Minar Jewellers in Tooting will trial NAG, BJA and NPA’s scheme.
Minar Jewellers in Tooting, London, has become the first jeweller in the capital to take on the voluntary Gold Standard.
The London arrival of the Gold Standard – a scheme run in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police, Trading Standards, the National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG), the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) and the British Jewellers Association (BJA) – launched on December 4 at Minar Jewellers.
It is said to have “signalled the beginnings of the Gold Standard’s presence in the capital”. Tooting is the first area in London to trial the system though which jewellers, goldsmiths and pawnbrokers in the area will be encouraged to demand key information about the origin of the gold and the integrity of the seller.
Retailers who have joined as part of the scheme will be asked to obtain a name and address from every customer, verify customers’ identity, only purchase from over 18s and capture transactions on CCTV and retain footage for 31 days.
Pravin Pattni, the owner of Minar Jewellers has already signed up to the scheme and is urging others to do the same, as the Gold Standard initiative continues to develop nationwide.
He said: “The price of gold has increased significantly in the last few years” he said. “Gold theft has also increased in this time so thieves need to dispose of the stolen gold somewhere.
“Hopefully this scheme will make it very difficult to pass stolen gold back into the system. If you sell or buy gold under the Gold Standard you will have to provide certain vital information so we know where it’s come from. We hope this will push criminals into a corner and benefit all retailers in the industry.”
Chief Superintendent David Chinchen, Wandsworth’s borough commander, said that anyone choosing to knowingly handle stolen property “can expect a visit from police with a search warrant”.
