The government is considering making hallmarking of silver jewellery mandatory from next month, Mint reported in August, citing two officials.
In an update on 28 August, the Bureau of Indian Standards () reported that more than 77 lakh silver jewellery and artefacts have received a six-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number, since its introduction in September last year, PTI reported.
According to Mint’s sources, the move to make mandatory for silver will be an expansion of the government’s testing and certification infrastructure for the precious metal alongside HUID.
What is silver hallmarking?
Silver hallmarking enables buyers to verify purity by providing consumers with third-party assurance of the purity or fineness of precious metal jewellery. At present, this remains voluntary for , but has been mandatory for gold since June 2021.
According to the BIS, more than 25,000 silver jewellers have so far registered with BIS for hallmarking; and there are 341 silver Assaying and Hallmarking Centres (AHCs) across 102 districts.
Under the scheme for silver jewellery and artefacts, silver jewellers are granted a Certificate of Registration in accordance with Indian Standard, IS 2112 ‘Silver and Silver alloys Jewellery and Artefacts – Fineness and Marking’ to sell hallmarked silver jewellery.
What is the significance of silver hallmarking?
Notably, while silver hallmarking has been voluntary since October 2005, from September 2025 onwards, hallmarked articles carry the number. In FY25, 32 lakh silver jewellery articles were hallmarked, without HUID.
According to the BIS, at 62%, south Indian states lead in terms of volume of silver hallmarking, followed by the western region at 18% and the central region at 10%. In terms of demand, a BIS market survey showing 4,971 responses from 30 states and Union Territories across 345 districts, showed that 10-25 gm and 25-50 gm silver articles enjoyed highest demand — accounting for 74% of the responses.
For , the BIS survey found that anklets or payals, chains, toe rings, finger rings and bracelets are among the most commonly sold silver articles.
In terms of grade preference, purity grades 925 and 800 account for nearly 95% of all hallmarked items and also comprised the most sold silver hallmarked items.
The Mint report noted that consumers who opt for unhallmarked silver could face financial losses during resell, if testing shows a lower level than claimed, and to reflect market rates.
How to spot hallmarking? What are the classifications?
Every hallmarked silver jewellery displays the BIS Standard Mark, the word ‘SILVER’, the item’s purity grade, and since September 2025, the laser-marked six-digit alphanumeric HUID.
You can use the HUID to track and verify the jewellery’s details digitally on the BIS CARE app, the Mint report said.
The standard specifies grades of alloys, expressed in parts per thousand (PPT), as follows, according to reports by Bank Bazaar and Bajaj Finserv:
- 999 — 99.9% purity, soft and used for jewellery,
- 990 — 90% purity, soft and used for jewellery,
- 970 — 97% pure with 3% mix of other ,
- 958 — 95.8% purity,
- 925 — 92.5% purity, aka sterling silver,
- 900 — 90% purity, aka coin silver, used in antiques
- 835 — 83.5% purity, aka German silver, and
- 800 (80%) for the manufacture of silver jewellery and artefacts.
(With inputs from PTI)
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