Since 1 April 2023, every piece of gold jewellery sold in India must carry a six-digit alphanumeric Hallmark Unique Identification — the HUID. This is in addition to the older four-component BIS Hallmark. The change matters: the HUID lets you, the customer, verify that the piece you are about to buy is real, certified, and traceable. In thirty seconds. On your phone.
What to look for on the piece. A BIS-hallmarked piece carries four distinct marks, usually grouped together in a small area on the piece — often near the clasp on a necklace, on the inside of a ring, or behind the central stone on an earring. The four marks are:
First, the BIS standard mark — a small triangular emblem with three horizontal lines.
Second, the purity grade — 916 for 22-karat gold, 750 for 18-karat, and so on. Always check this. If you have paid for 22-karat gold, the mark must read 916 (or higher).
Third, the assaying centre's mark — a small initial or symbol identifying the BIS-licensed centre that hallmarked the piece.
Fourth — and this is the new piece since April 2023 — the six-character HUID, a unique alphanumeric code. It will look something like AB12CD or similar. Every piece sold in India must now carry one.
How to verify the HUID. Download the BIS Care app (it is free on both Android and iOS). Open the app, tap Verify HUID, and enter the six characters. Within a few seconds, the app will show you the piece's metal, purity, weight, the assaying centre, and the jeweller who sold it. If the details do not match the piece in your hand — purity, weight, or jeweller — the piece is not genuine. Walk back to the shop with the BIS Care result on your screen.
What to do if a piece is not hallmarked. Since April 2023, it is illegal for any registered jeweller to sell un-hallmarked gold jewellery in India. If you are offered a piece without the hallmark, decline politely and walk out. There are no exceptions, no edge cases, no offers that justify it.
How Balakrishna's own mark sits alongside. Every piece that leaves our shop carries the four BIS marks, hand-stamped, in addition to a small Balakrishna mark — pressed by the karigar who made the piece. The Balakrishna mark has no legal weight; it is simply our way of saying that the piece is one of ours. Decades later, a grand-daughter scanning a piece in a vault can know where it came from. The HUID tells her it is real gold. Our mark tells her it is family gold.
Come into the shop and ask us to walk you through the BIS Care verification on a piece. It takes us a minute. We do it gladly.