Indians have been on a never-ending quest for the Bureau of Indian Standards Hallmark on gold jewellery for ages. It is our hunger that has made us the world’s top gold consumers. Every Indian home has a contingency reserve of at least some grams of gold set away. We have spent years trying to make the value of precious yellow metal known to the rest of the world and vice versa. There are always ways to own the best and purest version of this metal, and there are methods to authenticate it.
What is BIS?
The purity of the gold jewellery set gets certified by the BIS Hallmark, a government agency. It is the technique of verifying the purity of gold. According to the BIS website, there are two primary aims underlying gold hallmarking from investors’ perspective.
- Safeguarding the public from adulteration
- Compelling manufacturers to adhere to legal fineness/purity criteria
How to identify hallmarked gold jewellery?
The BIS hallmark for jewellery set online is made of four components, ensuring the purity of gold:
- BIS Mark
- Purity in carat and fineness
- Assessing and hallmarking centre’s identification mark
- Jewellers’ logo/identification
If you are worried these make your prized possession clunky, do not be. These are microscopically visible only with a jeweller’s loupe, but you can see the trademark triangle sign.
What is the distinction between hallmark gold and KDM?
KDM denotes the use of cadmium in the soldering of an ornament. Soldering gold with an alloy in ancient times was copper with a mix of 60% gold and 40% copper. This gets used to create the intricate designs in the gold jewellery.
Here, gold produced more contaminants during the melting process. This is where KDM gold came into play, with a soldering mix of 92% gold and 8% cadmium. On the other hand, the hallmarked gold, known as BIS 916, ensures the purity and fineness of gold jewellery through certification. But, on the other side, KDM offers no assurances.
Does Indian gold have a hallmark?
Unlike many other countries, there is no evidence of only Hallmarked gold being sold. However, as the market becomes competitive, most jewellers sell hallmarked gold to improve their reputation with customers, gaining their trust, and reassure them that the gold is of high purity and fineness. So, yes, verify with a jeweller before purchasing gold to see if it is BIS hallmarked or not.
Can I get my gold jewellery hallmarked?
Suppose you have antique family jewels from ancestors that are unlikely to have hallmarking, no worries. There are several establishments run only by goldsmiths and approved agencies that certify your jewellery set. There is a small fee for the BIS hallmark, and then you are ready to grade the purity of your heritage pieces.
We all buy gold for different purposes; the most common is an investment or future use. Therefore, buying BIS hallmarked gold coins that you can subsequently exchange for 22 carat BIS hallmark gold jewellery is another excellent option to accumulate gold.
BIS hallmarked jewellery is sold in major retail jewellers and small gold shops. As a result of increased public awareness, every gold buyer today seeks out only hallmarked jewellery. Many jewellers sell solely hallmarked jewellery because of the rising client perspective.
In a market with increasing competition, jewellers wish to differentiate themselves on purity and fineness aspects. Buy BIS hallmarked jewellery online on e-commerce portals.
Most of them provide enticing buying choices like smart buy, EMI, free domestic delivery, free transit insurance on foreign orders, and an advanced video shopping option to guide you through online jewellery shopping details.
Buying from a BIS-registered jeweller is a good idea. BIS has around 30,000 jewellers registered across India. The list is available on the BIS website. Also, inquire about the jeweller’s BIS licence that should be visible in their retail location. Remember, the shop’s address and the address listed on the licence must match.