2 Steps To Verify If Your Gold & Diamonds Jewellery Is Genuine

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  • In case you wish to learn about Gold Karats & Colours, check out this informative article on our blog about Different Gold Carats & Gold Colours then you’ve landed at the right place. 
  • To get the purity inscribed on your jewellery you are required to be a BIS licensed jeweller.
  • To be certain about only a Bis approved assaying centre – find a nearby centre on the BIS website & List of BIS centres.
  • You would generally be charged approximately Rs50 for one piece of jewellery.

It’s always fun to buy new jewellery, especially when you are a shopaholic and more so when it is bought online. One often buys gold & diamond jewellery online after thorough research and after understanding the various technical aspects related to purity of gold & 4C’s of diamonds. In case you wish to learn about Gold Karats & Colours, check out this informative article on our blog about Different Gold Carats & Gold Colours

 Gold Earrings under INR 10000

Now let’s assume you bought yourself a nice little pair of gold & diamond earring online from KuberBox.com. The earring gets delivered to you in a nice little package, looking all pretty & you start jumping with childlike enthusiasm. And, if by chance, this is gifted by someone special, your smile will hold no boundaries. You eagerly put on those little glam things and head out to rock the world. With a lot of excitement, you show it to your friend & she loves them too. But then she raises a question on the genuineness of the gold & diamond used in your earrings. Though you are sure that you got nice hallmarked gold jewellery along with an extensive diamond report, the doubt raised by your friend starts to haunt you and makes you question the product.

  • What if the gold is not as pure as declared?
  • What if the diamonds are not of the same colour & clarity as mentioned?

Both very valid questions, but how to find their answers? You want to get an answer to these doubts but you have no idea where to start and how to start. Ok, so now allow us to help you get your answers, quickly and correctly. Firstly, understand that your jewellery is made of gold, diamonds and probably gemstones. These can be easily appraised by the right laboratory. Before we begin to explain let us tell you what NOT to do.

Don’t try to get your answers by showing the jewellery to your local neighborhood jeweller.

Why?

It’s simple. You give them a product from a competitor on his hands and he will try his best to make it look bad. Not all jewellery store owner will do that, but a majority of them will. That’s the fact of life. So even though your product was as good as promised, you will be left feeling depressed by his comments. Save yourself this trouble and rather go the scientific way.

Gold Testing

In India, gold hallmarking is regulated by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). BIS has a number of precious metal assaying & hallmarking centres across the country whose job is to assay the purity of precious metals used in jewellery and artefacts. When you submit your jewellery there, they will screen test the jewellery with an equipment that has the capacity to test and declare the fineness of the gold used in your jewellery. Additionally, to be sure, you can ask them for another level of testing. BISLOGO

At this level, they will rub the back side of your jewellery on a small plate (it won’t affect your jewellery) and the gold dust that comes off on the plate is then tested by a different equipment for verification of earlier arrived fineness. Connect both the results and this will ensure that your first question gets answered with proper justification. In case, the testing centre declares the fineness in terms of percentage, the corresponding gold purity in terms of Karat can be derived from this chart –

Purity (K) Formula Fineness (%)
22k 22/24 = 91.6% 91.6 %
18k 18/24 = 75.0% 75.0 %
14K 14/24 = 58.5% 58.5 %
Infographic on Gold Karat & Purity

Infographic on Gold Karat & Purity

Do remember that, the assaying centre will simply declare the fineness and not inscribe the same on your piece of jewellery. To get the purity inscribed on your jewellery you are required to be a BIS licensed jeweller. Also, remember to visit only a BIS approved assaying centre to be certain about the results. You can find a nearby centre on the BIS website – LIST OF BIS RECOGNISED HALLMARKING CENTRES.

Under normal circumstances, you would generally be charged approximately Rs.50 for one piece of jewellery. With this, you are done with gold testing.

