Page 24 - Bullion World Volume 5 Issue 08 August 2025

Bullion World | Volume 5 | Issue 08 | August 2025 Bullion World | Volume 5 | Issue 08 | August 2025

Understanding the Differences:

Jewellery Hallmarking vs. Bullion

Hallmarking in India

Hallmarking Federation of India (HFI)

As the Indian gold market continues to evolve, clarity around the rules and processes for hallmarking-
whether for jewellery or bullion-is more critical than ever. The Hallmarking Federation of India (HFI)
recently released Circular No. 42 (dated 23.07.25), addressing the fundamental question: Why is
there a difference between jewellery hallmarking and bullion hallmarking? This article summarizes
HFI’s clarifications for industry players and consumers alike.

Jewellery Hallmarking: 6. Weight Tolerance: Minor weight variations, up to
Consumer-Centric Certification 2 grams in market surveys, are tolerated, providing
Jewellery hallmarking is primarily a third-party flexibility for small weight deviations in finished
certification scheme implemented by the Bureau of jewellery products.
Indian Standards (BIS). Here are the key features:
The jewellery hallmarking regime is thus designed for
1. Certification Process: Only BIS-registered consumer protection and everyday practicality. The
jewellers can submit items for hallmarking via underlying philosophy recognizes jewellery’s artisanal
the BIS portal, ensuring controlled and regulated nature and the minor variances that may occur during
access. production.

2. Rigorous Sampling: BIS-authorized Assaying and
Hallmarking Centres (AHCs) employ prescribed
sampling methods for fire assay, maintaining
consistency in testing.

3. Tolerance in Purity: Minor tolerance in fineness
is permitted—up to 0.005 parts—recognizing
inherent technical variations during the assay
process.

4. Transparency & Traceability: Each certified
jewellery item is assigned a unique Hallmark
Unique Identification (HUID), generated and
made visible only through specialized equipment,
reducing counterfeiting.

5. Market Sampling and Enforcement: When
BIS officials sample items in the market, a slight
tolerance in fineness (up to 2 parts per thousand)
is accepted, ensuring that minor deviations do not
penalize jewellers unfairly.

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