Gold fineness explained: what 999.9 and 995 actually mean

Fineness is the most-scanned number on a refinery’s product page, and one of the most commonly misunderstood.

What fineness measures

Fineness expresses the purity of a precious metal as parts per thousand of pure metal by mass. A bar stamped 999.9 is 99.99% pure gold — often called “four nines” fine. A bar stamped 995 is 99.5% pure, alloyed with a small proportion of other metals for hardness and handling.

This is a more precise way of expressing purity than the karat system most consumers are familiar with. 24 karat is the karat-system equivalent of essentially pure gold, but karats only resolve to whole numbers — fineness resolves to a tenth of a percent, which matters at trading and settlement volumes.

Why two grades exist

999.9 is the standard for investment-grade bars and grain — the purest commercially practical output of the refining process. 995 remains widely used and accepted, particularly where the bar will be reworked or alloyed further downstream, such as in jewellery manufacturing.

Neither grade is “better” in the abstract; the right one depends on what the metal is for. What matters is that the figure is stated precisely and never left ambiguous. We offer both gold grades as clearly distinct products — see our products page for the full specification, including which forms are available in which grade.

Serial numbers and traceability

Fineness tells you what the metal is. A serial number tells you where it came from. Every Meridas bar carries both — struck at cast, and recorded against the assay result that established the fineness in the first place.