Diamond Testing

Thanks to a number of professional diamond laboratories coming up across the country, getting the diamonds tested is a much simpler affair. But if you live in a city where there are no reputed labs, you could face some problems. Take your jewellery to any of the branches of SGL (Solitaire Gemological Laboratory) or IGI (International Gemological Institute) to get the diamonds verified. These are a couple of laboratory networks in India that have good reach, operate with professionalism and are ethical. They have a standardised approach towards diamond grading. If you were already issued a diamond report of any of these labs along with the jewellery, then you need not even take the pain of visiting them. Their tests being standardized, provide the same results provided across any of their branches. In case you have a diamond report issued by them, you can simply verify the diamond report online on their website.

Take out your diamond certificate and locate the certificate number. Look at the images below for reference.IMG_20140917_162337816IMG_20140917_162509179IMG_20140917_162532353

Now visit SGL’s official website http://www.solitaire-labs.com/ and click on “Verify Your Report”. You will come across the following screen:

 1

Enter the certificate number at the indicated are and click on the button. This would load another page with the same diamond report as the one received by you from us.2

So that’s it. Your diamonds just got verified.

If you happen to have a jewellery that doesn’t come along with any certificates, you can still get them verified at the laboratory. Just take your jewellery and visit any branch of SGL (List of SGL Branches), submit your jewellery for certification and within 1 day, your jewellery would be graded and you would be presented with a diamond report. This completes the 2-step verification approach that you can try.

Now that you can confidently claim that you got the best value for your money, go ahead and share the same with your friend. Rest assured she’ll get clicking too.

2 Steps To Verify If Your Gold & Diamonds Jewellery Is Genuine by Sourav

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Sourav

Sourav is a young, passionate and hands-on entrepreneur. With a B.Tech in Electronics & Communication & experience of working in an Educational Services start-up in Bangalore, he finally ventured out to start KuberBox in December 2012. He had earlier founded a niche e-commerce startup Printbooth.in while in college, which he later sold & exited. Sourav rejected admits from few top MBA colleges of India & underwent a professional diamond course. Sourav currently oversees, runs & manages KuberBox & is focused on growing the company and making it the preferred destination for buying precious jewellery. With in-depth knowledge of technology-based design methodology, he consults family-owned traditional jewellery houses also. With KuberBox, he also wishes to enable and empower more people to earn their living through KPP Program.

24 Comments

Avatar of Vivek Subramanium

Vivek Subramanium · March 30, 2017 at 10:54 am

Thank You Sourav for such a good description for verification of jewelery. Great Post

Avatar of Kaushal kumar

Kaushal kumar · September 28, 2017 at 11:25 am

Yesterday i bought some gold ornaments of 18 carat gold but the shopkeeper aat the time of producing order calculated the cost on the basis of rate of 24 carat gold but on the bill it is written 75% ie 18 carat gold and ornaments are of 18 carat gold..after enquiry he said that gold bricks of different carat are used for manufacturing omand he used 24 carat gold brick..
I dont know whats the truth and depth details
Plz solve my confusion

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · October 9, 2017 at 7:53 pm

    Most jewellers use 24K rate for calculation of the price of the jewellery. It does not mean that you are buying 18K and paying for 24K. 24K price is just the reference used. For example, when you buy sugar from a grocery store, the shopkeeper tells you the sugar price per kg and then you are charged for the quantity which you buy. Similarly, when buying 18K gold, the jeweller has given you the price for 24k but he charges you for 18K gold only. You can easily check this yourself. The price for the gold that you have paid must be Gold Weight x 0.76 x 24K Price

Avatar of ANKIT DAS

ANKIT DAS · October 12, 2017 at 10:10 pm

Hii sourav …plz contact me..
9439936787

Avatar of tanya

tanya · January 12, 2018 at 1:22 pm

Hi,
I have a solitaire on 18K yellow gold. i see an engraving inside that says ” PD 18K 0.66″. What does it mean? also, this is my engagement ring which was given for repair as the rhodium plating was wearing out within 2 months times and also we got the solitaire certificate from IGI but for all the smaller diamonds around my ring didnt have a certificate.

we got a brand new ring made looking exactly the same and the above message is written as i said ” PD 18K 0.66″ also the guy told us that the ring is still not hallmarked as i needed the ring urgently for some occasion. so we were told it will be sent for hallmarking once i return back the ring and i will get it along with the certificates.

