Southern States
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Karnataka-Bangalore
Gold jewels sold in City not up to BIS standards: study
By Our Staff Reporter
BANGALORE, JAN. 10. All that glitters is not gold, at least not pure gold, if you go by the findings of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
According to a survey conducted by the BIS in Bangalore, 87 per cent of the consumers get only 91 per cent value for their money which they pay to purchase the gold.
Moreover, the purity of gold jewellery available in the City is lower by 9.29 per cent and does not meet the required standards (IS 1417) of purity.
Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, R.K.Dua, Deputy Director General (Southern Region), BIS, revealed that the gold jewellery sold in Bangalore was generally of much less purity than claimed and sold by the jewellers. So on an average, the consumer was losing about Rs.390 to as much as Rs.965 for every 10 g of jewellery purchased.
The only way for the consumers to ensure that they are not cheated and get their money's worth is to insist on hallmarked jewellery. The ``Hallmarking Scheme for Gold Jewellery'' launched by the BIS ensures that the quality of the gold is of the required quality.
Under the scheme, the jewellers have to register with the BIS and voluntarily get a license and their jewellery hallmarked for a fee. The jewellery would be assayed and hallmarked by an agency recognised and approved by the Bureau. The cost of hallmarking is around Rs.5 per g of jewellery, he said.
In Bangalore, there are only two license holders for hallmarking, Krishnaiah Chetty and Sons, Commercial Street, and Jewels de Paragon on M.G. Road.
The survey was conducted with a sample size of 15 small, medium and big jewellery outlets on Commercial Street, Jeweller's Street, OPH Road, M.G. Road, Avenue Road, Indiranagar, Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur and Dasarahalli. The samples were tested as per the IS 1418:1999 at the BIS approved assaying and hallmarking centre at MMTC, New Delhi, according to P.Sengupta, Director and Head, BIS, Bangalore.
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