Hallmarks · By country
Indian hallmarks
Indian hallmarking is recent and voluntary until it became compulsory for gold jewelry, which means almost all antique Indian work is unmarked.
- Marking since
- 2000
- Gives a year
- Yes
How the system works
The Bureau of Indian Standards hallmark comprises a BIS logo, a fineness figure, an assaying centre mark and a jeweler's mark. A date letter was used in earlier versions of the scheme and has since been replaced by a unique identification number.
The marks
| Mark | What it means |
|---|---|
| BIS logo | Bureau of Indian Standards hallmark, from 2000. |
The standards
| Figure or mark | Fineness and use |
|---|---|
| 916 | 22 carat gold, the Indian standard. |
| 750 | 18 carat gold. |
| KDM | Cadmium-soldered gold, banned in 2018. |
Dating a indian piece
A BIS hallmark means the piece is from 2000 or later. Antique Indian jewelry carries no assay marks at all and is dated by technique, materials and regional style.
Where people go wrong
- 916 is the Indian standard for gold jewelry, equivalent to 22 carat, and remains the cultural default.
- KDM, meaning cadmium-soldered, appears on older Indian gold and was banned in 2018 on health grounds. Its presence indicates pre-2018 manufacture.
- Antique Indian gold is often very high carat and very soft, and wear is not damage.
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