The BIS Hallmark is a

hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...

ing system for

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

as well as

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

sold in India certifying 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 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standar ...

, the national standards organization of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. India is the second biggest market for gold and its jewellery. India

import An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...

s in excess of 1000 tons annually (including unofficially smuggled gold) with negligible local production. The annual gold imports are around 50 billion US$ next only to crude oil imports widening the

trade deficit The balance of trade, commercial balance, or net exports (sometimes symbolized as NX), is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports over a certain time period. Sometimes a distinction is made between a balance ...

Gold

The BIS system of hallmarking of

jewellery began in April 2000. The standard specifications governing this system are IS 1417 (Grades of Gold and Gold Alloys, Jewellery/Artefacts), IS 1418 (

Assaying An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity of a ...

of Gold in Gold

Bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...

, Gold

alloys An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

and Gold Jewellery/Artefacts), IS 2790 (Guidelines for Manufacture of 14, 18 and 22 carat Gold Alloys only ), IS 3095 (Gold solders for use in manufacture of jewellery).

The BIS hallmark

BIS hallmark for gold jewelry consists of several components: * The BIS logo * Purity of Gold either one of this 22K916 Corresponding to 22 Carat, 18K750 Corresponding to 18 Carat and 14K585 Corresponding to 14 Carat. * 6 digit alphanumeri HUID-HALLMARK UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION

Silver

BIS introduced hallmarking for

jewelry in December 2005 under IS 2112, the standard specification for 'Hallmarking of Silver Jewellery/Artefacts'.

Assaying & Hallmarking Centres

The testing of the jewelry as well as the marking is done in approved Assaying & Hallmarking Centres across the nation. These are private undertakings approved as well as monitored by the BIS.

Legal status

The mandatory status of hallmarking gold jewelry sold in India, although declared, is yet to be implemented. It will mandatory across the country from January 15, 2021. But it has a wide acceptance among consumers. This often leads to fake hallmarking of jewelry which is under the regular scrutiny of the bureau.Aleph INDIA. 'BIS Hallmark Registration Process for Hallmarking Showroom and Assaying & Hallmarking Centres'.
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References