Presentation on BIS Hallmarking Scheme

BISBIS
Scheme ofScheme of
HallmarkingHallmarking
A K Purohit
Bureau of Indian Standards
Bhubaneswar

Gold in pure formGold in pure form

Properties of GoldProperties of Gold
• Gold resists attacks by individual
acids, but it can be dissolved by the
aqua regia (nitro-hydrochloric acid),
so named because it dissolves gold
• Gold also dissolves in alkaline
solutions of cyanide, which have
been used in mining

Gold AlloyGold Alloy
• Gold Jewellary – An Alloy of Gold and
other base metal
• Gold will form alloys with most
metals, but for jewelry, the most
common alloying metals are silver,
copper, and zinc

Color of Gold Alloy Composition
Yellow Gold (22K) Gold 91.67%
Silver 5%
Copper 2%
Zinc 1.33%
Red Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Copper 25%
Rose Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Copper 22.25%
Silver 2.75%
Pink Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Copper 20%
Silver 5%
White Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Platinum or Palladium 25%

Color of Gold Alloy Composition
White Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Palladium 10%
Nickel 10%
Zinc 5%
Gray-White Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Iron 17%
Copper 8%
Soft Green Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Silver 25%
Green Gold (18K) Gold 75%
Silver 20%
Copper 5%
Purple Gold Gold 80%
Aluminum 20%

Use of GoldUse of Gold
• Monetary exchange
• Investment
• Jewelry
• Medicine
• Food and drinks
• Industry
• Electronics

What is Hallmarking ?What is Hallmarking ?
• Hallmarking is the accurate
determination and official recording
of the proportionate content of
precious metal in gold
• Hallmarks are official marks used in
many countries as a guarantee of
purity

Hallmark vs Trade MarkHallmark vs Trade Mark
• Hallmarks are an official mark of
guaranteed metal content
• Trademarks are the mark of a
manufacturer to distinguish his
products from other manufacturers’
products.

History of HallmarkHistory of Hallmark
• The use of hallmarks, at first, on silver has
a long history dating back to the fourth
century AD and represents the oldest
known form of consumer protection
• Hallmarking in Britain dates from 1300; no
gold or silver could be sold until tested for
purity and struck with the king's mark.
• A "hallmark" was a mark made at
Goldsmith's Hall, London

Contd….Contd….
• The Hallmarking Act 1973 made Britain a
member of the Vienna Convention as well
as introducing marking for platinum, a
recognized metal under the Convention
• The Hallmarking Act of 1973 makes up the
bulk of modern law regarding the assaying
and hallmarking of metals in the
United Kingdom
• The Act made business transactions
involving unmarked metals illegal

All India Market SurveyAll India Market Survey
2001 on Gold2001 on Gold
• Sample failing – 88%
• Average shortage in purity – 11%
• Highest Shortage in Purity – 38%

Indian Standards on Gold JewlleryIndian Standards on Gold Jewllery
a) IS 1417 - Grades of gold and gold alloys,
Jewellery/Artefacts-Fineness and Marking
b) IS 1418 - Assaying of Gold in Gold Bullion, Gold alloys
and Gold Jewellery/ Artefacts - Cupellation (Fire Assay
Method)
c) IS 2790 - Guidelines for manufacture of 23,22,21,18,14
and 9 carat gold alloys
d) IS 3095 - Gold Solders for use in manufacture of
Jewellery
e) IS 15820 – General requirements competence of
assaying and Hallmarking Centre

IS 1417:1999 & ISIS 1417:1999 & IS
2112:2003 Requirements2112:2003 Requirements
• Gold jewellery/artefacts may be covered under
Hallmarking except as given below :
– Any gold article/ornament which fails to comply with
specified fineness/caratage.
– Any gold article/ornament which is not solid or which is made
with a hollow center and then filled with base metal, cement,
lac or other foreign substance thereby giving the article a
false or added weight or strength unless the weight of gold is
indicated on the article along with the jeweller’s/ sponsorer’s
logo.
– Gold article/ornament on which it is physically impossible to
stamp the mark.

IS 1417:1999 Gold and Gold alloys,IS 1417:1999 Gold and Gold alloys,
jewellery/ artefacts – Fineness andjewellery/ artefacts – Fineness and
Marking (Third Revision)Marking (Third Revision)
• First published in 1959First published in 1959
• Revised in 1971 & 1981Revised in 1971 & 1981
• Third revision is in force nowThird revision is in force now
• Amendment No. 1 issued in Dec 2004Amendment No. 1 issued in Dec 2004
• Amendment No. 2 issued in Dec 2007Amendment No. 2 issued in Dec 2007
• Amendment No. 3Amendment No. 3 issuedissued in June 2010in June 2010
• Amendment No. 4 finalized for printingAmendment No. 4 finalized for printing
• Amendment No. 5 Issued in Oct 2014Amendment No. 5 Issued in Oct 2014
Note : - Standard is under revisionNote : - Standard is under revision

SCOPESCOPE
This standard specifies nine grades of gold,
used in the manufacture of jewellery/artefacts
of gold, based on their gold content.
This standard also specifies the guidelines for
marking of purity and other details on tested
jewellery/artefacts.

