designed to provide protection to BJA members and non-members, aid the Police in tracing stolen items of jewellery and to encourage greater consumer confidence in trading with accredited dealers.

The introduction of the Gold Standard is a joint initiative between the following organisations:

• British Jewellers’ Associaiton
• National Association of Goldsmiths
• National Pawnbrokers Association
• Surrey Police

It has accreditation from:

• Association of Chief Police Officers
• Trading Standards Institute
• National Measurement Office

The BJA encourages all of its members trading in second hand jewellery to sign up to the new voluntary code.

1. It sets a common standard for the trade to adopt when currently no guidelines exist.
2. It will reduce the risk of inadvertently purchasing stolen jewellery and potentially having that property seized by the Police as part of their investigations, or even being prosecuted for the handling of those stolen items.
3. It will provide the police with evidence of where stolen items of jewellery might be traded.
4. It will provide the consumer with additional confidence to trade their items of jewellery in your store.
5. It will improve the provenance of gold going back into the UK supply chain. (where 90% of gold used in the UK jewellery industry is recycled)

View the Gold Standard voluntary code of practice >