Any gold jewellery and artifacts having only a four-digit HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) number as a hallmark will not be sold from April 1, the ministry of consumer affairs has announced. Instead, jewellery having a six-digit alphanumeric number as a hallmark can be sold, Nidhi Khare, additional secretary, of consumer affairs on gold hallmarking clarified on Friday. With this decision, the people who are planning to buy gold must understand the new hallmarking process to avoid getting cheated on their purchase.
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What is hallmarking in jewellery?
The government repeatedly stresses on hallmarking of jewellery since it gives a third-party assurance to consumers on their purity and fitness. “Under the hallmarking scheme, the jewellers are granted a certificate of registration to sell hallmarked jewellery and Assaying & Hallmarking (A&H) centres are recognized to assay the purity of the jewellery submitted by the registered jeweller along with a declaration of purity…” the department of consumer affairs explains on its website.
How to identify hallmarks in gold jewellery?
There are three symbols in a hallmark. Before buying any piece of gold jewellery, consumers should be aware of checking that it contains all three symbols – a BIS logo, a purity mark, and a third HUID symbol.
The BIS – Bureau of Indian Standards operates a product certification scheme to ensure compliance with Indian standards, while HUID is a unique number given to each piece of jewellery at the time of hallmarking, stamped manually at the Assaying & Hallmarking centre.
Purpose of HUID?
The HUID symbol is critical to ensure the credibility of the jewellery and enables its traceability. “It is aimed at ensuring the purity of the hallmarked jewellery and checking any malpractice. It is a secure system and poses no risk to data privacy or security,” the consumer affairs department says.
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