ARTICLE 2. The Platinum Group [22120. - 22132.]

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC 2.
in effect

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22121. Section 22121.

“Quality mark” is any mark describing, identifying or referring to or appearing or seeming or purporting to indicate, describe, identify or refer to the partial or total presence or existence of, or the quality of, or the percentage of, or the purity of, or the number of parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium in any article.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22122. Section 22122.

No more than one quality mark shall be applied to any article and such quality mark shall be applied to such article in only one place thereof, except as otherwise in this article specifically permitted. Each quality mark shall be legible, clear and distinct.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22123. Section 22123.

If an article is composed of mechanism, works or movements and of a case or cover containing the mechanism, works or movements, a quality mark applied to the article shall not apply to the mechanism, works or movements.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22124. Section 22124.

A quality mark applied to any article shall not apply to springs, winding bars, sleeves, crown cores, mechanical joint pins, screws, rivets, dustbands, detachable movement rims, hat-pin stems, bracelet or necklace snap tongues.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22125. Section 22125.

If a quality mark is applied to an article in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (e) of Section 22128, it shall not apply to pin tongues, joints, catches, lapel button backs and posts to which they are attached, scarf-pin stems, hat-pin sockets, shirt-stud backs, vest-button backs and any screw backs, if such parts are made of the same quality of gold as that used in the balance of the article.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22126. Section 22126.

If a quality mark is printed, stamped or branded on any article itself, the person so applying such mark shall also apply a trade-mark duly applied for or registered to him under the laws of the United States. If the person so applying such quality mark is the manufacturer of the article and has sold or contracted to sell such article to a jobber, wholesale or retail dealer regularly engaged in the business of buying and selling similar articles, this section shall be deemed to be complied with if a trade-mark duly registered under the laws of the United States to such jobber, wholesale or retail dealer is applied to such article. A manufacturer of an article may also mark on the article, in addition to the marks herein specifically required, numerals intended to identify the article or the design or pattern used in such article if such numerals do not appear or purport to be a part of the quality mark and are not calculated to mislead or deceive any person into believing that they are a part of the quality mark.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22127. Section 22127.

Wherever in this article provision is made for marking the number of parts or percentage of metals in any article such number or percentage shall refer to weight and not to volume, thickness or any other standard of measurement.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22128. Section 22128.

No quality mark shall be applied to any article except in accordance with the following provisions of this section: (a) An article consisting of at least 985/1000ths parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium, where solder is not used and at least 950/1000ths parts of said metal or metals where solder is used, may be marked “platinum”; provided, that the total of the aforementioned metals other than pure platinum shall amount to no more than 50/1000ths parts of the contents of the entire article. (b) An article consisting of at least 985/1000ths parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, or osmium, where solder is not used and at least 950/1000ths parts of the said metal or metals where solder is used; and provided further, that at least 750/1000ths parts of said article are pure platinum, may be marked “platinum”; provided immediately preceding the mark “platinum” there is marked the name or abbreviation of either iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium, whichever of said metals predominates; and provided further, that such predominating other metal must be more than 50/1000ths parts of the entire article. (c) An article consisting of at least 985/1000ths parts of platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium, where solder is not used and at least 950/1000ths parts of said metals where solder is used; provided, more than 500/1000ths parts of said article consists of pure platinum, may be marked with the word “platinum”; provided, that said word is immediately preceded by a decimal fraction in one-thousandths showing the platinum content of the entire article; and further provided, that said mark “platinum” be followed by the name or abbreviation as herein allowed, of such one or more of the following metals, to wit: iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium, that may be present in the article in quantity of more than 50/1000ths parts of the entire article. The name of such other metal or metals other than platinum, however, shall each be immediately preceded by a decimal fraction in one-thousandths showing the content of such other metal or metals in proportion to the entire article, as for example, 600 plat., 350 pall., or 500 plat., 200 pall., 150 ruth., 100 rhod. (d) An article consisting of 950/1000ths parts of the following metals: Platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium with less than 500/1000ths parts of the entire article consisting of pure platinum, may be marked with the name iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium, whichever predominates in the said article, but in no event with the mark “platinum”; provided, however, that the quantity of such metal other than platinum so marked, must be marked in decimal thousandths; and provided further, that the name of such metal other than platinum so used must be spelled out in full irrespective of any other provisions of this article to the contrary. (e) An article composed of platinum and gold which resembles, appears or purports to be platinum, may be marked with a carat mark and the platinum mark; provided: 1. The platinum in such article shall be at least 985/1000ths parts pure platinum; and 2. The fineness of the gold in such article shall be correctly described by the carat mark of said gold; and 3. The percentage of platinum in such article shall be no less than 5 per cent in weight of the total weight of the article. The mark shall be so applied that the carat mark shall immediately precede the platinum mark, as for example, “14 K & Plat.,” “l8 K & Plat.,” as the case may be. If the percentage of platinum exceeds 5 per cent, the quality mark may also include a declaration of the percentage of platinum, as for example, “18 K & l/10 Plat.,” or “14 K & l/8 Plat.,” or as the case may be. (f) An article composed of platinum and any other material or metal not resembling, appearing or purporting to be platinum, may be marked with the word “platinum”; provided, all parts or portions of such article resembling or appearing or purporting to be platinum, or reasonably purporting to be described as platinum by said quality mark, shall be at least 985/1000ths parts pure platinum.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22129. Section 22129.

Abbreviations. Whenever provided for in this article, and except as specifically excepted in paragraph (d) of Section 22128: (a) The word “platinum” may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “plat.” (b) The word “iridium” may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “irid.” (c) The word “palladium” may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “pall.” (d) The word “ruthenium” may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “ruth.” (e) The word “rhodium” may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “rhod.” and (f) The word “osmium” may be applied by spelling it out in full or by the abbreviation “osmi.”.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22130. Section 22130.

In any action relating to the enforcement of any provision of this article, a certificate duly issued by an assay office of the Treasury Department of the United States, certifying the weight of any article, or any part thereof, or of the kind, weight, quality, fineness or quantity of any ingredient thereof, shall be receivable in evidence as constituting prima facie proof of the matter or matters so certified.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22131. Section 22131.

In any action relating to the enforcement of any provision of this article, proof that an article has been marked in violation of the provisions of this article shall be deemed to be prima facie proof that such article was manufactured after this article became effective.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 22132. Section 22132.

Any person or any officer, director, employee or agent of any person who makes, sells, or offers to sell, or dispose of, or has in his possession, with intent to sell or dispose of any article to which is applied any quality mark which does not conform to all of the provisions of this article, or from which is omitted any mark required by the provisions of this article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. It shall be a defense to any prosecution under this article for the defendant to prove that the said article was manufactured and marked with the intention of and for purposes of exportation from the United States and that the said article was either actually exported from the United States to a foreign country within six months after the date of manufacture thereof with the bona fide intention of being sold in the said country and of not being reimported; or that it was delivered within six months after date of manufacture thereof, to a person whose exclusive customary business is the exportation of such articles from the United States.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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