BIS hallmarking, explained.

01 · The status

Is silver hallmarking mandatory in India in 2026?

No — silver hallmarking is not mandatory in India in 2026. It remains voluntary. A voluntary silver-hallmarking regime opened on 1 September 2025, and as of mid-2026 no silver piece is legally required to carry a mark. Gold jewellery hallmarking is mandatory; silver, for now, is a choice a studio makes.

The voluntary regime was announced by the government's Press Information Bureau, which confirmed that BIS hallmarking of silver and silver artefacts began, on a voluntary basis, from 1 September 2025. The Bureau of Indian Standards has since said it is working towards making silver hallmarking mandatory — Business Standard reported it may do so after roughly six months — but no date has been fixed, and until one is, the choice sits with the maker.

What did change is the standard itself. The silver specification, IS 2112, was revised to IS 2112:2025, and it now sets seven recognised purity grades — 800, 835, 925, 958, 970, 990 and 999 — having added the 958 and 999 grades in this revision. Crucially, any silver piece that is hallmarked must now carry a HUID: a six-character alphanumeric Hallmark Unique ID, logged in the BIS system, that ties the object to its assay record.

So the old shorthand — that a hallmark is something every silver studio is bound by — is not right for silver. It is right for gold, where hallmarking has been mandatory for years. For silver it is, for now, a mark of intent: a studio choosing to have a third party verify what it claims. We hallmark every 999 Luxe piece regardless of what the law requires, and supply a weight-and-purity certificate with it, because the promise a hallmark makes is one we would rather prove than assert.

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A hallmark on gold is the law. On silver, it is still a choice — which is exactly what makes it worth reading.

02 · The marks

What you should see on a hallmarked silver piece.

When a silver piece is hallmarked, IS 2112:2025 fixes what the mark must contain. The stamps sit together, usually on the underside or the rim, in a single oriented row. Look for them under good light and a 10x loupe.

• 1. BIS Standard MarkThe stylised lotus — the Bureau of Indian Standards mark. Cleanly stamped, no ghosting. The first mark in the row.
• 2. Purity gradeOne of the seven recognised numbers — 800, 835, 925, 958, 970, 990 or 999 — stating the fineness the metal was assayed to.
• 3. HUIDA six-character alphanumeric Hallmark Unique ID, unique to the piece and logged in the BIS database. It replaced the older assayer and year stamps.

A further mark — the jeweller's or studio identification mark — is optional. Some apply it, some don't. We add a small “NZ” alongside the BIS row on every piece we hallmark, so a customer who finds it forty years from now can trace it back to us.

03 · The fineness grades

Seven numbers, three everyday grades.

IS 2112:2025 recognises seven fineness grades, but only three see everyday use in Indian silver. 999 is pure silver — the grade for coins, idols, and heirloom pieces, and the grade our Luxe line is milled to. 925 is sterling silver — 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper, the grade for cutlery, jewellery, and objects meant for daily handling. 800 is the lower-purity grade used for some flatware and decorative castings.

The remaining four are specialist. 958 is Britannia silver, added alongside 999 in the 2025 revision; 990 is a near-pure grade a step below 999; 970 and 835 sit between sterling and the extremes, chosen where a particular hardness or colour is wanted. A fineness number outside these seven is not an IS 2112 grade at all — some older pieces carry European hallmarks (a sterling lion, a .800 stamp) that look similar but were struck under another country's system.

04 · Verification

How to verify a hallmark you already own.

Three checks, in order. First, the mark itself, under a 10x loupe and good light. The BIS lotus should be cleanly struck — no ghosting, no double-strike. Counterfeit marks are almost always softer-edged, because they're applied with a punch that hasn't been precision-cut.

Second, the paperwork. A hallmarked piece is sold with a certificate citing the Assaying and Hallmarking Centre, the date of testing, and the purity. Match the grade and the HUID on the metal against the certificate.

Third, the HUID itself. Because every hallmarked piece now carries a unique ID logged with the Bureau of Indian Standards, you can check that ID against the BIS record — through the BIS Care app or bis.gov.in — and confirm the centre, the date, and the declared purity. A mismatch is a red flag.

And if you've bought from a registered jeweller and still doubt the mark, any BIS-recognised centre will re-assay the piece — around ₹400 for silver under 100g, with a result inside 48 hours.

Sources, current as of 14 July 2026: Press Information Bureau, voluntary silver hallmarking from 1 September 2025; Business Standard, “Govt may mandate silver jewellery hallmarking after six months”; and IS 2112:2025, Bureau of Indian Standards.