As per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) rules, it is not mandatory for jewelers to get hallmarked before selling silver jewelery and coins. Nishant Shah, Partner, Economic Law Practice, says, “The Government of India has subjected silver jewelery and artefacts to hallmarking vide notification dated June 14, 2018. However, it has not made it mandatory in case of gold jewellery. This is because the government has not issued the quality control order under bis Act to make hallmarking mandatory. Hallmarking for silver jewelery will become mandatory once the quality control order is issued by the government.”
Although hallmarking is not mandatory for silver, jewelers can get it done themselves. Government has issued certain quality standards for voluntary silver jewelery hallmarking, As per BIS, “Indian Standard on Silver Hallmarking IS 2112:2014 specifies six grades of silver alloys, namely 990, 970, 925, 900, 835 and 800, which are used in the manufacture of silver jewellery/artificial ”
What are the hallmarking signs on silver jewelry?
In addition, customers can request to get a piece of hallmarked silver from the jeweler. But it has to be done while shopping. The jeweler will have to take the silver jewelery to the nearest testing center to be hallmarked. If the jewelery meets the quality standards, it will be hallmarked as per BIS norms.
The hallmarking department of BIS, in an emailed response, said that hallmarked silver jewelery should have the following indications:
a) BIS mark with the word ‘Silver’
b) purity grade / fineness of silver
c) Identification Mark of the Assay Center
d) Jeweler’s mark/manufacturer’s identification mark
Shah explains that one can ascertain the purity of the grade of silver based on the fineness stamped on hallmarked jewelry, which indicates the alloy content (silver as well as other metal/chemical materials).
The item must mention one of the six grades of fineness of silver jewelry.
| beauty in silver | purity of silver in jewelry |
| 990 | 99% purity of silver |
| 970 | 97% purity of silver |
| 925 | 92.5% purity of silver |
| 900 | 90% purity of silver |
| 835 | 83.5% purity of silver |
| 800 | 80% purity of silver |
It is important to know the purity of silver as jewelers usually add lead content to make silver jewelery and untensils. Many people use silver utensils for food and drink. If the amount of lead is high then it will be harmful to their health.
Fee for hallmarking silver jewelery
Like a gold case, a jeweler will charge extra for a hallmarked silver piece. A jeweler will charge you an additional GST of Rs 35 per item at the rate of 18% for each hallmarked silver jewellery, irrespective of the weight of the piece.
Other things to keep in mind
Consumers buying a hallmarked piece of silver jewelery should ensure that their bill is also fair. The document serves as evidence for any dispute relating to the article. The bill should mention the details of the hallmarked article – description of the article, net weight of the precious metal, purity in carats, fineness, hallmarking charges and such other details. The rules for hallmarking silver bullion and coins are still awaited.
If you have any complaint regarding hallmarked jewellery, you can contact BIS by sending an email to hallmarking@bis.org.in or by calling 011-23234223. You can also lodge a complaint through the BIS app.