What Makes the Hallmark?

In November 2005, Reserve Bank of India issued a circular to all banks to give preferential treatment to hallmarked jewellery while considering advances against jewellery.

Before purchasing silver, one may check the following components of hallmark through a magnifying glass (magnification 10X): a) BIS mark b) Purity grade/fineness c) Assaying/Hallmarking centre’s logo/symbol d) Year of marking denoted by a code letter (e.g., ‘J’ for the year 2008) e) Jeweller’s mark/manufacturer’s identification mark Only BIS-recognized assaying and hallmarking centres are permitted to hallmark the silver articles. Since launch of the scheme, over 1,000 jewellers have taken hallmarking license for silver articles and so far about 1.6 crore silver articles have been hallmarked. The list of BIS licensee jewellers and recognized hallmarking centres is on the BIS website (www.bis. org.in). In case the purity of hallmarked jewellery is found to be less than that declared by the jeweller, a customer may file a complaint in any BIS office in India.