Get your gold tested the same place where jewellers do

Every now and then one might get the urge to get their gold jewellery tested. When your jeweller claims that what he is selling is 22k or 18k but doesn't have the 5 hallmark symbols in it. What do you do? Well go to the gold testing centres called assay centre where jewellers themselves get their jewellery tested and hallmarked.

Below is a list of all the Assay Centres approved by BIS. BIS is the same body which grants license to jewellers throughout India as well.

Visit the link.
http://www.bis.org.in/cert/hallmarkass.htm

Get 22k Hallmark goldprice as RSS feeds

If you have been looking on the internet for 22k gold hallmarked price currently prevailing, You can check this blog anytime. But if checking this site again and again was becoming a hassle, you can now get them on your news aggregators or RSS readers like Netvibes, igoogle or apple and live platforms too.

The news aggregators accept feeds in various formats including XML.

Now simply add this URL - http://feed43.com/7277723467746284.xml
to your aggregators and get the daily price at the same place where you get your other news.

Pic Credit: www.thorlabs.com

Tip: Identifying a 'real' Hallmark Jeweller without stepping into the store

This happened today so we thought we will write a post. A customer(who visited after reading our blog) asked us a rather pointed question. He was wondering: Why cant a jeweller fake all the 5 symbols of hallmarking. I think he was actually questioning the weak regulation in our country:) And he had a point.

Fortunately you can identify a 'real' hallmark jeweller even without walking into the jeweller's store. If you look at that Hallmarking process: In order to sport the Hallmarking Store (accompanied with the blue triangle) A jeweller has to get the Hallmarking license through BIS. Once approved you can start advertising yourself as a Hallmark jeweller( of course you need to keep hallmarked jewellery too). This way the governing body BIS maintains a database of all the approved jewellers throughout india.

That database is available in the public domain at www.bis.org.in. On the homepage look for 'Locate Hallmark Jewelers in your city' link and the rest is fairly easy. Once you select your appropriate state it will spew a PDF of all the active licensees. This way you can verify that the jeweller is a True hallmark jeweller or not.

The tough part is the link may not always work. I have written to the IT dept of BIS but to no avail. I have a copy of all the indian hallmark jewellers. We go by Kathana Jewels Pvt. Ltd. and the address is the same.

You can view/download the file here (thank you Google docs!!!).

Tip: How to identify an old gold/diamond jewellery piece

This is only possible with a hallmarked jewellery item. You can identify whether a peice of jewellery lying in front of you is old or new. Yuo can precisely tell how old a jewellery piece is.


Hallmark is an assurance of the quality of a precious metal like gold and silver jewellery in India. There are five symbols which are laser engraved on any hallmarked jewellery . In the picture below you will notice the 5 symbols namely the Hallmark symbol, the purity of gold which is 916 ( i.e. 22k), the assay centre's logo, the jeweller's logo and the year of hallmarking ie. J.


This last peice of information is what reveals the age of the jewellery in the picture. The hallmarking process was started in year 2000 so the corresponding symbol is A. The table below illustrates the corresponsing hallmark symbol for the subsequent years.

'A'	Year 2000	'E'	Year 2004
'B'	Year 2001	'F'	Year 2005
'C'	Year 2002	'G'	Year 2006
'D'	Year 2003	'H'	Year 2007

So now my dear friends you knwo the jewellery item in the picture above is hallmarked in the year 2009. So next time you see a hallmarked item with a F you know it was manufactured way back in 2005.

Asking the right questions to your jeweller.

Oh the bad news doesnt stop flowing for the financial markets turmoil. It took its toll in India too with ICICI bank sending out SMSes to its customers saying everything is fine with the bank. Our FM and prime minister frequently assuring the nation. For an average Joe on the street it does create some uncomfort in his/her mind, no matter how resilient we might claim our economy is. Couple that with the festive season around who wouldnt like a deal.

Below we have compiled a list of readings from our previous posts to help you ask the right questions when you go shopping for gold this diwali.

1) In your zeal to get a good deal do not bargain for Non-Hallmarked jewellery and low making charges. Ask for hallmark jewellery.
What is Hallmark Jewellery?

2) Making charges continues to be "THE" criteria for making a purchase. Infact it should be one of the criterias to look for.
Low making charges could be a trap. Learn how to evaluate it here.

