Argentor

What Argentor does

Argentor Essayeurs NV is a privately held Belgian precious-metals dealer founded in 1987 by André Coeckelbergh, a former head of the precious-metals department at Degussa Brussels who passed his assayer exam at the Royal Mint of Belgium. Under current co-owners Jelle Oostvogels and Guido Proost (in place since 2010), the company buys and sells physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in bar, coin, grain, and plate form, and provides scrap-metal buying, diamond recuperation, refining/recycling, and a secured-storage product (Argentor Safe) from offices in Antwerp (headquarters) and Brussels (opened November 2025). The platform serves both retail investors and professional B2B customers — chiefly jewellers and goldsmiths buying fine metals for manufacturing and selling scrap back through the firm.

The technical core is an e-commerce storefront (argentorshop.be) available 24/7 in Dutch, English, and French, with live precious-metals pricing refreshed every minute from spot markets and premiums applied by product weight and form (e.g., ~0.9% premium on 1 kg gold bars, ~6% on 1 kg silver bars). Inventory is sourced exclusively from LBMA-certified refineries — primarily Emeko (Kortrijk, Belgium) as the captive refining partner, with Metalor (Switzerland) and Umicore (Belgium) as additional suppliers — and distribution combines insured home delivery across the Benelux with walk-in counter sales accepting cash up to €3,000 per 30 days.

Argentor's revenue model is built on two streams: (1) transaction spreads between buy and sell prices on bars, coins, and fine metals, priced off live market rates with VAT-free options on eligible silver and platinum; and (2) professional refining and recycling fees paid by jewellers and goldsmiths whose scrap and workshop waste is processed through the Emeko refinery. The customer base spans private retail investors (price transparency and 2,125 Kiyoh-verified reviews at 90%/100% support a long-tail mix) and a smaller concentration of B2B professional accounts in the Belgian jewellery trade; RJC and Chain-of-Custody certification since 2025 positions the firm to deepen institutional and ESG-screened B2B share over time.

Name

Argentor

Legal name

Argentor Essayeurs NV

Website

https://argentorshop.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Argentor Essayeurs NV is a Belgian precious-metals dealer (founded 1987) operating an e-commerce platform and physical offices in Antwerp and Brussels, buying and selling gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bars, coins, and fine metals to retail investors and professional jewellers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precious Metals Trading

NAICS

Jewelry, Watch, Precious Stone, and Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers (423940), Jewelry Retailers (458310)

SIC

Wholesale-Jewelry, Watches, Precious Stones & Metals (5094), Retail-Jewelry Stores (5944)

akta.pro primary industry

Precious Metals Trading, Marketing & Distribution (IMAKAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fine Jewelry Wholesale & Trading (CRAKAAAL), Jewelry, Watches & Luxury Goods Online Retailers (CRAFADAN), Pawn & Collateral-based Jewelry Retail (CRAKAGAL)

Keywords

• Precious metals trading
• Gold and silver bars
• Scrap gold buying
• Precious metals refining
• Investment coins

Headquarters

HQ city

Antwerpen

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Precious Metals Trading (Buy/Sell): Argentor buys and sells physical precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium) in various forms including bars, coins, grains, and plates. Revenue is generated through the spread between buy and sell prices, with premiums varying by product weight and type.
2. Refining and Recycling Services: Processing and refining of scrap precious metals for jewellers and goldsmiths, with materials primarily refined at E.me.Ko (Emeko) refinery in Kortrijk.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Argentor buys and sells physical precious metals — gold, silver, platinum and palladium — in the form of investment bars, coins, and fine grain/plate forms through its own e-commerce platform (argentorshop.be) and physical offices in Antwerp and Brussels. It complements retail trading with B2B-oriented services for jewellers and goldsmiths, including refining of scrap metals via partner refinery E.me.Ko, recycling of workshop waste, and recovery of diamonds from scrap gold. Pricing is set in real time against live international bullion market rates, with no subscription fees and revenue earned on spreads and refining fees.

