Dhanteras 2026: How To Check Gold Purity, Hallmarking And Making Charges

Gold jewellery is a popular purchase during Dhanteras. With different designs and purity grades available, buyers need to check the gold content and hallmark details before choosing an item.

How To Check Gold Purity

Gold purity is measured in karats. It shows the proportion of gold in a jewellery piece in parts per thousand. A 22 karat gold article has a fineness of 916 which means it contains 91.6 per cent gold. For 18 karat gold, the fineness is 750 that indicates 75 per cent gold content.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) allows hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts in six grades such as 14K (585), 18K (750), 20K (833), 22K (916), 23K (958) and 24KS (995). The purity marking on the jewellery helps buyers identify its gold grade.

What To Check In Gold Hallmarking

A hallmark unique identification (HUID)-based hallmark on gold jewellery carries three marks, as specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Each provides a different piece of information about the article.

BIS Standard Mark: The BIS logo indicates that the jewellery has been hallmarked under the BIS system.

Purity Mark: This mark tells about the fineness and carat of the gold. Karat shows the standard of the gold whether it is 22 karat or 18 karat, while the fineness mark denotes the gold purity in parts per thousand.

HUID: This is an alphanumeric code consisting of six digits for every hallmarked jewellery piece. The result provides details which include the jewellery’s purity, article type, and jeweller.

How To Understand Gold Making Charges

To cover the labour and craftsmanship required to create a piece of jewellery, jewellers add making charges to the price of gold. It may depend on both the jeweller and the design as well.

If the jewellery is sold back or resold later, this fee is never refunded to the buyer. Even though it may depend on the buyback policy of the jeweller, valuation is usually done based on the weight and fineness of the gold. You may ask from the jeweller on the making fees, though.

The bill should contain not only the net weight and gold price, but also manufacturing and wastage cost. The bill must contain gold price and net weight along with making charges and wastage charges, if any, and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).