GRADESGRADES
Gold and gold alloys shall be classified in accordance with the following
grades depending upon their fineness.
Grade Fineness Carat ISO/9202
Min Grade/Fineness
Fine gold 999 - -
Standard gold 995 - -
958.3 958 23 -
916.6 916 22 916
875 875 21 -
750 750 18 750
708 708 17 -
585 585 14 585
375 375 9 375

RequirementsRequirements
a) Soldersa) Solders
Solders used for manufacture of gold jewellery/artefacts shall
conform to the requirements as specified in IS 3095.
bb) Sampling) Sampling
Sampling of the Jewellery/ Artefacts shall be as given in 5.3 of
this standard.
c) Assayingc) Assaying
The samples taken from jewellery/artefacts shall be assayed in
accordance with IS 1418.
d) Toleranced) Tolerance
No negative tolerance shall be allowed on the gold content of
gold article/jewellery.

MARKINGMARKING
The “Hallmarked” articles shall carry the following
markings :
a) BIS Mark
b) Purity grade/fineness
c) Assay centre’s identification mark
d) Year of marking denoted by a letter (as defined by
BIS)
e) Jeweller’s mark/manufacturer’s identification mark
 Only linear design is permitted
 Marking shall be legible and durable
 Marking to be done on all detachable parts

Marking shall not be doneMarking shall not be done
• which has not been assayed by BIS recognized
Hallmarking Center.
• Which fails to comply with specified
fineness/caratage
• Which is not solid or which is made with a hollow
center and then filled with base metal, cement,
lac or other foreign substance unless the weight
of gold is declared by the jeweller.
• Gold article/ornament on which it is physically
impossible to stamp the marks.
• Below 9 carat

IS 1418 DETERMINATION OF GOLD IN GOLDIS 1418 DETERMINATION OF GOLD IN GOLD
BULLION, GOLD ALLOYS AND GOLDBULLION, GOLD ALLOYS AND GOLD
JEWELLERY/ARTEFACTS-CUPELLATIONJEWELLERY/ARTEFACTS-CUPELLATION
(FIRE ASSAY) METHOD(FIRE ASSAY) METHOD
ScopeScope
• This standard prescribes the cupellation or
fire assay method for assaying of gold in
gold bullion,gold alloys and gold
jewellery/artefacts covered in IS 1417.

TERMINOLOGYTERMINOLOGY
The following definitions are used in
assaying.
Bullion
Cupellation
Fine Gold
Inquartation
Parting

ISIS 2112:20032112:2003 Silver and Silver Alloys,Silver and Silver Alloys,
Jewellery/Artefacts – Fineness andJewellery/Artefacts – Fineness and
MMarking – Specificationarking – Specification
((Second RevisionSecond Revision))
• Published in 1962 , 1981 &2003
• Draft Revision(Third Revision) is in wide
circulation
• Amendment no. 1 issued in Dec. 2003
• Amendment no. 2 issued in Jan. 2004
• Amendment no. 3 issued in Feb. 2006
• Amendment no. 4 issued in July 2008

SCOPESCOPE
• This standard specifies three grades of fine
silver and six grades of silver alloys used
in the manufacture of jewellery/artefact.
• This standard also specifies the guidelines
for marking of purity.

GRADESGRADES
– Grade Fineness Fineness
» (ISO 9202)
– 9999 ] 999.9 --
– 9995 ] Fine silver 999.5 --
– 999 ] 999.0
– 990 ] 990.0 --
– 970 ] 970.0 --
– 925 ] Silver alloys 925.0 925.0
– 900 ] for jewellery 900.0 --
– 835 ] artefacts 835.0 835.0
– 800 ] 800.0 800.0
–

Requirements(contd.)Requirements(contd.)
SOLDERSOLDER
• Solder of purity 750 silver minimum is
used for grades 900, 925, 970 and 990.
• Silver of purity 650 silver minimum is used
for grades 800 and 835.

Requirements(contd.)Requirements(contd.)
SamplingSampling
Sampling of the Jewellery/ Artefacts shall be as
given in 6.2 of this standard.
AssayingAssaying
The samples taken from jewellery/artefacts shall be
assayed in accordance with IS 2113.
ToleranceTolerance
No negative tolerance shall be allowed on the silver
content of silver article/jewellery.

