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| Hallmarking will push up jewellery prices | | This certifies the quality of jewellery and is advisable when you are gifting jewellery |
| Neha Pandey Deoras / Mumbai Jan 10, 2012, 13:58 IST |
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 Mumbai-based Laxmi Vedula has never bought a piece of jewellery from anyone except her regular jeweller. “I once got cheated and since then I have bought all the jewellery from my regular local jeweller,” she says.
The likes of Vedula need not worry now. With hallmarking of gold jewellery being made mandatory, buyers cannot be cheated on the quality of gold jewellery. A hallmark certifies the quality of a jewellery (gold and silver) against irregular quality of the metal.
According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of precious metal (gold or silver) in articles. It ensures 92 per cent purity of gold ornaments. Hallmarks are thus official marks used in many countries as a guarantee of purity or fineness of precious metal articles.
Jewellery hallmarking provides third party assurance that a buyer is getting the right purity of gold or silver jewellery for the given price. “Many buyers get their jewellery re-checked by a third party – BIS – to confirm the purity of the piece. Now, the hallmark will be a certification for such individuals,” says Ashok Minawala, former chairman, Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation.
Many jewellers already provide hallmarked jewellery like Gitanjali Gems, Tanishq, Waman Hari Pethe and so on. In 2007, hallmarking was made mandatory in the four metro city. “Last time, it got deferred for other cities because not everyone had the right infrastructure to hallmark jewellery. But, this time they will make it mandatory for all jewellers across the country,” says Mehul Choksi, CMD of Gitanjali Gems.
Importantly, due to lack of proper infrastructure hallmarking is expensive in India. And this, in turn, pushes up your cost of jewellery - readymade and customised ones. However, this mandate will require
Hallmarked jewellery also helps when you need to sell or exchange your jewellery. Jewellery buyers are often told that the piece of jewellery being bought is of 22 carat. And only at the time of selling or exchanging it he/she discovers that the jewellery piece is actually only of 18 carats. And many lose money this way.
Industry experts say this problem has also arisen due to the lack of suitable solders for high carat jewellery, which is preferred in India. Because higher the caratage, softer is the metal and can bend or break easily. Such pieces of jewellery need soldering and the solder alloys used are of a much lower caratage leading to under-carating.
Then there is adulteration of precious metal by addition of too much alloy and selling gold or silver coated articles with base metal cores. These frauds still continue at least in the local jewellery market.
Old jewellery, which is not hallmarked, can also be hallmarked. And this is specially advised if you are gifting jewellery to some one, says Chandrakant Sanghavi, regional chairman – Gujarat, Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
You will have to approach a BIS recognised assaying and hallmarking centre to get it done. At the centre, you jewellery will be checked for caratage and hallmarked accordingly. This, even if you were told a different purity when you had bought it.
BIS recognised jewellers / assaying and hallmarking centres charge for hallmarking jewellery. It differs across different pieces of jewellery and according to the weight of the piece. Typically, for a piece weighing 10 gram, you will need to spend Rs 150-200, exclusive of service tax and other charges.
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