18.12.2025 16:35
The President of the Istanbul Jewelers' Chamber, Mustafa Atayık, warned citizens against the practice of leaving gold in pawn. Atayık emphasized that leaving gold with jewelers is a crime and stated that fines of up to 684,000 lira can be imposed.
The grievances of citizens who entrust their gold to jewelers have been increasing recently. In the legal regulation regarding jewelry activities, it has been stipulated that jewelry businesses cannot accept gold or any other valuables for safekeeping or for any other purpose.
This regulation aims to prevent unregistered activities and citizen grievances, as well as to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
If the Ministry of Trade detects this violation, it has the authority to impose an administrative fine ranging from 22,807 lira to 684,214 lira for each violation in 2025. The amounts of the administrative fines imposed will be increased in 2026 in accordance with the revaluation rate.
"IF THOSE DEPOSITED GOLDS ARE WITH THE JEWELER, THEY ARE NOT CONSIDERED AS DEPOSITS"
The President of the Jewelers' Association, Mustafa Atayık, reminded the AA correspondent of the Regulation on Jewelry Trade, recalling that the Association had previously issued warnings on this matter.
Atayık stated that it is illegal for jewelers to accept and store deposited gold, saying, "If those deposited golds are found with the jeweler, they are not considered as deposits. The Ministry of Finance identifies those golds as part of the jeweler's inventory and applies necessary financial audits and penalties. Our jewelers need to be very careful about this." he stated.
Regarding leaving deposited gold with jewelers, Atayık warned citizens:
"Jewelry has been a very valuable and trust-based profession in the eyes of citizens for years. However, recently, people from outside the sector have been engaging in these activities under the name of jewelry, and citizens are falling for it, thinking 'there are high returns, there is a profit share,' and leaving their golds as deposits. Then they encounter incidents of losing their gold. To prevent such situations, we recommend that our citizens keep their gold in safes if they have them or in banks. It is a crime for our jewelers to accept, store, or use deposited gold."
Atayık pointed out that when such incidents occur, jewelers are also put under suspicion, and he stated that the reputation of honest jewelers is tarnished due to the incidents that occur.
"THEY CAN BUY GOLD FROM OUR JEWELERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER AND ASSOCIATION"
Atayık also issued warnings regarding imitation or low-quality gold that has emerged recently, saying, "When buying gold, purchases can be made with peace of mind from jewelers who are members of the chamber and association. There are approximately 40,000 jewelers in Turkey. We have jewelers in every province, every district, and every neighborhood, and most people have a family jeweler. Citizens can comfortably make these purchases from jewelers they trust and know." he stated.
Emphasizing that it is always more accurate to buy products by seeing them when purchasing gold and jewelry, Atayık noted that products can be displayed differently in online gold and jewelry shopping.
Atayık pointed out that some products purchased online do not have certificates, stating the following:
"We have taken precautionary measures for products without certificates. As a chamber, we have issued the IKO-güvenCE label. Companies that receive this label sign a contract with citizens, and the chamber signs a contract with the company. We are protecting the citizens here. We have already written these statements on portals and large sites. We want to prevent the sales of companies that do not have this label or are not members of the chambers. A grievance occurs here. Because citizens fall into a difficult situation since they do not see what they are buying, what carat they are buying, and how they are buying it. Some portal sites have stopped the sales of companies that do not have the IKO-güvenCE label or are not members of the chamber. This is a good thing for our citizens."