Precious metals are the foundation of all jewelry. The best-known and most popular precious metals are gold, silver, and platinum. Each of these “noble metals” has specific properties. Jewelers are able to shape precious metals into exquisite forms, flatten them into wafer-thin sheets, and pull them into wires as slender as a thread. They can be melted, poured, cast into molds, carved and engraved. From the ancient past to the present, precious metals have fed our passion for beauty, design, and invention.
Gold with its distinct physical qualities has been used in jewellery for thousands of years. Found naturally in a rich golden hue, gold is resistant to tarnish, corrosion and rust. Extremely strong, gold is also malleable and can be pressed, moulded and hammered into any shape. Gold has been long used by kings and the royalty throughout the world, while it has always stayed in demand among the masses. Purity and Carat The term ‘Karatage’ denoted by a number and followed by the symbol ‘k’ symbolizes the purity or the amount of gold in the metal of jewellery.Gold is alloyed with a mixture of other metals like copper, silver, zinc and nickel.Gold being too soft to use in everyday jewellery, it is alloyed with the other metals.Expressed in 24ths, Karatage makes 24k gold, 100% gold. Color The colour of gold is decided by the metals it is alloyed with.If gold is alloyed with the metal copper, its gold will be rose coloured, known as Rose Gold.While the colour options vary with the alloys, the most demanded gold colour is White gold, succeeded by Yellow gold.The type of metals and their percentage in the alloy decide the colour of gold.
24 karat = 100% gold
Too soft for fine jewelry
22 karat = 91.7% gold
Too soft for fine jewelry
18 karat = 75.0% gold
Ideal for fine jewelry
14 karat = 58.3% gold
Ideal for fine jewelry
10 karat = 41.7% gold
Not acceptable for jewelry
The BIS hallmark refers to a hallmarking system for jewelry sold in India, be it Gold or silver. It certifies the metal’s purity and ensures that the same affirms the underlying norms of BIS. BIS hallmarking aims at curbing the availability of fake ornaments that are otherwise fraudulently sold as Gold ornaments. BIS hallmarking refers to a certificate granted by the BIS, an apex regulator that formulates and enacts the quality standards for different products in India. It is noteworthy the government has mandated every jeweler in the country to put BIS mark on gold items from 15th January 2021. BIS mark in details The first symbol is the BIS logo, the second symbol indicates purity and fineness, and the third symbol is the Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number. As per the government website, the Hallmarking scheme has become a success with more than one lakh jewelers getting registered and more than three lakh pieces of jewellery being hallmarked each day now. HUID number, It is a unique six-digit alphanumeric code given to every piece of jewellery at the time of hallmarking. Every piece of jewellery gets stamped with a HUID number manually at the Assaying and Hallmarking centre. purpose of the HUID number, HUID number is aimed at checking any malpractice. It is critical to the credibility of hallmarking and addressing complaints regarding the promised purity of hallmarked jewellery.
Besides, as the HUID number is unique to each piece of jewellery, it enables traceability. In HUID-based hallmarking, registration of jewellers is done automatically with no human interference. However, HUID is a secure system and poses no risk to data privacy or security, according to the government. Authenticity of hallmarked jewellery, An individual can check the authenticity of hallmarked jewellery by using the 'Verify HUID' feature on the BIS Care App. The app is available on Google Play Store in Hindi and English. After downloading the app, one should go to the "check license details" tab and then proceed to the "verify HUID" section to verify the legitimacy of the product.
Gold loan (also called loan against gold) is a secured loan taken by the borrower from a lender by pledging their gold articles (within a range of 18-24 carats) as collateral. The loan amount provided is a certain percentage of the gold, typically upto 80%, based on the current market value and quality of gold.