Product overview

Argentor is a precious metals trading company operating as an e-commerce platform offering buy and sell services for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The core product portfolio includes investment-grade bars and coins in various sizes (from 1 gram to 1 kilogram), with brands including Emeko, Umicore, Metalor, and coins such as Maple Leaf, Wiener Philharmoniker, and Krugerrand. The platform also serves jewellers and goldsmiths with fine metals in grains/plate form and refining/recycling services. Additional services include scrap metal buying/selling and diamond recuperation. The company operates physical offices in Antwerp and Brussels where customers can buy or sell in person.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gold Bars LBMA-certified gold bars in sizes ranging from 1 gram to 1 kilogram, sourced from refineries such as Emeko, with 999.9 (24 karat) purity. Sold to private investors via the webshop and physical counters.
• Gold Coins Modern and historical gold investment coins including Krugerrand, Maple Leaf, and vintage pieces such as 50 Mexican pesos, 20 Belgian franc and British pound sovereigns. Sold to private investors.
• Silver Bars LBMA-certified silver bars in various sizes, including Emeko branded 1 kilogram bars with 999 purity. Sold to private investors with VAT-free (margin scheme) options available for investment silver.
• Silver Coins Silver investment coins including Maple Leaf, Wiener Philharmoniker and Kangaroo, sold in tubes. Margin scheme (VAT-free) options available for qualifying investment silver.
• Platinum Bars and Coins Platinum bars and coins from Umicore, Metalor and Emeko, with VAT-free options under specific Belgian conditions.
• Palladium Bars and Coins Palladium bars and coins for investment, sold through the Argentor webshop.
• Fine Precious Metals in Grains, Plates and Solder Fine gold, silver, platinum and palladium in grain or plate form, plus gold, silver and platinum solder. Targeted at professional jewellers and goldsmiths for use in jewellery manufacturing and repair.
• Scrap Precious Metals Buy-back (Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium) Purchase of scrap gold, scrap silver, scrap platinum and scrap palladium from jewellers, goldsmiths and individual sellers, with options to direct material for refining at partner refinery E.me.Ko.
• Refining and Recycling Services Precious metals refining and recycling service that processes jeweller and goldsmith workshop waste into pure metals, primarily via partner refinery E.me.Ko in Kortrijk.
• Diamond Recovery from Scrap Gold Value-added service that recovers diamonds from scrap gold prior to the refining process. Targeted at jewellers and goldsmiths.
• Argentor Safe (Secure Storage Service) Secure storage service for customers' precious metals, located in Antwerp and operated by Argentor.

Quantifiable outcome

• Kiyoh verified rating of 90% / 100% based on 2125 reviews

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Argentor is a Certified Member of the Responsible Jewellery Council since 2025. The RJC is an international not-for-profit organization that works to reinforce consumer and investor confidence in the jewellery and watch industry through ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices.
• E.me.Ko (Emeko) RefinerycoreTechnology or IntegrationEmeko is an independent Belgian refinery in Kortrijk that processes precious metals for Argentor. Argentor offers Emeko branded gold and silver bars. The refinery operates independently from Argentor.
• LBMA-Certified RefineriescoreTechnology or IntegrationArgentor sources newly minted gold and silver bars from various LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) certified refineries. LBMA-certified bars are globally recognized due to their 'good delivery' status and highest purity levels (999.9 for gold, 999 for silver).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Degussa Goldhandel: Germany's largest precious-metals trading house with retail offices, online sales and refining — the firm where Argentor's founder previously worked; offers a much broader product range and geographic footprint.
• Heraeus: Global precious-metals and technology group with retail gold/silver operations in Germany and Switzerland — competes with Argentor in retail bullion trading while operating at vastly greater industrial scale.

Direct peers

• Goudstandaard: Dutch precious-metals dealer selling investment bars and coins online with competitive premiums — comparable retail product mix and target customer (Benelux private investors) as Argentor.
• BullionVault: Online platform for buying, selling and storing physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium with live spot pricing — directly comparable DTC precious-metals trading model, though operating at much larger scale and entirely online.
• GoldRepublic: Dutch-headquartered online precious-metals broker offering vaulted gold, silver and platinum to retail investors across Europe — same online retail / vault-storage model and direct Benelux overlap with Argentor.
• AuCoeur: French precious-metals dealer with physical offices and e-commerce for bullion and scrap buying — closely comparable boutique precious-metals retail and refining model serving private investors and professionals.

Others

• Umicore: Belgian materials technology group whose precious-metals refinery supplies Argentor's gold bars at the Brussels office; upstream supplier and indirect participant in the same value chain.
• PAMP Suisse: Swiss LBMA 'good delivery' refinery producing investment-grade bullion — comparable product category (LBMA bars) but operating upstream as a refiner rather than retail trader.
• Argor-Heraeus: Swiss precious-metals refinery producing LBMA-certified gold, silver, platinum and palladium bars — adjacent LBMA supplier comparable to Metalor/Emeko rather than a retail competitor.
• Metalor Technologies: Swiss LBMA-certified refinery supplying bars that Argentor resells (e.g., VAT-free silver); adjacent as an upstream supplier rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/100057415600931
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/argentor-essayeurs-bvba

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Argentor