Gold jewellery, finely designed and crafted by local goldsmiths, is one of the best buys in Cyprus. While the price of raw gold is consistent throughout the continent, labour costs, processing and design costs, and commercial mark-up fluctuate across national and, sometimes, jurisdictional borders. Visitors to Cyprus can take advantage of Cypriot jewellery manufacturers' decision to keep all these costs to a minimum and pass on the resulting savings to their consumers.

However, life has turned most of us into sceptics - suspicious of deals that seem too good to be true. And a beautiful pair of 750 (18k) gold earrings priced less than a smaller 12k pair at home is cause for suspicion. Jewellers actually reported customers selecting pieces and then, at the last second, deciding against making the purchase because "at the price, it just can't be real gold".

Instances like this were widely discussed at industry and consumer related meetings and finally the groups decided that action had to be taken. At the request of the Cyprus Goldsmiths' Association and several consumer organisations, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism explored a number of options to protect consumers and the reputation of Cyprus jewellers. After much study, the Cyprus Organisation for the Hallmarking of Precious Metals, with The Cyprus Assay office as the implementation arm, was estahlished.

Hallmarking, or stamping, items made from precious metals by an independent entity originated in the

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United Kingdom centuries ago, at a time when gold and other metals were the currencies for trade. The need for accurate evaluation of the offered gold was critical to completing most deals. As the credibility of the UK hallmarking system was accepted among trading partners, other countries adopted similar programmes.

When paper money replaced precious metals as the currency of exchange, the hallmark organisations moved into certifying the gold content of jewellery and other products. Today, this remains their largest function and assay offices, where established, check every product made with precious metals, including jewellery, picture frames, trinket boxes, hairbrushes, and even icons.
"The option of establishing a Cyprus hallmarking entity was selected for two reasons," explained Dr. Karis, the organisation's director. "Hallmarking is an obvious way of guaranteeing to consumers that they are getting what they pay for. There is no code to be broken or guesswork involved. They can inspect the marks with the naked eye and know that an independent party has certified the precious metal indicated."
The involvement of an independent party, known in the industry as third party certification is the second reason for opting for the assay office. According to Dr. Karis, "mandatory 3rd party certification is the most stringent of all the options. By applying this certification to all the items containing precious metals sold in Cyprus, we are able to say, with unquestioned certainty, that products in and from Cyprus are what they profess to be".
The Cyprus Organisation for the Hallmarking of Precious Metals is a semi-governmental organisation supervised by the Ministry of commerce Industry and Tourism through the Cyprus Organisation of Standards. It is charged with evaluating the precious metal content of every gold and silver piece sold on the island and marking them accordingly. The task is carried out at the state-of-the-art facilities of the assay office in Larnaca where more than 500,000 gold items and 250,000 silver items are tested and marked each year. It is worth noting that Cyprus tests a higher percentage of pieces than almost any of the other 18 assay offices in Europe. This is due to the small production runs of most local manufacturers ancl enhances the accuracy of the testing and surety of the marks.

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The timing for this legislated "peace of mind" couldn't be better. Advances in communication and transportation make the world seemingly smaller and now ethnic is in. The proliferation of restaurants featuring exotic cuisine and the commercial acceptance they enjoy the use of colours textures and fabrics commonly associated with African and South American cultures in mainstream fashions; the incorporation of global images in the marketing schemes for such mammoth businesses as Kodak ancl British Airways; all attest to the fashionable nature of cultural diversity.