Gold Buyers Attention! Don’t buy jewellery without these 4 signs
Buying gold or gold jewellery in India will soon become much safe than before as the government of India has taken a major step on its purity. The Centre has made Hallmarking for gold jewellery and artefacts mandatory across the nation from January 15, 2020. At present, hallmarking of gold is optional and can be voluntarily opted for by jewellers. If you are buying gold which is not hallmarked, the possibility of buying impure gold is high. So, making the selling of hallmarked gold jewellery compulsory will ensure its quality and purity. However, one year period from the date of the notification by the government will be provided to Jewellers for implementation of new gold hallmarking rules to enable jewellers to clear their existing stock.
This means the registration process of jewellers will have to be completed by January 2021. India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of the jewellery industry. India imports around 700-800 tonnes of gold every year.
Hallmark signs on gold jewellery will provide the buyer of the purity of the gold. As a gold buyer, if it is hallmarked, one will be assured of the authenticity of the jewellery. So, if you are buying 18-carat gold which is hallmarked, it will actually mean that 18/24 parts are gold and the rest is alloy.
Ensure these 4 hallmark signs or symbol before buying gold jewellery.
1. BIS Mark
The BIS hallmark is a hallmarking system for gold as well as silver jewellery sold in India certifying to the purity of the metal. It certifies that the piece of jewellery conforms to a set of standards laid by the Bureau of Indian Standards, the national standards organization of India.
BIS hallmark for gold jewellery consists of several components:
2. Purity in carat and Fineness (any one)
a) 22K916 – Equal to 22 Carat
b) 18K750 – Equal to 18 Carat
c) 14K585 – Equal to 14 Carat
3. Identification Mark or Number of the Hallmarking Centre’s
4. Identification Mark or number of the Jeweller’s
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is authorised to carry out the hallmarking of gold jewellery and any jewellery can apply for a license before getting their jewellery hallmarked from them.
The BIS (Bureau of Indian standards) Act 2016 has to enable provisions under Section 14 & Section 16 for making hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts mandatory by the Central Government.
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