What BIS hallmarking proves, and what it does not

Most people bring in jewellery expecting the hallmark to do all the talking. It has BIS stamped on it, a purity number, and since 2021 a six-character HUID code. That looks like paperwork the government has already checked for you, so it feels reasonable to expect the payout to follow automatically from the stamp. It does not, and understanding exactly what the hallmark covers and where it stops saves you from a surprised conversation at the counter.

What the HUID actually certifies

HUID stands for Hallmark Unique Identification number. It is a six-digit alphanumeric code, a mix of numbers and letters, stamped on the piece along with the BIS triangle mark and the purity grade (916 for 22k, 750 for 18k, and so on). Every piece with a HUID has been through a BIS-registered assaying and hallmarking centre, where the purity was tested and logged against that specific code before it left the centre.

That is the entire scope of what it certifies: on the day the piece was assayed, at that centre, the gold matched the purity stamped on it. Nothing more. The HUID is a purity record tied to a moment in time, not a running guarantee that travels with the jewellery forever.

You can check whether a HUID is genuine yourself, using the BIS CARE app or the BIS website, by entering the code. That tells you the piece was registered and the purity it was logged at. It is a useful check, and worth doing if you are unsure about a piece. It still will not tell you what the piece weighs today, whether it has been altered since, or what any shop will pay for it.

What a hallmark does not tell you

A few things people assume the hallmark covers, when it does not:

• What happens to the gold after assaying. Old jewellery gets repaired, resized, and re-soldered over the years. Solder often runs lower purity than the rest of the piece. The hallmark was accurate when it was stamped; it says nothing about work done on the piece since.
• Wear and loss. A ring worn daily for fifteen years has lost some metal to abrasion. The hallmark does not shrink with it.
• Stone weight. If the piece has stones set into it, the hallmark covers the gold's purity, not what proportion of the piece's total weight is stone versus metal. We do not buy or value stones here, and we do not deduct for them either — we weigh and pay for the gold content only, which is a separate step from anything the hallmark tells you.
• Price. This is the one that catches people out most. The hallmark is a purity certificate, not a rate card. It has no opinion on what a shop should pay per gram, on any given day, for that purity. That number comes from the day's gold rate and the shop's own deduction structure, not from BIS.

If you want the fuller picture on how the quoted market rate turns into your actual payout, that is covered separately in why the gold rate in the news is not what you get paid. And if you want to understand the 916, 750 and other purity marks themselves, see what 916 means on your jewellery.

Why we still test hallmarked gold on a karatmeter

Because the hallmark tells us what the purity was at the time of assaying, not what it is on the day you walk in with it, we test every piece on a karatmeter while you watch, hallmark or no hallmark. This is not a statement of doubt about your jewellery. It is the same step for every customer, hallmarked or not, because:

• A stamp can be forged. It is not common, but it happens, and a visual check of a triangle and some digits cannot catch it. A karatmeter reading can.
• The piece may have changed since it was stamped, through repair, resizing, or years of wear, as covered above.
• Some older pieces, especially inherited jewellery, were hallmarked under earlier BIS systems before the HUID existed, or were never hallmarked at all. A karatmeter reading gives us a purity figure we can act on regardless of what marks the piece carries or does not carry.

You see the reading happen on the machine in front of you. If you want the mechanics of exactly how that reading is taken, we have laid it out step by step in how a karatmeter reading is taken.

The hallmark is where the conversation starts

Think of the hallmark as a useful starting point rather than a finish line. It narrows the purity question — you are not walking in blind, and neither are we. But the price you get depends on the weight on our scale, the reading on our karatmeter that day, and the day's gold rate, not on the stamp alone. Every shop should arrive at the same purity figure for the same piece, tested the same way. What differs between shops is the deduction structure applied after that, which is worth asking about before you commit to selling anywhere.

If you are weighing up whether hallmark status alone should decide who you sell to, it is worth reading five questions to ask any buyer before you hand over your gold. A hallmark answers one of those questions. It does not answer the rest.

Bring the piece as it is — hallmarked, old family jewellery without a HUID, or anything in between. Purana sona without a hallmark is not a problem; we test what is in front of us and explain the reading before any number gets discussed.

How the karatmeter reading is taken · What 916 means on your jewellery ·

Questions people ask

Does hallmarked gold get a higher price? Not by itself. The hallmark says what the purity was certified to be; the buyer still measures it and pays on the reading. Hallmarked and unhallmarked pieces of the same purity are paid the same.

What is the HUID number for? It is a six-character code that identifies the specific piece in the BIS database, added from 2021. It helps trace a piece; it does not change its value.

Can you sell gold that is not hallmarked? Yes. Most older jewellery is not. The karatmeter reading replaces the stamp. Ask us on 9217742656 if you are unsure about a piece.

Why the published rate is not your payout