Monday, 17th October 2005 (3593 views)

Officers from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have revealed that 22 or 24-carat gold coins are often not entirely pure.

The Hindustan Times reports that although many retailers and coin outlets have adopted caratometers to reassure consumers about the quality of their gold, some gold coins are not what they seem.

Director of the BIS in Lucknow, Rahul Kumar pointed out that caratometers only check the external gold content of a coin.

"A caratometer only checks the purity of the gold on the top layer," he said.

This has created a false sense of security, despite the fact that most coins are reportedly only 17-carat gold encased in 22- or 24-carat.

Other ways to ascertain a coin's gold content include melting it down, using the touchstone method or XRF (x-ray fluorescence) method.

In February of this year the BIS issued an amendment to forbid the use of iridium, ruthenium and cadmium in gold jewellery and artefacts. Any jewellery hallmarked by the BIS must be free of the aforementioned metals.

Gold bars must have their purity clearly displayed in addition to their precise weight and the name of their manufacturer.

 

« Back to the stories

 

The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.