Do all Jewellers in India do Hallmark of Gold? Is hallmarking of Gold Important?

When being beautiful is all about being gorgeous with stunning gold jewellery it becomes very important to check whether the jewellery you are spending your money is genuine or not? Hallmark is one that thing could help you to identify genuine gold jewellery.

What is Hallmarking of gold Jewellery?

Hallmarking is a quality certificate issued by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) that guarantees the purity of gold at a certain price of the jewellery. All the registered jewellers will be issued a certificate on the purity of the gold jewellery. On June 16, 2021, the government of India had made it mandatory for jewellers to hallmark the gold jewellery to help the buyers identify and guarantee purity. Because of the teething problems, mandatory hallmarking has been adopted in India in stages. Initially, only 256 districts were taken in the first phase.

Jewellers in India are allowed to sell gold jewellery without BIS hallmark as it is mandatory and could attract a penalty from the BIS. However, the consumer who had previously bought gold jewellery without hallmarks could sell them to the jeweller. Further, they have the option to get hallmarked as well.

On 14-, 18-, and 22-carat gold jewellery, hallmarking is permitted. Additional carats of gold, such as 20, 23, and 24, will be eligible for hallmarking in the future.

Why government make hallmarking mandatory and why it is important?

The mandatory hallmarking enables the buyer to identify whether what they are going to put money on is pure or not and also helps them to get the right value of that gold jewellery. It allows jewellers and consumers to make accurate choices and avoid unneeded confusion when purchasing gold jewellery. As of now, in India, only around 30% of gold jewellery is hallmarked. The mandatory hallmark will bring a sense of trust among the new buyers and also help them to identify genuine gold.

According to the Indian government, hallmarking of jewellery or artefacts is essential to improve the legitimacy of the commodities on offer, the selling process, and the satisfaction of customers by providing third-party confirmation of the marked authenticity of gold.

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The Assaying and Hallmarking centres are responsible for testing individual pieces of jewellery and guarantee that those correct standards were followed in their manufacturing and that hallmarked products had the promised caratage of gold or silver. It is important to note that only A & H centres that have been approved by the BIS can stamp the jewellery.

What kind of infrastructure is there?

In India, the number of assaying and hallmarking centres has increased by 25% in the last five years. The total number of such centres has increased from 454 to 945. There are currently 940 assaying and hallmarking facilities in operation. In various districts, 84 centres have been established under the government subsidised system. These centres have a daily hallmarking capability of 1,500 pieces and a yearly hallmarking capacity of 14 crore articles.