Buying jewellery? Play it safe, ask for hallmark!
To make sure that you are not taken for a ride while buying the precious metals, always look for a jeweller who retails hallmarked jewellery, said RK Bajaj, head of Bureau of Indian Standards’ (BIS) Lucknow branch on Thursday.
Of the hundreds of shops in Lucknow, only 36 sell gold and silver or naments with a ‘Hallmark’ awarded by the (BIS), he added.
“Though it is not mandatory for jewellers to own the Hallmark, we are trying our best to ensure every shop follows the trend,” Bajaj said while addressing a Hallmark awareness seminar for jewelers organised here in a city hotel.
A Hallmark consists of five components -- logo of BIS, the fineness number corresponding to the gold content or caratage in the jewellery, mark of BISrecognised Hallmarking centre, which certifies the quality, identification mark of the BIS certified jeweller, and the year of manufacture, denoted by a code letter.
“We have assembled here to inform all jewellers that BSI has this scheme for you,” he said.
Elucidating on fineness mark, he said if the mark says 916, it means that gold forms 91.6% of the total metal piece. The highest number is 999, he added.
“The 22 carat gold ornaments available in the market may not be of the promised purity. And, if you consider the Hallmark logo affixed on the ornament as the ultimate proof of purity, you are mistaken because there are ornaments that carry the Hallmark logo but fail purity test,” Bajaj said.