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · January 12, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    Hi Tanya, Thanks for explaining the case in detail. The engraving of ”PD 18K 0.66″ is surely not hallmarking. Until and unless there is a triangle shaped BIS logo hallmark, a jewellery doesn’t count as being “hallmarked”. What you have now is called “stamped”. Stamping is like self-certification where the maker claims that the purity of gold is as stamped by me. In many countries, one would take this to be as good as hallmarking, but not so in India. Now, breaking down the complete text, it seems –
    “PD” is the jeweller’s initials or brand sign.
    “18K” signifies that the gold used is of 18Kt purity.
    “0.66” is either the carat weight of the solitaire or the surrounding small diamonds. It expands to 0.66 carats. Mose likely, it’s the weight of the diamonds other than the solitaire diamond. You can easily check this by studying the IGI certificate of the solitaire as to what carat weight is solitaire of.

    Do check out our jewellery collection online on KuberBox.com. Thanks for posting here.

Avatar of bhupesh

bhupesh · March 7, 2018 at 12:27 pm

hi i want to verify my imitation jewellery purity of material used to build the product.
its contains and ratio of material used to make the products.

can any body help me were should i go and test the product.

    Avatar of bhupesh

    bhupesh · March 7, 2018 at 12:28 pm

    my contact number is 09167002275

Avatar of Amel

Amel · March 14, 2018 at 5:30 am

Hi, I just bought a white gold ring with a stamps of 750 , 0.29and 0.52. Now I have now idea what this number are , can you please tell me if that’s a real diamond and gold or fake ? Many thanks

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · March 20, 2018 at 6:58 pm

    Stamps are nothing but self-declaration by the seller than the jewellery you bought contains x grams of gold of y purity and has z carats of diamonds. From what you mentioned here, it seems your ring is made of 18K Gold (750 purity) and has two sets of stones/diamonds with the weights of them being 0.29 carats and 0.52 carats. Maybe there is a solitaire studded on your ring and its weight is mentioned on the stamp.

Avatar of Euphoria

Euphoria · May 30, 2018 at 12:28 am

Hi Sourav, I am trying to figure out which diamond certificaiton is good to go with. On internet it says GIA and AGS are better certificaitns when compared to IGI and SGL. Can you shed more light on this? Is it ok to go with IGI and SGL certification, I see reviews stating they are relatively lesser quality certifications and noot preferred.

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · June 2, 2018 at 6:47 pm

    The answer depends on what sort of jewellery you are trying to get certified. Each lab has its share of positives and negatives. When it comes to a loose diamond of a considerable size (say, 1/2 carat plus), it’s always advised to go to GIA. But then, with GIA, there are waiting periods of as long as 90 days at some of the popular diamond trading hubs like Mumbai. If you are willing to wait that long, you can opt for them. Further, if it is a diamond-studded jewellery, they won’t certify them. GIA does only loose diamonds and for studded jewellery, you will have to go to IGI or SGL.

Avatar of Sonali Mehta

Sonali Mehta · September 19, 2018 at 10:34 am

Hi Sourav….I am interested in one uncut diamond jewelry from a jewellery designer….I just wanted know uncut diamond fitted in 18k or 22k ???….if in 18k then is it fine or not ?? Generally we prefer 22k ….. I’ve knowledge about diamond that made in 18k….but first time looking for uncut diamond……n what is the resale value

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · September 19, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    Hi Sonali, that’s a very good question. Traditionally uncut diamonds were always made in 22k gold but as the gold prices became dearer, the customers started to look for options to reduce the overall cost of the jewellery. That has led to the current times, where Jadau Uncut Diamond Polki jewellery is available in 18k as well. There is no harm in buying uncut jewellery in 18k gold, with the only caveat being that the meenakari work (also a big part of the jadau jewellery) comes out better if the base is made of 22k gold. This may or may not be always true depending on the technique used by the karigar. Please do share the design that you are looking to buy at yourfriends@kuberbox.com so that we can advise you more clearly. Thanks

Avatar of Arun Sharma

Arun Sharma · May 26, 2020 at 11:07 pm

Great content Sourav.

