Editor’s Note
This article details a recent meeting between Spanish jewelry industry representatives and government officials, marking a renewed push to update a key 1988 regulation. The discussions highlight ongoing industry efforts to modernize standards and ensure regulatory frameworks keep pace with current market needs and safety requirements.
On January 28, 2026, a delegation from the Confederation of Spanish Jewelry, led by its president Mr. Óscar Rodríguez Blanco and accompanied by other industry representatives, held a meeting in Madrid with Mr. José Manuel Prieto Barrio, Deputy Director General of Industrial Quality and Safety at the Ministry of Industry and Tourism. The meeting resumed discussions initiated two years ago with the goal of promoting the reform of Royal Decree 197/1988, of February 22, which approves the Regulation of the Law on Objects Manufactured with Precious Metals.
During the meeting, the Confederation representatives presented to Mr. Prieto Barrio the objectives of the reform proposal and the work carried out within the Confederation over the past two years to develop a proposal for amending the Regulation. This proposal was agreed upon by all jewelry subsectors—manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, retailers, and laboratories—and aims to advance the modernization of the jewelry sector’s activities. The goal is to adapt, as much as possible, to the needs of the current market without losing sight of the ultimate objective of urging the reform of Law 17/1985, of July 1, which regulates the manufacture of objects with precious metals. This law, forty years after its publication, has been overtaken by the reality and needs of the market.
The specific objectives of the Regulation reform are:
1. Provide greater market transparency, guaranteeing not only the characteristics of the object (fineness) but also its origin and traceability.
2. Provide legal certainty for consumers and sector operators.
3. Authorize new hallmarking techniques (laser engraving or others).
4. Clarify the terminology or designation to be used in the marketing of objects, metallic or not, coated with precious metal, whether by plating, cladding, or other techniques (addressing issues like electroforming and other manufacturing techniques).
5. Create a Public Electronic Registry of Hallmarks.
6. Increase the information and transparency obligations for companies dedicated to buying and selling used precious metal objects.
7. Clarify the obligations and responsibilities of hallmarking laboratories.
8. Guarantee necessary information for consumers so they know what they are buying and, consequently, what they can expect and should pay for an object manufactured with precious metals.
The Deputy Director General welcomed the Confederation’s initiative very favorably and committed to promoting it. He highly valued the work done by the member organizations of the Confederation, which not only identifies the needs and problems arising from the current regulation but also formulates and proposes a widely agreed-upon alternative within the sector, the result of countless hours of meetings and work.