Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Jewellery firms hallmark of quality

G. Ravikiran

VIJAYAWADA: Big names in jewellery business have hit the city market over the past two years with a bang and not without kicking up a lot of euphoria and a debate about new parameters of quality.

The city customers, who hitherto relied on the principles of trust and confidence, have slowly begun to look at the other side of the jewellery story that has unfolded in a new avatar -- hallmark.

Not many customers insist on the hallmark on gold jewellery they buy from the city's countless showrooms, but they do enquire about the test the items are made to pass through. According to showrooms, just 50 per cent customers check out whether the jewellery they want to buy carries hallmark.

BIS scheme

A scheme launched by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) at the behest of the Government of India, hallmarking involves special features to protect the interests of the customers. As there is no centre to hallmark the jewellery made in the city, the local makers have to send the jewellery to Chennai or Hyderabad for getting the mark.

Hallmark is a tiny BIS standard mark specifying the fineness of gold used in the jewellery. From a small earring to a `oddanam', every item from the manufacturer can be tested and branded with the hallmark. The BIS mark is given by the Assaying and Hallmarking Centre (A&HC), where the jewellery has been assayed and hallmarked. It also carries a code letter representing the year of hallmarking of gold jewellery. In the BIS parlance, `D' stands for 2003. The jeweller's mark is also given to indicate the identification of the BIS certified maker. The hallmarked items also carry 916 number indicating use of 22 carat gold.

The BIS regional office and southern centre is located at Chennai with its branches at Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam. Under the hallmarking scheme, the makers have to take the licence after proving their capability to meet the requirements of IS 1417 for purity of gold.

Cadmium blend

Going one step further in quality, the gold used in jewellery nowadays is strengthened by mixing `cadmium'. It is a soft, bluish white metal and has replaced silver and copper that are traditionally used in gold jewellery making.

R. Raghunath, incharge of Kirtilals, says that they get every piece of jewellery hallmarked by the BIS centre. "The customers are given the chance to see the mark. In an antique haram weighing 250 gms, every one of mango shaped bead carries hallmarking," Mr. Raghunath says.

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