The Union Client Affairs Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan stated, “The aim of creating hallmarking obligatory for Gold Jewellery and Artefacts is to make sure that customers are usually not cheated whereas shopping for gold ornaments and get the purity as marked on the ornaments, they’re higher knowledgeable in regards to the purity of Gold which can now be in solely Three caratage i.e. 14, 18 and 22 and corruption is eliminated.”
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Read the full press release here)
So, from January 15, 2021, no jeweller might be allowed to promote any type of gold ornaments with out hallmarking.
What’s hallmarking?
BIS, a authorities physique, certifies the purity of gold purchased by you. The method of certifying the purity of gold is known as hallmarking. Based on the BIS web site, there are two precept targets of the hallmarking scheme:
- To guard the general public towards adulteration
- To obligate producers to take care of authorized requirements of fineness/purity
There are 4 parts that one ought to search for on the hallmarked gold jewelry to make sure the purity of gold:
- BIS Mark;
- Purity in Karat and fineness;
- Assaying and Hallmarking Centre’s identification mark/quantity;
- Jeweller’s Identification mark/quantity
Here’s a have a look at every of those parts intimately.
1. BIS Mark
Gold jewelry hallmarked by BIS may have the BIS brand indicating that its purity is verified in certainly one of its licensed laboratories. Based on the BIS web site, it’s the solely company authorized by the federal government for hallmarking gold articles of any type to make sure its purity.
Nonetheless, BIS hallmarking scheme is voluntary, not all jewellers supply hallmarked BIS jewelry. Some jewellers supply their in-house hallmarking of jewelry which isn’t verified by the BIS. So, earlier than shopping for gold jewelry, you will need to verify with the jeweller if they provide BIS hallmarking.
2. Purity in Karat and fineness
Purity of gold is indicated in two methods: Karat (denoted as KT) and fineness quantity. When purity of gold is measured in Karat, 24KT is taken into account the purest type of gold. However 24KT gold is taken into account too delicate to be transformed into any jewelry or decoration. Different metals reminiscent of silver and zinc are added to gold to transform it into jewelry.
Fineness quantity is one other means of measuring the purity of gold. It’s measured in purity in elements per thousand.
Based on the BIS web site, efficient from January 1, 2017, hallmarking of gold is finished just for three ranges of purity, i.e., Karats. These are as follows:
| 22Ok916 | Similar to 22 Karat |
| 18Ok750 | Similar to 18 Karat |
| 14Ok585 | Similar to 14 Karat |
The fineness quantity and BIS hallmark on the piece of jewelry point out that BIS has licensed it to be of the fineness degree/purity that’s embossed on it as a part of the hallmark.
3. Assaying and hallmarking centre’s mark/quantity
The laboratory the place your gold jewelry is assessed to verify its purity can also be required to place their brand on the jewelry. Solely licensed laboratories of BIS can verify the purity of gold. One can verify if the hallmarking centre is licensed by BIS or not on their web site. Click on right here to verify the brand of the hallmarking centre in your jewelry.
4 indicators of gold purity
ET On-line
Supply: BIS web site
4. Jeweller’s identification mark
The jewelry store from the place you might be shopping for your gold jewelry can even put its identification mark. This mark will be of a BIS licensed jeweller or jewelry producer.
There’s a listing on the BIS web site of jewellers which might be licensed by it.
The list can be accessed here.
For gold jewelry hallmarked until 31 December, 2016
In case you have purchased gold on or earlier than 31 December, 2016, then there’s an extra element that’s hallmarked on the gold. Earlier than revising the foundations, efficient from 1 January, 2017, BIS hallmarking scheme had 5 parts.
The fifth element was the 12 months of marking. It was a code letter representing the 12 months of hallmarking of jewelry which is set by BIS. For instance, Letter ‘A’ was used for 12 months 2000 and ‘J’ for 12 months 2008.
Factors to recollect
- There are fees that must be paid to get the jewelry hallmarked. As per the BIS web site, Rs 35 plus taxes is charged per gold merchandise. For a consignment, a minimal of Rs 200 plus taxes is charged.
- Hallmarking just isn’t achieved immediately. It could take roughly 5 to 6 hours to get the purity of gold checked earlier than it’s hallmarked.
- In case you have a criticism concerning your hallmarked jewelry, you’ll be able to contact BIS by sending an e-mail to hallmarking@bis.org.in or by calling them at 011-23234223
