BIS hallmark


The BIS hallmark is a hallmarking system for gold as well as silver jewellery 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 national standards organization of India. India is the second biggest market for gold and its jewellery.
India imports in excess of 1000 tons annually with negligible local production. The annual gold imports are around 50 billion US$ next only to crude oil imports widening the trade deficit.

Gold

The BIS system of hallmarking of gold jewellery began in April 2000. The standard specifications governing this system are IS 1417, IS 1418, IS 2790, IS 3095.

The BIS hallmark

BIS hallmark for gold jewellery consists of several components:
BIS introduced hallmarking for silver jewellery in December 2005 under IS 2112, the standard specification for 'Hallmarking of Silver Jewellery/Artefacts'.

Assaying & Hallmarking Centres

The testing of the jewellery 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 jewellery 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 jewellery which is under the regular scrutiny of the bureau.