Avatar of Roopa

Roopa · March 3, 2021 at 5:05 pm

Hi.. I bought a diamond bangle which does not have any seal in it. It simply bears the diamond number count in it.
Jeweller has given me a certificate from Australia Geological Laboratory.
I have cross checked the serial number in astral website.. It bears the same design pic and details of bangle.
But how do I come to a conclusion that this certification is for the bangle which I bought. Jeweller can make 10 pairs of bangle in the same design.

    Avatar of Roopa

    Roopa · March 3, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    Sorry it’s from Astral and not Australia

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · March 18, 2021 at 1:59 pm

    Hi Roopa, you have raised a valid point. However, there are two most important things that you need to consider – the certifying lab and the jeweller. Unfortunately, there are no definite ways to know if the jeweller has not changed the diamonds in your jewellery after certification and that is where little bit of trust is required from your end. If we start to doubt everything, then none of the measures taken by jeweller will ever satisfy you. While whatever you are saying is right, just ensure that the you are buying from a trusted jeweller and second, the certification is from a reputed lab.

Avatar of Sayani

Sayani · July 4, 2021 at 11:13 am

I have purchased 22kt gold jewellery BIS stamp are there but that jeweller told me to take r halkmark certificate which look like a card mentioning all the details along with that gold jewellery picture.. and he charge for this 500/- ..is it compulsory to take that card while purchasing hallmarked gold ?

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · July 8, 2021 at 2:23 pm

    Hi Sayani, thanks for explaining your issue. BIS hallmark is usually a stamp on the jewellery itself. You do not need a separate card/document that says that the jewellery is BIS hallmarked. However, sometimes the size of this stamp is so small that it is difficult to see it from naked eye. In such cases, you may take a card that says that the product is BIS hallmarked. This is completely voluntary, and as such, you DON’T need it.

Avatar of Avi

Avi · January 12, 2022 at 11:59 pm

There is a jeweller with name of a spectrum jewels in Jaipur who is on Amazon, eBay has shop address of Jaipur and provides certificates from IDCL for diamond. It has online website. Is it a valid jeweller? And certifications are valid or fake?

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · January 20, 2022 at 10:56 am

    Hello Avi, it won’t be right to comment whether the certifications are valid or fake without actually verifying how well they have graded the diamonds. Just know that the more accredited the laboratory is, the better chance it will have in matching the worldwide standards in diamond grading. Due to the demand of customers for “certified” jewellery, many one-shop-establishments and getting started and calling themselves “Labs” without having the necessary expertise, experience and standardisation to make any meaningful impact. Many of the labs also engage in dubious certifications for the sake of short term monetary benefits. With these points in mind, it’s suggested to always go for well known and established labs like GIA, IGI, HKD, SGL, etc which have a worldwide presence.

Avatar of Sofiya Choudhary

Sofiya Choudhary · May 5, 2023 at 2:01 am

Hey, i recently buy a diamond ring. It’s in 14k gold and 0.45 diamond carat and color is G-h jeweller provided me a certification card, From GJIC ( gems & jewellery information centre. Is it real or fake card?? As I searched about it I didn’t find anything helpful like a website where i can check it.

    Avatar of Sourav

    Sourav · July 16, 2023 at 11:08 pm

    Hey Sofiya, not all diamond labs have their own website/app to verify the authenticity of their certificates. That is why it’s always advisable to buy from reputed labs like SGL, IGI & GIA.

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