The weekly gold briefing for people who read the footnotes.
The Assay is not sending yet. Register now and you will receive issue 001 — spot performance, reserve flows, premium changes and a single chart worth your time — as soon as delivery goes live. Independent, ad-disclosed, unsubscribe in one click.
- Pre-launch
- Status
- No issue has been sent yet
- Weekly or monthly
- Cadence
- You choose at signup
- Free
- Price
- Funded by disclosed referral revenue
The Print
Weekly spot performance in USD, EUR and GBP, plus the gold–silver ratio and where it sits versus its five-year band.
Reserve Flows
Reported central bank purchases and sales, refinery export data and vault inventory changes across London and Zurich.
Premium Watch
Which dealers moved their premiums, storage fees or minimums this week — and what that means for a monthly buyer.
One Chart
A single annotated chart per issue. No filler, no sponsored placements dressed up as analysis.
- · No issue has been published yet, so there is no archive to browse.
- · Your address is stored only to send The Assay — never sold, rented or shared.
- · You can remove yourself at any time; see the privacy policy for retention and your GDPR rights.
What a fortnight of gold looks like in five sections
The Assay is written to a fixed template so it is readable in under ten minutes and comparable issue to issue. Every number carries a source, every claim about a dealer is dated, and nothing is included because a provider asked for it.
The tape
Spot in USD, EUR, GBP and CHF, the gold/silver ratio, and the move against real yields and the dollar index — so a rally in local currency is never confused with a rally in gold.
Premium watch
Retail premiums on the standard one-ounce coins and kilobars across the platforms we track, with the change since the last issue. This is where a supply squeeze shows up before it reaches the headlines.
Custody and fees
Tariff changes, minimum monthly fee thresholds, new storage jurisdictions, audit publications, and any change to withdrawal mechanics at the platforms in our comparison.
Official sector
Central bank reporting from IMF IFS and national releases, with the usual lag flagged, plus ETF flows and exchange inventory movements read as evidence rather than narrative.
Rules and taxes
VAT and capital gains developments, reporting thresholds, import rules and free-trade zone changes that alter what a holding actually costs to own and to exit.
One chart, one caveat
A single chart worth keeping, and an honest note on what it cannot tell you. We would rather publish the limitation than let the chart imply a forecast.
Until issue 001 ships, the same discipline is already visible in our research archive and in the dated fee tables on each platform review. If you want the raw feed instead of a digest, the news wire updates continuously and is also available as RSS.
Frequently asked
- How often does it arrive?
- Weekly on Friday morning, or monthly if you choose the monthly cadence. Nothing else is ever sent to the list.
- What does it cost?
- Nothing. The letter is funded by disclosed referral revenue and clearly labelled sponsorship.
- Will my address be shared?
- No. We do not sell, rent or share the list, and unsubscribing removes the address entirely.
- Has the first issue been sent yet?
- No. The Assay is in pre-launch: signups are recorded now and issue 001 goes out once email delivery is live. Nothing is sent to you before then, and there is no archive yet.
- How do I unsubscribe?
- Every issue carries a personal one-click unsubscribe link, and the unsubscribe page removes you immediately. We mark the record opted out at once and delete it within 30 days.
Start with the numbers.
Live spot across three metals and six currencies, plus a dealer comparison scored on premium, fees, custody and settlement friction.