MARKINGMARKING
• The silver and silver alloys, jewellery/artefacts shall be
stamp with standard mark in this case known as Hallmark.
• The Hallmarked article shall carry the following markings:
– BIS Mark
 Purity grade/fineness
 Assay centre’s identification mark
 Year of marking denoted by a letter symbol (as defined by
BIS)
 Jeweller’s mark/manufacturer’s identification mark

Marking (Contd.)Marking (Contd.)
Only linear design is permitted
Marking shall be legible and durable
Marking to be done on all detachable
parts

 which has not been assayed by BIS recognized Hallmarkingwhich has not been assayed by BIS recognized Hallmarking
Center.Center.
Which fails to comply with specified fineness/caratageWhich fails to comply with specified fineness/caratage
Which is not solid or which is made with a hollow center and thenWhich is not solid or which is made with a hollow center and then
filled with base metal, cement, lac or other foreign substance therebyfilled with base metal, cement, lac or other foreign substance thereby
giving the article a false or added weight.giving the article a false or added weight.
Silver article/ornament on which it is physically impossible to stampSilver article/ornament on which it is physically impossible to stamp
the marks.the marks.

Hallmarking in IndiaHallmarking in India
• Government of India' has
identified BIS a sole agency in
India to operate this scheme
• Scheme is voluntary in nature
started in year 2000
• BIS Hallmarking Scheme has
been aligned with International
criteria on hallmarking

Contd…Contd…
• Licence is granted to the jewellers by
BIS under Hallmarking Scheme
• BIS certified jewellers can get their
jewellery hallmarked from any of the
BIS recognized Assaying and
Hallmarking Centre

Design of Hallmark on GoldDesign of Hallmark on Gold
A&HMC
Logo
Jewellers
Mark
Purity/fineness
Purity : 958 – 23 Carat
916 – 22 Carat
875 – 21 Carat
Logo of Hallmarking Centre
Jeweler's Identification Mark
1
2
3
5
BIS Mark
Year of Hallmarking
e,g A for 2000, B for 2001
J for 2008 K for 2009
Code Letter4

Purity/fineness symbol withPurity/fineness symbol with
HallmarkHallmark
Grade Fineness
Minimum
Carat
Fine Gold 999 ---
Standard Gold 995 ---
958.3 958 23
916.6 916 22
875 875 21
750 750 18
708 708 17
585 585 14
375 375 9
< 2gm and purity less than 9 carat – Hallmarking not allowed

GRADESGRADES
Gold and gold alloys shall be classified in accordance with theGold and gold alloys shall be classified in accordance with the
following grades depending upon their fineness.following grades depending upon their fineness.
GradeGrade FinenessFineness CaratCarat ISO/9202ISO/9202
Fine goldFine gold 999 -999 - --
Standard gold 995 -Standard gold 995 - --
958.3 958 23958.3 958 23 --
916.6 916 22916.6 916 22 916916
875 875 21875 875 21 --
750 750 18750 750 18 750750
708 708 17708 708 17 --
585 585 14585 585 14 585585
375 375 9375 375 9 375375

Typical Hallmark Symbol inTypical Hallmark Symbol in
Gold JewelryGold Jewelry

Display Requirement at ShopDisplay Requirement at Shop

State wise Distribution ofState wise Distribution of
HallmarkingHallmarking Centre in EasternCentre in Eastern
RegionRegion
State No. of
Hallmarki
ng Centre
Bihar 3
Chhattisgarh 1
Jharkhand 1
Odisha 5
West Bengal 22
Assam & NE
State
1
Total 33

Branch wise Distribution ofBranch wise Distribution of
Licenced JewllersLicenced Jewllers in Eastern Regionin Eastern Region
State No. of
licenced
Jewelers
Bihar 330
Chhattisgarh 53
Jharkhand 196
Odisha 522
West Bengal
(KKBO &
DSBO)
1394
302
(1696)
Assam & NE
State
141
Total 2938

Objective of the SchemeObjective of the Scheme
• Protect Consumer against the
purchase of lesser purity of gold than
declared
• Develop export competitiveness
• Make India a leading gold market in
the world

Fire Assay (Cupellation)Fire Assay (Cupellation)
• This ancient technique is first referenced by the
Egyptians in a Cuneiform tablet dating back to
around 13 60 BC, and is based on a gold refining
technique.
• In its present form , it remains the most accurate
technique for gold assay and serves as the
standard technique against which all others are
com pared.
• It is covered by ISO standard ISO 11426:1993
and is the reference technique used by all the
Assay Offices world wide.