3) Does your jeweller use local terms to explain attributes of diamonds and gold?
Jewellery SHoppers: beware of these 5 pitfalls on Ebay India
5 more things you should know when shopping for jewellery


4) Are you over looking buy back policies?
DOnt let it be the last and least criteria

5) Buying gold from Bank?
It could be your trusted bank but is it offering you value?

Bonus:
Looking for actual deals through multi-purpose jewellery.
Sensible Jewellery


A little above half an hour spent here will go a long way in getting the right bargain this diwali. Don't they say: You are known by the question you ask and not the answers you give.

Image Courtesy: MdCruz

5 more things you should know when shopping for jewellery

Some homework you should do before you venture out shopping for jewellery. This only intends to make you more informed. Asking the right question will save heart burns later on.

1) 'Extra Charges' to get your jewellery hallmarked.
This is a little more complicated than other myths mentioned here. For jewellers following the BIS standard of hallmarking( you can identify them if they advertise 'hallmark jewellery available here'). After the ornament is manufactured its sent to a BIS certified assay centre to verify its purity( BIS only certifies purity of gold and not the grade of diamonds). This service costs the jeweller a nominal amount of money which is passed on to the consumer as making charges. The assay centre charges a minimum fee whether a jeweller sends 1 item or multiple items. Now if the jeweller only stocks hallmark jewellery then they will send multiple items to the assay centre for verification and subsequent hallmarking stamp. This in effect distributes the charges over multiple items, making it very nominal per item hallmarked.

On the other hand if a jeweller does selective hallmarking or hallmarking on-demand. At this point the jeweller has to pay a minimum charge for a single item of gold/diamond jewellery hallmarked. This is passed on to the consumer. Now when the consumer notices these 'extra hallmarking charges' it is bound to raise suspicion.

Their are 2 ways for consumers here. If its the only jeweller in town who can guarantee a hallmarked item, its better you pay up the extra charges and ensure hallmarked jewellery. If you are in a town/city where you have a choice of other jewellers you should exercise that.

2) After repeated use gold and diamond turns black
A gold/diamond ornament will lose it shine over the years due to dirt, grime, moisture etc. but a normal wash with soap water should bring back the shine on your diamonds and make your gold look almost as good as new. If you see black marks which cannot be removed even after repeated washing. Its an indication that the gold is impure.

3) 100% Lifetime buy back is a trust guarantee.
Though 100% lifetime buy back can be a good thing, it not a guarantee of purity or quality of craftsmanship. Infact it only indicates that the retailer will buy it back for sure. One should always ask how much of your money will you lose on returning. We offer a unique buy back program called 30-Day 100% Money back guarantee. This is very different from 100% lifetime Buy Back Guarantee. Please visit the difference here.

4) (Super)Deluxe Quality Diamonds.
Diamonds are characterized by their 4Cs no matter where you buy them from. They are cut, colour, clarity and carat. But unscrupulous elements will try to sell you home grown names like deluxe quality diamonds, eye clean diamonds etc. Always ask how these (super) deluxe quality diamonds fare against globally recognized 4Cs.

5) No wastage, No Polish:
The simple fact is that manufacture of gold ornament results in wastage and polishing charges. Now most of the time it is clubbed into making charges or price of gold to avoid the consumer knowing it. Any jeweller advertising int he above format could actually make up for it by selling non hallmarked jewellery.

Phot Credit: Davepatten via flickr.com

Hallmarking jewellery NOT mandatory after all.

Admittedly I am late on this news piece but I am sure its still news to many. Turns out the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has relaxed its earlier dictum of Mandatory Hallmarking till further notice. I have covered this hallmarking issue in my earlier posts here and here. Earlier the ministry had announced Dec 2007 as the deadline for non-complying jewellers. Beyond this date it was expected the govt would bar jewellers from selling any gold ornament without the prescribed 5 signs of hallmarking.

After a short lived battle with the Gems and Jewellery Federation(GJF), the ministry has relented and pushed the matter further into the future. GJF, the trade body had raised the issue of its implementation. Notably, the absence of enough assay centres throughout the country to warrant such a directive. There are only about 125 centres whereas the need is greater than 3000. In such acute shortage its not possible for a jeweller to run with gold ornaments from one town to another to get it certified.

