What is BIS Hallmark?
A hallmark is an official mark or sequence of marks stamped on metal products, usually to confirm the number of noble metals like platinum, gold, silver, and palladium in some countries. The BIS hallmarking scheme for gold and silver is accessible, and BIS hallmarking in India is required to confirm the metal's purity before introducing the Gold & Silver products to consumers.
Part of A BIS Hallmark
Earlier, the BIS Hallmark for gold objects were made up of five elements, components, or marks (that's also known as old method of Hallmarking). The presence of hallmarking stamps on your gold indicates that it meets the 'Bureau of Indian Standards' purity specifications.
1. BIS Standard Mark: The BIS Standard Mark or BIS Logo is a triangle mark that shows that a third party or independent assessor has properly evaluated the decoration and validated the metal's purity. In most cases, it is validated by one of the BIS-approved laboratories (Hallmarking centre). BIS is the only government-approved institution for hallmarking gold ornaments (Jewellery Hallmarking).
2. Purity Grade: Karats (denoted as KT) and Fineness Number are two ways to determine the purity of gold. The purest type of gold is 24 KT, but it is too soft to be utilized in jewellery or ornamentation. As a result, a trace amount of other metals, such as zinc or silver, is added to gold to create long-lasting jewellery or adornment. The carat value of gold jewellery is typically measured in three numbers and varies from 22k to 14k. A 22k gold ring, for example, has a purity grade of 916 HallMark. A 916 Hallmark logo on any gold ornament denotes that the jewellery is made up of 91.6 percent of pure gold elements combined with 8.4 percent of other elements. Similarly, 18k and 14k gold jewellery have purity grades of 750 and 585, respectively.
3. Hallmarking Centre's Mark: This is the BIS-licensed trademark (Hallmarking License) of the marking centre or third-party evaluator. The label is stamped on every product in the centre and is inspected for purity of gold and silver. This is done so that the object may be tracked back to the centre if any inconsistencies arise afterwards.
4. Year of Marking: This represents the year the object was labeled or Hallmarked. The marking year is identified by a letter of code assigned by BIS. For example, the code letter "A" stood for 2000, "B" for 2001, and so on.
5. Jeweller Mark: This is the jeweller's or manufacturer's mark on the piece. Each BIS- accredited jeweller's decorations bear a distinct jeweller BIS hallmark logo. All of these markings are readily visible on the jewellery. To confirm the purity of a piece of jewellery, look for these indications.
Recently BIS has Introduced a new system for marking Jewellery. The new method contains HallMarking Unique Identification Number with BIS Hallmark and purity of the metal.
The government of India announced in November 2019 that hallmarking of gold jewellery and artifacts would be mandatory across the country beginning January 15, 2021. However, owing to the epidemic, the deadline was pushed back four months, from June 1 to June 15. Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal made this decision during a meeting with industry stakeholders. Hallmarking is an official mark that is recognized internationally on precious metal items.
After fulfilling the terms and conditions of the certificate of registration as specified in regulation 5 of the Bureau of Indian Standards (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018, precious metal articles of gold marked with hallmark shall be sold only by registered jewellers through certified sales outlets. The BIS hallmarking centres list and BIS hallmark jewellers list can be found on the Bureau of Indian Standard's official website. The list of licensed jewellers can be accessed by selecting the region/state & IS Number.
Hallmarking is an official mark that is recognized internationally on precious metal items. Hallmarking Licence (certificate of registration) is required in India for certified jewellers to sell or produce hallmark gold and silver jewellery or artefacts. The BIS approved jewellery mark is required from any of the Assay and Hallmarking centre recognised with the Bureau of Indian Standard.
The process of BIS Hallmarking involves three major sections Homogeneity Test, Purity Test & product marking. In homogeneity test all the items in the sample having similar traits are tested to confirm that the sample complies necessary BIS standards.