This document specifies a cupellation method (fire assay) for the determination of gold on a material
considered homogeneous. The gold content of the sample should preferably lie between 100 and
999,5 parts per thousand (‰). Finenesses above 999,5 ‰ can be determined using a spectroscopy
method by difference (e.g. ISO 15093).
The procedure is applicable to most types of gold samples. Some modifications are indicated for specific
cases (presence of large amount of base metals, platinum or palladium, silver). It is not compatible with
the presence above trace levels of iridium, rhodium and ruthenium (more than 0.25 ‰ for the sum of
all three elements).
This method is also intended to be used as the recommended method for the determination of fineness
in jewellery alloys covered by ISO 9202.