Another issue was the high license fee of Rs.25,000, 15,000 and 10,000 a year for jewellers in metros, district headquarters and elsewhere respectively. The GJF wanted the fees to be valid for a period of 3 years.

Alternately, the some voices have demanded to be done with License Raj and adopt a Thailand like model. In thailand a jeweller has the right to sell any caratage of jewellery provided they mention on it. The govt. can then do a random check and subject a maximum punishment of 3 years of jail and shutting the shop. The trade body was amenable to this idea being adopted for India and thus not having to worry about setting up assay centres throughout the country.

Understandably, this is a lot more contentious issue than looks on the surface. What could have been done was to do it in a phased manner starting with the metros as originally planned.

The Retail Jeweller (magazine) sums our feeling on this:

" In a sudden turn of events while we at RJ had just about concluded the vainness of the efforts made so far by the trade and GJF - the ministry of consumer affairs anounced the postponement of compulsory hallmarking till further notice. "

So even while the govt and the trade body slug it out. We advice you to continue looking for the blue triangle.

Related article: Hallmarking rule 'deferred'

Related Posts:
Mandatory Hallmark from Jan 2008: The Fallout
Hallmark Mandatory from Jan 2008...Really?
What is Hallmark Jewellery?

(This article has been made possible with inputs from The Retail Jeweller)

7 Trends in Jewellery Industry for 2008.

Its that time of the year when you cannot help but start crystal-ball gazing into the future. What lies ahead for you and me in 2008.

This post isn't about gold lovers only but also for all the jewellery retailers. Because businesses cannot ignore the strong winds of change in 2008

1) Hallmarking as the new force du jour: The fact most jewellers have to contend with going in 2008. We can tell from our personal experience as we see increasing footfalls asking hallmark jewellery. Consumers have started seeing the value hallmarking provides. Another bolt from the blue for the non-complying jeweller has been govt's mandatory hallmark from 2008 verdict.

2) Big Retailers at the doorstep: The organized or branded retailing is still a small fraction of the entire jewellery market in India. And this has made big players like Reliance and Rajesh Exports eye this lucrative and promising area. Tata with its Tanishq brand has already gained the faith of a lot of consumers. Reliance with 'Reliance Jewels' and Rajesh Exports with ' Shubh Jewellers' will certainly make their presence felt in 2008.

I have a few posts lined up next which will explore 'Blue Ocean Opportunities in the Jewellery Industry in India.' Keep clued in to this blog.

3) Marquise shape is the flavor of the year: Noticed the new DeBeers ad which shows an Indian wedding in which the bride shockingly says "You may now kiss the bride". The diamond set worn by the bride is made of Marquise shaped diamonds. Though the diamonds themselves have a regular shape but when put together in a bangle or necklace set they can form very interesting designs.

4) Colour diamonds: Pick up a magazine or visit any good jewellery forum and you can't miss it. Everywhere Color Diamonds are being talked about. Thats why color diamonds though reserved for the Uber rich finds a place in our predictions of 2008. India with its growing list of High Net Worth Individuals(HNWIs) will find quite a few takers. Yellow or Champagne color and pink diamonds are most favored.

5) Fashion Jewellery: Popularly known as Imitation Jewellery. This industry has seen high growth in the last couple of years. Largely fueled by career woman and younsters for both formal and casual occasions. This kind of jewelry has taken off from unorganized street-side vendors to malls and standalone dedicated shops.

6) Polki (Uncut Diamonds): Far removed from the fire that an ideally cut diamond radiates polki looks like glass cut thinly in irregular shapes. But the magic happens when Polki is teamed up with yellow gold. Traditionally used in indian bridal jewellery collections, its steadily finding its way into more casual wear kadas and bangles and delicate necklaces.

7) Custom Designed Jewellery: User generated designs (taking a cue from User generated content of the internet world) are changing the clothes people wear. So will be true for their accessories. Consumers of gold particularly the young generation can now design their own wedding bands, engagement rings and anniversary rings. We are particularly bullish on this one as we have forayed in this direction earlier this year. Trendylicious an online fashion magazine recently covered our offering of Custom Engagement Rings here.

What do you think will sway the businesses and fashionistas in the coming year?

