HALLMARK

·         Has acted as a safeguard to purchasers of gold and gold articles for centuries in various countries.

·         Indicates that gold articles have been evaluated and tested at an official Assaying and Hallmarking Centre and they have certified that the metal used conforms to the national/international standard of fineness/purity.

·         Consists of BIS Standard Mark, Fineness Mark, Mark of Assaying and Hallmarking Centre responsible for testing and hallmarking of jewellery, Mark of Certified Jeweller and year of Mark (denoted by a letter e.g. letter `A' for the year 2000 and letter `B' for the year 2001) as approved by BIS.

·         Put on each article/ornament after ensuring its purity

WHAT IS BIS HALLMARKING SCHEME

·         Hallmarking of gold jewellery has been taken up on voluntary basis under BIS Act, 1986.

·         Certification of purity of gold jewellery is done in accordance with Indian Standard Specification IS 1417 `Grades of gold and gold alloys, jewellery/artifacts Fineness and marking.

·         BIS is operating this scheme with its network of Regional/Branch Offices all over the country.

·         Assaying of gold and gold jewellery is being done as per IS 1418 `Method for assaying of gold in gold jewellery by BIS recognized Assaying and Hallmarking Centres.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATIONS

Jewellers desirous of hallmarking their gold jewellery will need to first become a `BIS Certified Jeweller. To get BIS certification, the jeweller has to apply to BIS and ensure homogeneity of batches of jewellery offered for Hallmarking by following a systematic quality control. The jewellers quality control system and conforming test reports forms the basis for Certification of Jeweller.

PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES BEHIND INSTITUTING A CREDIBLE SYSTEM OF ASSAYING AND HALLMARKING

• To protect consumer against victimization of irregular gold quality.
• To develop export competitiveness of gold jewellery industry and thus provide strong impetus for gold jewellery exports
• To develop gold based financial products that will help in mopping up of the vast dormant gold resources lying with the household sector.
• To develop India as a leading gold market centre in the world commensurate with its status as the topmost consumer.

THE SCHEME

• Is for those who accept the responsibility of policing their system, the work quality of their own staff and/or their subcontractors.
• Relies on clear rules, delegation of responsibility, only to those who are certified by BIS and penalties ranging from suspension of licence to heavy fines for clear and persistent violation of Rules.
• Is to achieve consistent and desired purity of gold jewellery.
• Is to bring prosperity in competitive market, which is essential for business survival, domestic as well as international.

BENEFITS TO THE CERTIFIED JEWELLERS

The jewellers with BIS licence of Hallmark Gold Jewellery provide:

·         Clear indication of its capabilities

·         Strong evidence of its commitment to quality

·         Assurance of consistence in purity and quality of gold jewellery.

·         The opportunity to describe the way they maintain their standards for quality control and later demonstrate that they consistently do what they claim.

·         International competitiveness

·         Enhanced customer satisfaction

BENEFITS TO THE CUSTOMER

·         Provide third-party assurance and satisfaction that they have got right purity of gold for the given price