Thinking of buying gold jewelry? You’re not alone. Indian households own over 22,000 tonnes of gold. Moreover, approximately 600 tonnes of gold is used for jewelry production each year. But judging the purity of gold is no easy task. To protect the rights of consumers, the government has made hallmarking of gold jewelry mandatory in India. Hallmarking of gold jewelry will not only help to keep control on quality but also safeguard consumers from corrupt jewelers.
What is Gold Hallmarking?
Gold Hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of precious metal in precious metal articles. Hallmarks are thus official marks used in many countries as a guarantee of purity or fineness of precious metal articles.
Gold Hallmarking in India
The Government of Inda has identified BIS a sole agency in India to operate this scheme. BIS hallmarking Scheme is voluntary in nature and is operating under BIS Act, Rules and Regulations. It operates on the basis of trust and thus it is desirable that aspect of quality control is inbuilt in the system responsible for managing quality.
Components of Hallmark
There are five different components in a Hallmark certification. All of the components have different meanings and importance. Below are the components and their significance.
1. Design of BIS Hallmark
2. Purity Grade
The purity grade of gold shows how pure it is. These are 6 purity grade recognized by BIS(Bureau of Indian Standards). These are:
- 958- Corresponding to 23 Karat
- 916- Corresponding to 22 Karat
- 875- Corresponding to 21 Karat
- 750- Corresponding to 18 Karat
- 585- Corresponding to 14 Karat
- 375- Corresponding to 9 Karat
If you don't know what Karat stands for, refer to previous post here.
3. Hallmarking Center’s Mark
The third component is the logo of the BIS authorized Assaying and Hallmarking Center where the jewelry has been hallmarked. Every mark is identical and represents its hallmarking center.
4. Year Of Marking
Alphabets represent the year of hallmarking of jewelry and are decided by BIS e.g. letter ‘A’ Denotes Year 2000, ‘J’ for 2008, ‘N’ for 2011 and ‘P’ for 2012 etc.
5. Jewellers Identification Mark
Identification mark of BIS Certified Jeweller/Jewellery Manufacturer
Some important points
- Jewelers do not hallmark gold jewelry, it is done by special laboratories.
- KDM jewelry is not Hallmarked jewelry. So KDM can not ensure purity of Gold.
- As a buyer, your protection is in your hands. Whenever you buy gold, always check for gold hallmarking. You can ask for a magnifying glass to check all the 5 marks by the BIS to ensure proper hallmarking.
With these tips, you can be assured that the gold jewelry you are buying is genuine.
Hope you find the information useful.
Reference: http://www.bis.org.in/cert/hallbiscert.htm
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