Madatory Hallmark from Jan 2008: The Fallout

As I had promised earlier I am covering the story of the BIS mandate to make Hallmarking cumpulsory from Jan 2008. It was pretty evident (to us) that this implementation will have its fair share of hiccups. For a preview of what the issue is about read our earlier post.

On 14th Decemebr 2007, we received a notice from the Karol Bagh Jewellers' Association (which we are a member of) to observe a 'bandh' against the BIS mandate. I am quoting the notice verbatim:

As per the decision of All Delhi Sarafa Association and Delhi Bullion Association there is a call for "Jewellers Bundh" on Friday 14th Decemebr 2007, against the implementation of "Hall-Mark BIS". As the law is very tough and will bring Babu Raj in the industry. Jewellers had asked for lots of amendments for which BIS & GOvt. has not responded positively, so this bundh is being observed. Kindly co-operate and unite together.

Lets analyze some of the demands of the jewellers:

• The jewellers want the year markings viz 'A', 'B', 'C'... and so on be made optional or done away with. This years markings is 'H' and soon its going to be 'I' for the next year. In 2008 jewellery of last year and years before that, might not necessarily be attractive to a customer.
• The Assayists bill a minimum of Rs. 350 even though individual items only cost as low as Rs. 50 to get hallmarked. So if a jeweller went to get just 1 item hallmarked, they would be charged the minimum amount. This amount cannot be passed to the consumer as making charges for a small item for e.g a earring, top or ring.
  
• Jewellers in other parts of the country like Gujarat claim the lack of enough hallmarking centres around them to enable easy and frequent hallmarking.
  

This is an initial list and we are sure there are many more.

On the other hand the govt's move is clearly aimed at helping the consumers who have been a 'cheated' lot. And such a standardization would give some peace of mind for the consumers.

Its clearly a battle of profits vs purity.

Updated: 17/01/08

Solitaire International( a Jewellery trade magazine ) has an article covering the hurdles for countrywide adoption of Hallmarking at http://tinyurl.com/2s6q6f

Understanding the price of 22K gold,wastage and making charges.

Note: If you are looking for gold rate please look in the right column under the heading Today's Gold Price.

Ok, back to the post.The question on 22k price, wastage and making charges often gets asked in jewelry forums and in "answers" forum across various portals. So here's our take:

An Example:Assuming the price of 24K gold is Rs.10,000/10 grams.(ah ! those were the days)

You will find the price for 22K gold = Rs.9,700( printed in newspapers as Abhushan jewellery).

Since the actual quantity of gold is 22 parts of the 24 parts. Actually the gold price should have been Rs. 10,000 X 22/24 = Rs. 9166.

So, how does one explain the difference. Lets see what happens at jewellers' end.

Wastage Charges:Once a jeweller commissions a Karigar(Craftsman) to manufacture a jewellery item. The karigar wastes some gold in manufacturing it. Yeah what you just read is true. The gold gets 'wasted' in the manufacture of a jewellery item. It depends on the jewellery item. For the pure gold items the wastage is around 6-8%, whereas for a diamond jewellery it goes upto 15%-25% of pure gold.

Now, ofcourse at a technical level it doesn't get wasted and the karigar meticulously collects it. But for all practical purposes the jeweller fraternity files that under wastage and passes that to the customer, albeit in a hidden manner.

Also remember that the karigar mixes alloys to gold to make it 22k pure. These alloys also adds up to the cost and is filed under wastage charges.

Hence, the price difference of actual 22K gold versus the 'Abhushan Jewellery' rate that you see in Newspapers.

Making Charges:Making charges are what a consumer pays above the price of gold(on a certain day) for crafting the gold into jewellery. This varies from item(viz. bangles) to item(viz. chains) and from one jeweller to another.

How we are bought and sold:

Dr.Robert Levine the author of 'The Power of Persuasion - How we're bought and sold' mentions in the chapter 'Learning to avoid stupid mental arithmetic' about a critical insight into the consumer psychology.

Consolidate the Losses and separate the Gains

He found that if a salesman clubbed the losses in a certain transaction and gave you a whole figure for the losses, while he separated the gains, A consumer would be more comfortable conducting the transaction than if it were the other way around.

