Heraeus SA is based in Germany, and is one of the world's largest precious metals refineries. The company also owns Argor-Heraeus SA, which is a Swiss based refinery. The refinery is one of the few world wide to specialize in refining rare-earth minerals, including Ruthenium, Rhodium and Iridium. The company was initially formed as a pharmaceutical company in 1660, and has been in business since that time across a wide range of market sectors.
Heraeus precious metals products, like Argor-Heraeus, are recognised worldwide as being high quality and an excellent option for precious metals investors. Argor Heraeus produce bars in gold, silver, platinum and palladium in sizes ranging from 1 gram to 1 kilogram.
The Heraeus Kinebar
Because it owns Argor-Heraeus, Heraues also manufacture a gold kinebar. A kinebar is a gold bar that has a hologram on it that has been inscribed by a laser. This hologram is virtually impossible to replicate, thereby validating the bar's authenticity.
Because the technology is owned by Argor-Heraeus, these bars feature the Argor-Heraeus hallmark on them, which means that they have been manufactured by Argor-Heraeus for Heraeus.
Kinebars are available in sizes ranging from 1 gram to 1 ounce. All Heraeus Kinebars come sealed in their own certicard, and come with their own unique serial number.
Heraeus Bars
Perhaps the most popular products produced by Heraeus are their silver bars, which are available in 100 gram, 250 gram, 500 gram and 1 kilogram sizes. These bars are popular worldwide, but particularly with European investors looking to purchase silver bars. Each bar comes sealed in plastic to prevent tarnishing. These bars are subject to VAT in Europe, so many silver investors looking to buy silver and sell it later on will hold their silver bars in Swiss vault storage, which means that the silver is VAT-exempt. Investors may then select to sell their silver back at a later date, VAT exempt, or they may pay the VAT and have it delivered.
Heraeus also manufacture gold, platinum and palladium bars for investors. Generally, investors looking to buy large amounts of platinum or palladium will purchase Heraeus bars, in 500 gram or 1 kilogram sizes. Many precious metals refineries will not manufacture platinum or palladium bars for retail investors in these larger sizes, as most investors prefer to purchase these metals in 1 ounce and 100 gram increments.
Heraeus bars are well recognised in Europe, and are accepted by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Comex.
