India is recognised to be the second largest market for gold. Our annual imports exceed 1000 tons. The Indian community has inherent fascination for gold and this attraction is evident since the mythological times. This obsession for the yellow metal is obviously because of tradition. But many people regard it as a safe cushion. "Gold also acts as a kind of informal insurance mechanism," writes Richard Davies, the famous economist. Gold also constitutes major part of country’s foreign exchange reserves.
While we ascribe so much of value and importance to Gold, we need to know how the purity and authenticity of this precious metal is determined and certified. Gold is categorised in terms of its purity, e.g., 24K, 23K, 22K and so on. Purity of gold had so far been one of the most concerning issues for the Indian buyers. However, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has evolved and established the hallmarking system for gold jewellery since April 2000 and hallmarking for silver started from 2005. It is called the BIS Hallmark. However, the mandatory status of gold jewellery hallmarking is not yet implemented. Letʹs know more about this certification.
The BIS Hallmark is the assaying system that certifies purity of gold. Its purity is measured in carat. For example, 22K916 commensurable with 22 carat, i.e. 91.6% purity, 18K750 corresponds with 18 carat (75% purity) and 14K585 is commensurable with 14 carat (58.5% purity). The BIS Hallmark has following three logos:
Hallmarking and assaying centres are established across the nation. Some of them are private undertakings, approved and monitored by the BIS. After introduction of this certification system, the buyers feel assured and confident about their gold purchases. Although 24 carat gold is considered to be the purest, it is too soft to create any jewellery with intricate designs. Therefore, most of the customers opt for 22K gold or BIS ʹ916 goldʹ for making of the jewellery.
When you go to any jewellery shop for purchase of gold or gold jewellery ensure that the gold you are buying has the BIS Hallmark. If this hallmark is available, be sure that it conforms to the standards stipulated by the BIS. This hallmark gives you confidence about purity and fineness of gold. If you are purchasing the 18K hallmarked gold it indicates that 18/24 parts are gold and the remaining is alloy.
When we talk about ʹ916 Goldʹ it is just another name of 22K gold. To make it more simple, if 22K gold is weighing 100 gm. 91.6 gm of it shall be pure gold and rest will be alloy.
Now letʹs know about the KDM gold. The KDM type of gold alloy has a mix of 92% gold and 8% cadmium alloy. This mix was adopted to achieve high standards of gold purity. It may not affect the purity, but it certainly causes serious health issues for the artisans who work on alloying and creating the jewellery. It is therefore, banned by the BIS. The cadmium is now replaced by the advanced solder metal like Zinc.
It is therefore, always advisable and beneficial to buy the BIS Hallmark gold jewellery. Goldmart Jewellers in Pune is one of the most trusted jewellery houses, known for transparency and integrity in business and innumerable varieties of attractive jewellery designs.