Now look at it this way. For a 22K jewellery item you pay ( The price of 22K gold + Wastage Charges + Making Charges) . There are 2 losses, that of making charges and the wastage charges. So, by combining the wastage charges with the price of gold, a consumer now sees just
the making charges.

And my jeweller fraternity has taken heed to this very advice.

Hallmark Mandatory From Jan 2008...Really?

Any gold jewellery sold after Jan1, 2008 should be Hallmarked hence forth, says the Bureau of Indian standards. On the surface this looks like a good deal for the shoppers of gold jewellery but hold on there's a caveat.

This rule applies to Jewellers in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta for now which means people living in the rest of India will still have to hunt for the Hallmark jewellers.

Within the metros too I bet it will be a while before BIS can really implement it. It is largely because the BIS is severly understaffed to enforce this. Also the industry grapevine doesn't seem to prove me wrong. So the aforementioned metro shoppers: You need to be on your toes too.

I will update on this blog as and when I find more on this front.

Making Charges In Gold : A Classic Overhyped Marketing Gimmick!

Seth Godin would have loved to point this in his book All marketers are liars. The case in point is the making charges in jewellery of any kind be it gold, diamond or semi-precious stones.

Making charges are what a consumer pays above the price of gold(on a certain day) for crafting the gold into jewellery. This varies from item(viz. bangles) to item(viz. chains) and from one jeweller to another. Usually the going rate starts upwards of Rs.60/gram.

Somehow for some marketers this parameter is the most important thing to consider when buying/evaluating gold from a retailer. You cant miss this fact especially on different radio channels where every other jeweller is trying to beat the competitor on just this parameter.

Infact so intense is the competition and so unmeasurable the delight of consumers that I recently came across a customer who boasted of Rs.10/gram of making charges from another jeweller.

Why has this parameter stolen the limelight when there are parameters more worthy to consider or highlight?

This stems from the basic instinct in humans: To get a good bargain for the deal at hand.

So whats wrong with that?
This takes me back to what said earlier. There are more than just one parameter to consider when buying gold. FInd out the return policy on your jewellery. You should ideally get a trial period of atleast a month beyond which expect to lose only making charges when you return your jewellery. The diamonds should be certified by reputed houses like GIA,EGL and IGI. The jewellery should be BIS hallmarked. It should indicate all the 5 signs BIS recommends.

On prompting more the customer pointed that his low making charges were on unhallmarked gold jewellery. Here rests my case.

Related Posts:
How to avoid the Low Making Charges Trap in Jewellery

What is Hallmark Jewellery?

As news of naive customers taken for ride by jewellers makes news headlines in prominent newspapers like this Gold not as pure as claimed, finds BIS survey, this Customers lose over rs.10000 Crore annually and this wonderful article by Shailendra Kakani Hallmarking to increase gold consumption in India point it becomes increasingly "smart" to learn a little more about hallmarking expecially if jewellery shopping is imminent.

Now coming to the title of this post.

According to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) "Hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportiante content of precious metal in jewellery. Hallmarks are thus official marks used in many countries as a guarantee of purity or fineness of gold jewellery".

BIS is a regulatory body of the Govt. of India which has standardised various products consumed today.
It is very important to understand the benefits provided by ensuring Hallmark Jewellery. As pointed out on top , A BIS survery found 90% of the smaples below state dpurity. Some as low as 44%. Consumers lose more than Rs. 10,000 crore annually due to this fraud.

So how can one identify Hallmarked Jewellery?
There are 5 visible marks on the back of your jewellery which are mandated by BIS (more here).

1. BIS Hallmark Logo
2. Purity of Gold '916' -22ct, '875' - 21ct and so on.
3. The Hallmarking centre's Logo.
4. The jewellers' identification mark.
5. Year of Hallmarking 'A' -year 2000, 'B' -year 2001 .... 'H' - year 2007.

So armed with this knowledge and a magnifying lens( the marks are usually very small to be legible with naked eyes) you are ready to give your local jeweller a hard time:)
Related Posts:
Hallmark Mandatory from Jan 2008...Really?

Mandatory Hallmark from Jan 2008: The Fallout
Hallmarking Jewellery NOT mandatory after all
TrustMark : Is it better than Hallmark?
Diamond Engagement Rings

Related Articles:
Hallmarking: Need of the Hour