Kalyan Wiki
Gold Markings
While the purest form of gold is 24 Carat, gold ornaments also come in various variants. Besides pure gold, the artisans also use alloys of gold and other metals in making ornaments.
To recognize ornaments made of real/pure gold, the manufacturers started stamping jewellery markings (hallmarks) on gold ornaments. These markings help in informing the buyer about the purity, fineness and caratage of gold.
The purity of gold ornaments is certified by hallmarking. For example, the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) hallmarks on gold show that they conform to a BIS set of standards. In the same way, each nation has its jewellery marking standards.
Here are a few standard markings that we can usually find on gold ornaments:
Purity Markings
It is the most common hallmark that tells the item's metal purity in terms of caratage. The BIS recognizes various purity levels of gold ornaments from a scale of 9 carats marking to 24 carats marking. For example, '22K916' hallmark or just a 916 purity stamp indicates a 22-carat gold ornament with 91.6 % purity. In case of a 9-carat gold ornament, the purity stamp used is '375', i.e. the item is 37.5% pure. You can find these purity stamp numbers provided inside a rectangular shape with corners shaved off for most gold ornaments.
BIS hallmark
BIS's jewellery hallmark will have the BIS logo on it, indicating that its purity verification is done in one of its licensed laboratories.
Maker's mark
The maker's mark or jeweller's mark is a unique identification mark that indicates the item's manufacturer. These are the trademarks put by the jewellery manufacturer or BIS certified jewellers.
Date letter
The date letter shows the year of hallmarking, i.e. the year of testing the item's purity. You will be able to find an alphabet that indicates a particular year of testing. But this doesn't mean that the item's year of manufacture is the same.
Assay Office mark
The mark indicates which assay office tested the item's purity. In India, only licensed laboratories of BIS are eligible to check the purity of gold. You can find the assaying centre's identification mark or number printed or embossed on gold ornaments.
HGE marking
HGE marking indicated that the item is an electroplated material. Such gold plated ornaments are more affordable than pure gold jewels.
RGP marking
In such ornaments, the manufactures bond a very thin layer of gold to the base metal. HGE and RGP marked gold ornaments are not pure or solid gold jewellery items.
Besides these hallmarks, you may also find other optional marks such as traditional symbols, special hallmarks that celebrate major events, import marks on imported ornaments etc.
