Chow Tai Fook Gold Marks: What 足金, 999, 999.9, 750 and Pt950 Mean

A mark is a declaration of fineness by whoever applied it. In Hong Kong, paragraph 4 of Cap. 362A allows three forms: a carat number (optionally with k, c or ct), a fineness in parts per thousand, or the characters 足金.

It lists no maker's mark, brand mark or Au prefix. So a Hong Kong fineness mark says nothing by itself about who made a piece. For mainland China, a consumer guide from Zhejiang consumer councils (Xinhua, 11 September 2026) says a hallmark must include the maker's code, the metal and the purity.

CTF advises buying from reputable merchants, checking the fineness mark and asking for an official receipt, and calls this the strongest defense against fake gold. Daily Business News reported on 22 March 2024 that a forged paper set cost a seller about RMB 20. So read a mark as a claim to check. The real-or-fake guide gives the checks.

Always read a mark with its place. The Hong Kong column comes from the First Schedule of Cap. 362A, version dated 12 December 2019. That Order covers articles of at least 8 carats or 333 fineness. The mainland standard's text was not read, so that column rests on press reports.

Hong Kong: L.N. 82 of 2008, made on 8 April 2008, replaced the 足金 figure of 990 with 999. L.N. 270 of 2008 brought this into force on 2 March 2009.

Mainland China: GB 11887-2012 took effect on 1 May 2013. Amendment 1 was approved on 21 February 2015 and took effect on 4 May 2016. The Paper reported on 17 March 2016 that the highest gold name became 足金, at 990‰ or more, and that gold above that may only be labeled 足金. The Zhejiang guide still cites this in September 2026.

Both are right for their place. A Hong Kong piece from before March 2009 was marked under the older figure. These rules set a legal floor for one word. They do not show that gold from one place is purer than gold from the other.

Be careful with any page that gives 足金 as about 83% or 20K. That figure contradicts both places.

CTF defines 999 as 99.9% gold and 999.9 as 99.99% gold. Cap. 362A has no separate entry for 999.9.

千足金: The Paper reported on 17 March 2016 that Amendment 1 deleted 千足金, 千足铂, 千足钯 and 千足银 and the bracketed 999 figure. The Zhejiang guide says no 千足 advertising. CTF's Hong Kong blog, read on 2 November 2026, uses 千足金 for 99.99%, and Cap. 362A does not contain the term. So its meaning depends on the place and date. Do not treat it as a purity figure.

万足金: a Guangdong testing center expert told Guangzhou Daily in 2016 that it has never appeared in the national standard and is a marketing term. The Zhejiang jewelry trade association advises doubt about inflated purity claims (China Consumer News, 6 February 2025).

916: in Hong Kong, paragraph 4 of Cap. 362A treats a bare number as a fineness in parts per thousand, so 916 claims 916 parts of gold in 1,000. Hong Kong's minimum for 22K is 916.6. Outside Hong Kong, ask the seller what it means on your piece.

17916: CTF's mainland site describes 周大福17916系列 as a product series made of 22K gold. So 17916 names a collection. The page does not explain the digits, so check the separate purity mark on the piece.

750: CTF's Hong Kong listings use 18K/750, and Hong Kong's minimum for 18K is 750. The Zhejiang guide says 18K gold is at least 750‰, and that its scrap value is about 75% of the same weight of 足金.

A mark is still a claim. China Consumer News reported on 6 February 2025 that in lab tests ordered by the consumer committee of Yongkang, Zhejiang, a necklace sold online as CTF 18K gold had less than 750‰ gold. CTF said the shop was not authorized, and the report does not say whether the necklace was counterfeit.

CTF defines Pt950 as 95% platinum plus 5% other metals. CTF's platinum guide says jewelers and buyers first check the Pt stamp inside the piece and price by Hong Kong purity standards, and that buyers value platinum by net weight only. It advises checking the scale, cleaning and any fees first.

For mainland China, this guide says nothing firm about platinum marks, because the sources read are press reports only.

No official photo or description of CTF's maker code, stamp layout or stamp position on gold was found. The only official location statement found is in CTF's platinum guide: jewelers and precious-metal buyers first check the Pt stamp inside the piece. CTF confirms that a maker code and a product stamp exist, not what they look like. Letters such as CTF beside 足金 or 999 therefore cannot be checked against an official picture, and a copy can carry the same letters. Treat any page that claims to show the Chow Tai Fook stamp with care.

CTF's eShop pages show Barcode, Mould No. and Material lines, for example Barcode R38011_000, Mould No. R38011 and Material 999 Gold. The page does not say these are stamped on the piece.

In Hong Kong, each digit or character of the mark must be at least 0.5 square millimeters, so use a loupe. For a Vereev review, photograph every stamp you can find, clasps included. The picture at the top of this page is a Vereev illustration with a generic 999. It is not a Chow Tai Fook stamp.

In Hong Kong, the marking rule (Cap. 362A), which covers gold supplied at retail, does not apply to articles too small or thin to mark that weigh under 1 gram. It also does not apply to coins that are or were currency, medical or industrial articles, gold thread, raw material and bullion including bars, and articles over 100 years old if the receipt says so. So a very small piece with no mark is not by itself proof of a fake in Hong Kong. Ask the seller why it has none, and read what the receipt says.

These are the Cap. 362A rules for gold that a trader supplies at retail in Hong Kong. If a receipt from a Hong Kong shop lacks one of these items, ask the seller about it. For mainland China, the Zhejiang guide says to get an invoice showing name, material, purity, weight and price, and to keep invoices, guarantee slips and certificates.

The rules above apply to those two places only. No official fineness rules were read for Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam or Japan. So this guide does not interpret marks bought there, including 916.

ISO 9202:2026, published on 20 May 2026, sets recommended fineness ranges for jewelry alloys, and notes that countries may have their own marking laws. Ask a local assay office or jeweler.

A mismatch is a reason to ask, not a verdict. It may be an exempt small piece, a mixed part or an older mark. Photograph the mark and the receipt, ask the seller in writing, and take the piece and papers to a CTF store. Keep the seller's return route open while you wait, and get a second opinion from a lab if the metal is the question. If you think you were deceived, report it to the police, as CTF's statement of 10 May 2024 advises.

In Hong Kong, section 7 of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance bans applying a false trade description to goods or supplying such goods (version dated 24 August 2026). Hong Kong Customs took necklaces and bracelets from two shops for Government Laboratory tests on 4 April 2007, before the 2009 changes. This law was under public consultation in 2026, so check that you are reading the current version. This is not legal advice.

The plain limit: a photo review can read a mark, but it cannot test what the metal is. Looking at the stamp yourself cannot test it either.