Those buying gold in India have mixed feelings about the introduction of compulsory hallmarking on items, but overall, it is expected to be a positive thing for consumers.
Many Indian consumers try to avoid buying gold for themselves or for gifts from any retailer they do not completely trust and already know. This is because they can often end up buying gold that is less pure than they expected, or that isn’t gold at all!
One such jewellery fan, Laxmi Vedula, explained her conundrum to the Business Standard: "I once got cheated. Since then, I have bought all jewellery from my regular local jeweller."
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BSI) is responding to these problems by introducing mandatory hallmarking of all gold and silver jewellery sold in India. Hallmarking is an effective way of making sure gold is as pure as stated by the retailer. Each carat value has a different level of purity, starting from nine carat and rising to 24 carat for jewellery. When selling
scrap gold, the value is determined by both the carat and the weight of the gold.
Consumers in India are largely welcoming the chance to be able to check a physical mark on jewellery that will be a legal mark indicating the purity of the gold the item is made from. However, there are some concerns that
gold prices will soar in stores as a result of the lack of infrastructure in India to cope with the new legislation. Retailers, however, are also largely welcoming of the new certification as many already have the purity of their items checked by a third party and this new hallmarking law will make sure consumers have proof of the quantity of gold in their jewellery.
The last time the legislation was discussed some cities did not have to adhere to the rule due to a lack of preparedness, according to jeweller Mehul Choksi. He explained, "It got deferred for other cities because not everyone had the right infrastructure to hallmark jewellery. This time they will make it mandatory for jewellers across the country."
Another problem that will be helped through hallmarking is under-carating as a result of the use of poor quality solders. Some manufacturers had found higher grade solders, suitable for higher carat gold, difficult to come by and the lower grade solder easier to use. After these were used, gold was sometimes still carated the same as before the soldering took place, which was inaccurate.
People with old gold jewellery they hope to sell in the future can also have their gold hallmarked retrospectively, according to the BSI. All they have to do it take their scrap jewellery along to a BSI hallmarking centre. Wherever you live, If you think you have very pure gold, making sure it is hallmarked before it is gold will help to ensure you get fair
cash for gold.
Want to find out more? Contact the author.