Over 77 lakh silver jewellery hallmarked with HUID number in 1 year

Over 77 lakh silver jewellery and artefacts have been hallmarked with the HUID number since the six-digit number was introduced from September last year, with southern states leading in volumes, according to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Silver hallmarking has been voluntary since October 2005, and from September 2025 onwards, hallmarked silver articles carry a six-digit Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number, enabling buyers to verify purity. “Since the launch of the Silver HUID portal on 1 September 2025, over 77 lakh silver jewellery pieces have already been hallmarked with HUID,” a BIS statement said. The number of silver jewellery articles hallmarked but without HUID number stood at 32 lakh in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Purity grades 925 and 800 account for nearly 95 per cent of all hallmarked items. After the introduction of HUID number, the silver hallmarking has been increasing. According to the BIS, more than 25,000 silver jewellers have so far registered with BIS for hallmarking. Currently, there are 341 silver Assaying & Hallmarking Centres (AHCs) across 102 districts. Each hallmarked piece features the BIS Standard Mark, ‘SILVER’, purity grade, and the laser-marked six-digit alphanumeric Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID).

According to the BIS, the southern region leads the country in the volume of silver hallmarking, with 62 per cent, followed by the western region at 18 per cent and the central region at 10 per cent. Hallmarking provides consumers with third-party assurance of the purity or fineness of precious metal jewellery. Under the hallmarking 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.

The standard specifies seven grades of silver alloys, expressed in parts per thousand (PPT) -- 999, 990, 970, 958, 925, 835, and 800 for the manufacture of silver jewellery and artefacts.

According to the BIS market survey that recorded 4,971 responses covering 30 states and Union Territories across 345 districts, silver articles in the 10-25 gram and 25–50-gram categories accounted for the highest market demand, together representing nearly 74 per cent of responses. The survey found that anklets/payals, chains, toe rings, finger rings and bracelets are among the most commonly sold silver articles. The most commonly sold silver grades are 925 PPT and 800 PPT.