Here's how you can you check if the gold jewellery you are buying is pure

Most of us visit our nearby jewellery shops to buy gold jewellery and ornaments.  However, due to the surge in Covid-19 cases and the increasing lockdown restrictions, the trend of buying gold jewellery online has picked up pace. But how do you check whether the gold jewellery you have purchased is pure or not?

For this, a government body – Bureau of Indian Standards – certifies the purity of gold you buy. This process of certifying gold is called hallmarking. BIS is the only agency in India approved by the government for hallmarking gold articles of any kind to ensure its purity.

According to BIS, the two prime objectives of hallmarking are to protect the buyers against adulteration and to obligate manufacturers to maintain legal standards of purity.

How do you check purity on hallmarked gold jewellery?

-BIS Mark: Any gold jewellery, which is hallmarked will bear the BIS logo indicating that its purity is verified in licensed laboratories. As per the latest decision of the government, it will be mandatory for gold jewellery to be hallmarked from June 1, 2021.

-Hallmark Centre’s number

The laboratory where your gold jewellery is checked for purity is also required to put their logo on the jewellery. Only licensed laboratories of BIS can check the purity of gold. One must also check if the hallmarking centre whose logo is placed on the jewellery is licensed by BIS or not on their website.

-Purity in Karat and fineness: Purity of gold is indicated in two ways: Karat (denoted as KT) and fineness number. In Karat, 24KT is considered the purest form of gold. But 24KT gold is too soft and cannot be converted into any jewellery or ornament. Therefore, certain other metals such as silver and zinc are added to gold to convert it into jewellery. Gold jewellery is therefore made in 22K or 18K and so on.
Hallmarking of gold is done only for three levels of Karats. These are:

-Jeweller’s mark
The jewellery shop from where you are buying your gold jewellery will also put its identification mark. This mark reflects a BIS certified jeweller or jewellery manufacturer. BIS on its website has put out a list of jewellers that are certified by the BIS.