Principle of Fire AssayPrinciple of Fire Assay
• The principle is based on the removal of
all base metals from a small weighed
sample by oxidation in the cupellation
stage to leave a pure gold-silver alloy,
followed by removal of the silver by
dissolution in nitric acid
• The silver is added to dilute the gold
content to 25 % or less (known as
Inquartation)

PRINCIPLEPRINCIPLE
• The gold alloys are inquarted with silver,
compounded with lead and cupelled in a
cupellation furnace until a precious metal button
is obtained.
• After flattening and rolling, the silver is extracted
(parted) in nitric acid and the gold weighed.
• Possible systematic errors are eliminated by
assaying standard proof sample in parallel.

Steps in Assaying andSteps in Assaying and
HallmarkingHallmarking
• Receipt of Jewellery and its segregation
article wise
• Checking for homogeneity of the lot by XRF
• Sampling by Scraping/ Micro Drilling/
Cutting etc.
• Assaying of the composite sample as per IS
1418 by Fire Assay Method
• In case the sample passes , entire Jewellery
lot is hallmarked by laser marking and
returned to the Jeweller
• In case of failure in fire assay, Jewellery is
returned back without hallmarking

HomogeneityHomogeneity
Check by XRFCheck by XRF
• Receipt of
jewellery
and
segregatio
n article
wise
• Checking
for
homogenei
ty of the
lot by XRF

Sampling by Scraping/Sampling by Scraping/
Micro Drilling/ CuttingMicro Drilling/ Cutting
• Random
Sampling
(10%)
• Taking a
small
scraping
from the
article
(about 250
mgm)

WeighingWeighing
• Weighing it
accurately
• Wrapping it
in lead foil
with some
added
silver

Fire AssayingFire Assaying
(Cupellation)(Cupellation)
• Assaying of
the
composite
sample as
per IS 1418
(ISO
11426:1993
) by Fire
Assay
Method
• Cupelling it
in in a
furnace at
about
1100°C

Fire AssayingFire Assaying
(Cupellation)(Cupellation)
• Cupellation
removes all
base metals
• Parting :
Placing the
resulting
gold-silver
alloy button
in nitric acid
to dissolve
out the silver

WeighingWeighing
• Re-
weighing
the
resulting
pure gold

Hallmarking byHallmarking by
LaserLaser
• In case the
sample
passes,
jewellery
lot is
hallmarked
by laser
marking
and
returned
to the

MARKINGMARKING
The “Hallmarked” articles shall carry the followingThe “Hallmarked” articles shall carry the following
markings :markings :
a)a) BIS MarkBIS Mark
b)b) Purity grade/finenessPurity grade/fineness
c)c) Assay centre’s identification markAssay centre’s identification mark
d)d) Year of marking denoted by a letterYear of marking denoted by a letter (as defined by(as defined by
BIS)BIS)
e)e) Jeweller’s mark/manufacturer’sJeweller’s mark/manufacturer’s identification markidentification mark
 Only linear design is permittedOnly linear design is permitted
 Marking shall be legible and durableMarking shall be legible and durable
 Marking to be done on all detachable partsMarking to be done on all detachable parts

• which has not been assayed by BIS recognizedwhich has not been assayed by BIS recognized
Hallmarking Center.Hallmarking Center.
• Which fails to comply with specified fineness/caratageWhich fails to comply with specified fineness/caratage
• Which is not solid or which is made with a hollow centerWhich is not solid or which is made with a hollow center
and then filled with base metal, cement, lac or otherand then filled with base metal, cement, lac or other
foreign substance.foreign substance.
• Gold article/ornament on which it is physically impossible toGold article/ornament on which it is physically impossible to
stamp the marks.stamp the marks.
• Below 9 caratBelow 9 carat

Comparison of Testing TechniqueComparison of Testing Technique

How to find a BIS HallmarkHow to find a BIS Hallmark
RetailerRetailer
• More than 10,000 BIS Hallmark
jewellers in the country
• Visit web site at www.bis.org.in

Advantage of PurchasingAdvantage of Purchasing
BIS Hallmark JewllearyBIS Hallmark Jewlleary
• Protect consumer against
victimization for lesser purity
• Provide third party assurance
• Right to Lodge Complaint
• RBI Circular to Banks for Preferential
treatment to Hallmarked Jewellery
while granting Advances against
Jewellery

While Purchasing….While Purchasing….
• Verify that the Shop is authorized to sell
BIS Hallmarked Jewellery
– Ask for Licence/documents issued by BIS
– Verify from BIS Web site (www.bis.org.in)
• Ask for Magnifying Glass to verify the
Hallmark Symbols in the jewellery
• Cash receipt with clear indication of
– BIS Hallmark
– Purity (example – fineness 916)

What is to be seen before buying ?What is to be seen before buying ?

Presentation on BIS Hallmarking Scheme

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