What is Hallmark in gold?The Hallmark symbol certifies the purity of gold articles in accordance with the standards of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), a national body of standards in India. If you are buying gold, look for the BIS certified Hallmark which ensures that you don’t buy inferior quality gold. It is important to note that the jewellery is Hallmarked by BIS recognised Assaying and Hallmarking Centres and not by jewellers. There are 400-plus hallmarking centres in the country with about 40 per cent of them in the southern states. A Hallmark consists of five components — the BIS Mark, the Fineness number, the Assaying and Hallmarking Centre’s mark, the jeweller’s identification mark and year of marking denoted by a code letter as decided by BIS. The marking is done either using punches or laser marking machine. In accordance with BIS procedures, hallmarking is applied to all parts of the item that can be easily detached, except for lightweight items and bangles where it is applied only once, says a report on Hallmarking from WGC.

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