New Delhi, July 18
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Friday announced that it will also be mandatory to hallmark 9 karat gold with effect from July 2025.
Hallmarking is governed by the BIS Act, 2016, and it certifies the proportionate content of precious metal in jewellery and artefacts so that consumers can know of the purity before they buy an item.
The list of gold categories in the list of mandatory hallmarking grades now includes 9K along with the earlier categories of 14KT, 18KT, 20KT, 22KT, 23KT, and 24KT gold,
Jewellers and hallmarking centres are required to comply with this addition of 9 karat gold to the mandatory hallmarking list under the BIS regulations, the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council said in a post on X.
“Nine Karat Gold (375 ppt) is now officially under mandatory hallmarking as per BIS Amendment No. 2 All jewellers and hallmarking centres must comply,” the council stated.
The decision to make hallmarking mandatory for 9-karat gold jewelry is driven by the growing preference for more affordable gold jewellery, especially among younger consumers, and also aims to curb rising chain-snatching incidents by making gold items more traceable.