A hallmark is a stamp added to jewelry to certify the purity of gold, silver, platinum or palladium used.

It can usually be found inside a piece of jewelry or on the small tag, off the clasp on the chain.

Why is hallmarking jewelry so important?

Hallmarking jewelry is important as it provides a guarantee of the metal purity used in the piece. This helps to protect consumers from purchasing items that may not be made of the metal they believe they are paying for and also helps to ensure that the metal used meets certain quality standards. The hallmark serves as an independent certification of the metal’s purity and can help increase consumer confidence in the piece.

Why does all the jewelry need to be hallmarked?

Not all jewelry needs to be hallmarked, but it is a requirement in many countries to hallmark certain items made of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. This is because hallmarking provides consumers with an assurance of the metal purity and quality of the jewelry piece, which can help protect them from purchasing items that may not meet the metal content they believe they are paying for. Additionally, hallmarking also helps to ensure that the jewelry meets certain quality standards and helps to promote consumer confidence in the product.

The traditional hallmarking stamp, which currently features four symbols including the BIS logo, a mark indicating the purity in karats, and the fineness, will be updated to include a six-digit alphanumeric HUID. This unique identifier must be separately tagged on each piece of jewelry. Jewelry weighing less than 2 grams and pieces made using jadau, kundan, and polki techniques and designs are exempt from this requirement. The quality of gold jewelry can be verified using the BIS Care App by entering the HUID.

What is HUID?

The HUID has been compared to an Aadhaar card or property document and is expected to benefit organized players in the jewelry industry who already hallmark their pieces.